2016 A GOOD YEAR FOR TALL BEARDED IRIS

By Dawn Mumford 

2016 was a good iris year for us.  The conditions in Utah were ideal (except for some strong winds that blew sporadically throughout the season).  We had an exciting season because we had so many "first time to bloom here" irises or "maiden" irises. Here are a few:

'Bravery' (Joseph Ghio, 2011)

This iris is very dramatic; it was very popular in our garden. The blue/white standards are a perfect contrast to the purple/black falls. To add even more contrast there is a bright tangerine beard.  This is a favorite. 

'Ocelot'z Lot' (Brad Kasperek, 2012)

This is a border bearded.  This is one of those irises that turned out even better than the advertised picture in the catalog or on the web page. I have come to have a real fondness, love even, of the broken colored irises that Brad is so famous for.  

 'Red At Night' (Richard Ernst, 1993)

This iris and 'Dynamite' are my irises that have the most pure red color without having the rust or brown in them.  It didn't fade and it withstood the rain without getting white measles. (which is a made-up term) 

'Eye For Style' (Barry Blyth, 2006)

Everyone raved about this iris.  It is justified.  This is a beige/pink (maybe mauve) color.  The lavender/blue blaze around the orange beard makes it more attractive. It has good substance, stays open a long time, and the branching is good. The pollen parent is 'Decadence' and so you may recognize the heavily ruffled form.

  

'Center Ice' (Joseph Ghio, 2009)

The standards are white with a pale blue edge tint that I find so attractive.  The falls are white with a rosy violet band.  The beard is pale yellow even if the catalog described it as cream tipped with white.  I would describe this iris as crisp.  Notice the bee trying to get in.  

'Golden Legacy' (Gerald Richardson, 2013)

This one is gold/buff with a violet base tint.  The falls are amber-gold, lighter below the yellow-orange beard.  This one got a little battered by the heavy sustained winds.  

'Louisa's Song' (Barry Blyth, 1999)

My heart swelled and my breath caught when I saw this iris. I love purples, lavenders, and orchid colors and this has it all.  It holds itself up proudly and the substance is heavy and this bloom stays open longer than usual.  Another favorite of mine. 

'Goodnight Moon" (Schreiner's, 1995)

This lemon yellow self is huge.  I think of it as generous.  The beards are a golden yellow.

'Heartfelt Beauty' (Margie Valenzuela, 2012)

The standards are pale lavender white. The falls are also pale lavender white with pale peach hafts. It has a beautiful red beard. 

'Peekaboo Zebu' (Brad Kasperek, 2005)

This iris from Brad is rich in red/purple color with white streaks.  It has tangerine beards.  Another broken color beauty to add interest to your garden. 

'Splurge' (Joseph Ghio, 2009)

When I ordered this I was afraid it would be too muted for my taste so this was a pleasant surprise.  The standards and style arms are pink. The falls are pink with deep coral on the shoulders with red violet veins and speckles. This was different but nice and not too muted.   

'Neutron Dance' (Barry Blyth, 1987)

This Amoena, white standards with colored falls, has fresh clean colors. It's standards are white but mine have a tiny rim of pale yellow,and the falls are deep yellow. The beard is also deep yellow.

'Dinner Talk' (Barry Blyth, 2005)

This was my first bloom of 'Dinner Talk'.  It had 4 falls but the subsequent blooms had the standard 3. It had luxuriant ruffles and a very heavy substance. This one will go on my new favorite list.  

'Persian Berry' (Larry Gaulter, 1976)

This 40 year old iris is so graceful and the blending of mulberry, lavender and orchid is glorious. The contrasting orange beard finishes it nicely. 

'Bubbling Waves' (Joseph Ghio, 2005)

Almost everyone who came to the garden this year asked what this one was. The color is described as simply blue.  The form is outstanding.  

'Slovac Prince' (Anton Mego, 2002)

The pod parent for this one is , 'Edith Wolford' and the Pollen parent is 'Queen In Calico'. The standards are pale lavender white with a tiny gold rim. It wouldn't be as attractive without that.  The falls are blue/purple with a lighter rim.   

'Pond Lily' (Evelyn Jones, 1994)

The standards are veronica violet , flushed deeper at midrib. The falls are also veronica violet with pink influence. The beards are tangerine.

This year I bought a new macro lens for my camera.  I had such a good time with it.  At first I cut everything off because I stood too close to the subject, but later I backed up some and was happier with the result.  It was fun to use it when I wanted more detail with a blurred background. 

Iris season was crazy and hectic and just wonderful. My husband and I just finished planting all the new rhizomes that I ordered from iris vendors. I look forward to many more maiden blooms next year or the year after, and there are still many from this year that I will show you in future blogs.

Happy gardening, and remember I love hearing comments from you because it is always fun to talk iris.

The Untapped Potential of Iris reichenbachii

by Tom Waters

Today's post is all about an underappreciated bearded iris species, Iris reichenbachii. The name, it seems, is bigger than the iris itself. I. reichenbachii is a dwarf, ranging in height from 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 inches), with one or sometimes two buds at the top of the stalk. (Very rarely, a third bud may appear further down the stalk.) The flowers are yellow (often with brownish markings or blending), smoky violet, or occasionally clear deep violet.

Iris reichenbachii

The species is native to the Balkan peninsula, from Rumania and Bulgaria through Serbia and into Greece. A related species, I. suaveolens, is similar but smaller. Two other species names, I. balkana and I. bosniaca, are now regarded as synonyms of I. reichenbachii.

As a garden subject, I. reichenbachii is pleasant enough, if somewhat unremarkable. It has found a home with rock gardeners and plant collectors. For those who fancy modern hybrid dwarf and median irises, this little species can seem drab by comparison. The petals are rather narrow, substance is lacking, and the colors can seem a bit murky.

