FOR THE FLOWER OF THE BLUE LILY

By Sylvain Ruaud 

The Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo is better known for his "Concierto de Aranjuez" than for his symphonic poem "Per la flor del lliri blau", which translates from Catalan to English as "For the flower of the blue lily", yet it is this one that we are going to discuss today. It is based on a dark medieval legend from the Valencia region in southeastern Spain, which tells how the three sons of a dying king go in search of the blue lily whose magical powers could save their father. It is the youngest of the three who discovers the famous flower, but he is killed by his brothers who want to keep for themselves the glory of having brought back the miraculous remedy. I don't believe that there is a blue lily. But the legend probably makes the same confusion as the one which, in many countries, assimilates the lily — the iris. The legendary blue lily must therefore have been an iris.

But which iris could it be? I have found several species of blue iris growing spontaneously or that can grow in Spain. This chronicle will be the opportunity to get to know these species a little.

Let's start by talking about the Algerian iris, I. unguicularis (Poiret 1785). It is probably the most known species because it is the most common. It is found spontaneously in Spain where it finds the mild climate that suits it and allows it to develop its blue flowers, fragrant, which brighten up our gardens in winter. But is this the species that the three brothers of the legend went to look for? Probably not, because it is not a rare species. It is therefore not surrounded by the mystery that rarity confers.

Could it be the case of I. lutescens (Lambert 1789)? It is a species of the pumila family, the dwarf irises which are at the base of our hybrid SDB, which produces flowers with largely developed petals above small and curved sepals. It exists in several colors, among them blue, but it is not its main color since when we speak about I. lutescens we see rather yellow flowers. Certainly this species is present in Spain, but it is not the one I bet.

One could think of I. iberica var. elegantissima (Fedorov/Takhtadjian 1915)? Here is a species whose name immediately makes one think of a Spanish plant, but, even if it is a superb plant, with the undeniable class proper to the iris oncocyclus and the strangeness which can lead to the legend, it is not possible that this is the one that the three brothers were looking for. Indeed this very small plant, with rather large and always brightly colored flowers, is only very rarely in shades of blue while exists mainly in shades of white and brown, with styles curiously lying on the sepals, black, and which give it a vague air of baboon snout. Unfortunately, in spite of its botanical name, this species does not grow in Spain since it is native to Central Asia and that it meets only in this region, thus very far from Valencia. (2)

Since it cannot be the previous one, can we then imagine that it is Iris Xiphium vulgare (Linné 1753), the base of the family of Xiphium, known normally under the name of iris of Spain. This is a plant of good size (60 cm) that grows in dry soils that are found among others around Valencia and is distinguished by flowers often blue and marked with a yellow signal. Have we found the "lliri blau" that inspired Joaquin Rodrigo? It is unlikely. It is not a rare plant, it is rather showy, considering its size, and it is not necessarily that blue...

The blue is more precisely the color of another Xiphium, the famous Iris X. latifolium (P. Miller 1768), the bulbous iris of the Pyrenees, which was transported to Great Britain and developed so well there that it is commonly called the Iris of England. But this iris likes humid and acidic mountain meadows. It is thus very unlikely that it was one day present in the area of Valencia.

Would the Valencian legend be only a legend? Is there no blue iris near the Mediterranean Sea, in the South of Spain? It would be to forget Juno planifolia (Ascherson/Graeber 1906) (see photo)(1). It is a very small plant (not more than ten centimeters) whose flowers bloom at the end of winter, it is called in Spain the Christmas iris. They are of a soft blue, lilac, marked with brighter blue on the sepals and finely veined of yellow. They are hidden under the foliage and are then signaled especially by their delicate perfume. From there to think that they could well be these blue lilies of which the legend speaks? 

The three brothers who wanted to save their father must have discovered, somewhere above Valencia, this little marvel with its exceptional perfume. But filial love was not the main motivation of the two elders. They committed the irreparable to make a selfish and derisory profit from the discovery of their youngest son.

Today, when one loves both irises and music, one can enjoy both Juno planifolia and "Per la flor del lliri blau", which is an advantage that the three brothers of the legend did not have.

(1) The photographer, Robert F. Hamilton, is a specialist in botanical irises and lives in Tasmania. 

(2)  I. iberica was named after a people who once inhabited the foothills of the Caucasus, in present-day Georgia.

Louisiana Iris Seeds

By Hooker T. Nichols

This article is about how a relative new Louisiana iris hybridizer handles his ripened  Louisiana iris seeds.  There are two different roads one can travel upon when it comes time to harvest  your fully mature seeds and either plant them immediately or simply place them in a dry container until planting later  on in the year.

Cynthia Maldonado with seeds. Image from The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative  

Some of the few seasoned longtime  hybridizers harvest the seeds from the stalks when the pods begin to  turn nearly white just before they turn brow.  Some will tell you to plant the seeds immediately without nicking the corner of the seed or completely removing the cork covering from the seeds.  I personally have never  had the time to plant the seeds early post bloom season because as soon as the iris quit blooming I morph into a daylily and begin hybridizing daylilies.  If planted directly  into the soil or  individual gallon black pots you will get some  germination before fall  with the majority the following spring.

Image from The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative

I simply allow my pods to completely dry (turn brown) on the stalks.  I remove the seeds from  the ripened pods and place the complete  seed  lot  in  a Styrofoam cup.   After they have air dried, I put the cups in a cabinet and leave them there until early February.  Then each seed lot is planted in a one gallon black  pot with good soil.  In less than six weeks  I begin getting germination.  When the seedlings are  3  to 4 inches tall, I  transplant each seedling into its  own individual gallon pot when  it remains until September.  They are liquid fertilized every seven days until early September.  By that time, each  seedling has formed a small clump.  I tap the plant clumps out of  the pots and line them  out.  I get about 100% bloom the following spring because of out mild  winters and long growing season which is 200+ days per year.

Drawing Plate I. Dormon Caroline  By Their Fruits.

Following removing the seedlings from the pots, I then place the pots in full sun and let them bake all summer.  In early September I start watering the pots from which the 3-4 inch seedlings were earlier transplanted.  You will get another rush of germination.  The pots are healed in for the winter and the process is repeated again.  After the second individual transplanting is complete, I then dump the pots.

Louisianas bloom the same time as  the Spuria irises.  They are a  wonderful  way to extend your iris bloom season.   Try growing some of  the new Pseudata irises  and you can extend your iris  season  several more  weeks.

 Louisianas are adaptable to almost all soil types.    Plant the rhizomes about three inches in depth, fertilize them twice  a month  with either liquid or granular  fertilizer.  In hot areas, you much mulch them and one good watering a week in  the summer will keep them from going dormant. 

 This is the way I grow Louisiana iris in Texas and success has come my way.

IRISES: The Bulletin of the AIS - Spring 2021 Edition

 By Andi Rivarola

A warm welcome to those who are seeing IRISES, the Bulletin of The American Iris Society for the first time. If you are a member of The American Iris Society I hope you enjoy this new issue.

The Spring 2021 issue of the AIS Bulletin is already available online, accessible via the Emembers section of the AIS website. The print copy has been mailed via the U.S. Post Office. On the cover, 'Lamoyne Elizabeth', (Jim Hedgecock 2018, TB) by Jill Bonino, winner of AIS International Iris Competition (see information for this event on page 38). A large final Part 5 of the Centennial Supplement is also included in this edition of IRISES, and a copy of the cover is below. 

Note: to access this area of the website you must have a current AIS Emembership. (AIS Emembership is separate from the normal AIS membership.) Please see the Electronic Membership Information area of the AIS website for more details.

Here's a list of some of the articles on this edition of IRISES:

On pages 14 through 17, Section Happenings by Phyllis Wilburn.

A short update on Youth Views by Cheryl Deaton on page 17.

International Iris News by Bruce Filardi on pages 18 - 19.

The Iris World 2021 Photo Contest Winners on pages 20 through 23.

A reprint from this very blog on pages 25 - 29, the Adventures with Arilpums by Tom Waters.

Recent/Current Region 13 personalities by Jim Morris on pages 30 - 34.

Unique Technique for Gathering Viable Pollen, by Michael Dossett and Linda Mann on page 35.

An Interview with Hybridizer Elvan (Al) Roderick, by Debbie Thurston, on pages 36 - 37.

Winners of the AIS International Iris Competition, by Jill Bonino and Kathy Chilton, on pages 38 - 39.

The 1925 Redlands, California Exhibition Report by Claire Schneider on pages 40 and 41. 

A beautiful write up about Wilma Stout, Honorary Member, 12-15-2020 at age 102 years, by Iris Fraticelli on pages 42 through 44.

There's a lot more to see and read in this edition of IRISES, either in digital or print formats.

Not a member of The American Iris Society? Please see our website for information about becoming one: http://irises.org/

Happy Gardening!

Willapa Refuge’s Wild Lawn: First Spring

Kathleen Sayce, June 18, 2021

A seedling PCI shows its complex parentage

It’s been eight months since the wild lawn was planted at the new office for Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, and Pacifica irises bloomed in their first spring. I took a few photos when I visited the lawn in April and June, while Program Manager Jackie Ferrier photographed almost every iris that flowered. 

We expect a bigger display of flowers next year as the wild lawn settles in. 

A variety of Pacifica iris grow in the lawn, including I. douglasiana, I. tenax, and seedlings from PCI hybrids. The plan is to let all the plants set seed, and scatter the seed around in late summer. We will also be planting more areas in coming years as the blackberries and other woody shrubs are suppressed around the visitors center and staff offices. One annual fall mowing is planned. Without mowing, woody shrubs and trees would soon (very soon!) take over the entire area. 

Looking NW in early spring to Willapa Bay

The grasses that provide a backdrop to the wildflowers are fescues, including Roemer’s and red fescue, and a low growing fescue mix. A combination of fescue plugs and seeds were used. This is important, because the grasses that grew here historically included reed canary grass, velvet grass and orchard grass, all too large and too dense for irises to thrive with them. 

Thrift in meadow

Iris tenax seedling

Other wildflowers include strawberry, springbank clover, yarrow, pearly everlasting and thrift. 

A new compost facility is selling compost by the truckload, so the next sections of the wild lawn will get a top dressing of compost to boost nutrient retention in winter, and water retention in summer. In these sections the compost will be tilled into the upper few inches. In the original section, we will top dress the lawn with an inch or so of compost next fall. 

I. douglasiana

PCI Mission Santa Cruz

This location was formerly a cattle ranch homesite, and there are thousands of daffodils growing throughout the area. The daffodils were retained as legacy plants, and also put on a nice display last spring. 

This fall we will add more wildflowers, including shooting-stars, common camas, checkermallow, chocolate lily, blue-eyed grass, and of course, more irises. 

If anyone wants a plant list, please contact me by email and I will send you the plant-list-in-progress.