To the hybridizer, however, I. reichenbachii has something unique to offer. Its chromosomes are very similar to those of tall bearded irises, and it is quite compatible with them. Furthermore, I. reichenbachii exists in both diploid (two sets of chromosomes) and tetraploid (four sets) forms. Since modern TBs and BBs are tetraploid, they can cross with tetraploid I. reichenbachii and produce fertile offspring. (For an explanation of diploids and tetraploids, see my earlier blog post Tetraploid Arils, Anyone?)

'Progenitor' (Cook, 1951)
 from I. reichenbachii X TB 'Shining Waters'

In the 1940s, the talented hybridizer Paul Cook did precisely that. A seedling from the cross, aptly named 'Progenitor', was registered in 1951. It was an unimpressive iris of intermediate size, but Cook could see its potential. 'Progenitor' was a bicolor, with violet falls and pure white standards. At the time, this was a new color pattern. (Earlier bicolors were actually variations on a "spot pattern" from I. variegata, and seldom showed the completely solid falls and pristine standards of 'Progenitor'. It is interesting to note that I. reichenbachii itself is not a bicolor. The bicolor pattern resulted from combining its genes with those of the TB parent. By crossing 'Progenitor' back to high-quality TBs, Cook was eventually able to transfer the bicolor pattern onto irises that otherwise showed no resemblance to the modest little dwarf that had given rise to the new pattern. 'Whole Cloth' (Cook, 1958), four generations on from 'Progenitor', won the Dykes Medal in 1962.

Virtually all TB and BB bicolors today (standards white, yellow, or pink; falls blue, violet, purple, reddish, or brown) are descendants of 'Progenitor', and hence of I. reichenbachii.

But there is still more to be done with this interesting little species. When Cook was making his crosses, there was very little interest in dwarf or median irises. In fact, medians as we know them today hardly existed at that time. So Cook simply worked to transfer the new color pattern into TBs. Today, however, there is considerable interest in breeding medians, especially BBs and MTBs that are consistently small and dainty. Surely the little dwarf I. reichenbachii has something to offer in these endeavors. The tetraploid forms are compatible with BBs and tetraploid MTBs, while the diploid I. reichenbachii could be crossed with diploid MTBs. Since these sorts of crosses should produce fertile seedlings, a hybridizer could continue the breeding line to achieve any desired goal.

Iris reichenbachii

I. reichenbachii is a little difficult to find in commerce, but not impossible. Some specialty nurseries list it, and if one is willing to grow from seed, it shows up rather often in seed exchanges that include iris species.

If you see this odd little species available somewhere, why not give it a try? Perhaps even make a cross or two to see what happens...

Favorite Macro Photos from 2016, Part 1

By Mike Unser

I love photographing irises and capturing their beauty to enjoy all year long. I also love to do close up shots of them to highlight the incredible beauty of their architecture. Here is a selection of my favorites from the 2016 season. Click on the photos to see the full size version.

'Anne Leslie'

'El Paso'

'Finest Hour'

'Millionaire'

'Mme. Louesse'

'Pink Plume'

'That's All Folks'

'Golden Flare

My second bloom season

                                                                                 by Joe Musacchia

    In late June to early July, it starts all over again. Bloom, that is. Ever since Louisiana Iris Gardens in Central New York started handling my introductions some six years ago, I have enjoyed a second bloom season. What a joy to see my new seedlings blooming again. The colors in the North are even more vivid than they are in Louisiana. This is when we make the final decisions about what to introduce next year. 

   This is 'Fouchon' a cross of Patrick O'Connor's 'Zydeco‘ X my 'Pointe Aux Chenes'. If you are wondering where the name comes from, it’s a port at the mouth of Bayou Lafourche, where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico

 ' Fouchon ' 
' Zydeco '  X  ' Pointe Aux Chenes '.

     Then we have 'Gentle Memories'. This is Patrick O'Connor's  'Just Add Water’ X Harry Wolford's 'Edna Claunch'. This name came from the first time Mrs. M. J. Urist gazed upon a garden of Louisiana iris during her first trip to Louisiana. I made this cross to demonstrate how hybridizing was done. The cross took, and it turned out to be a good one.

' Gentle Memories '
' Just Add Water ' X ' Edna Claunch ''

  Here we have ‘Labrador Hollow'. This is my  'Ardoyne‘ X my 'Little General'. This is named for a natural area down the road from Louisiana Iris Gardens. It was found in seedlings brought up from Louisiana, and had its maiden bloom in the NY garden.

' Labrador Hollow '
' Ardoyne ' X ' Little General '

   Next is a fun one, 'Iko Iko'. This is a cross of Heather Pryor's 'Garnet Storm Dancer' X  Dormon Haymon's 'Grace Duhon'  This flower makes me want to party, so the name of the Mardi Gras song Iko Iko seemed appropriate

' Iko Iko ''
 Garnet Storm Dancer ' X  ' Grace Duhon ' 

   My last seedling, 'Cochon de Lait', is is one of many nice seedlings that came from a 'Pure Water' bee pod. This name translated literally from French is a suckling pig, but to a Cajun this means a party. More like a Cajun barbecue.

' Cochon de Lait '
' Pure Water Bee Pod '

Here are some more of the many Louisiana irises that bloomed in Central New York this year.

' Faubourg Marigny '
Patrick O'Connor

' Low and Inside '
Patrick O'Connor'

' Brown Recluse '
Walter Moores

' Mardi Gras Mambo '
Joe Musacchia 

' Mamacita ' 
Joe Musacchia

   And finally we have 'Rougaroux', which is Cajun French for werewolf, the Cajun swamp monster.

 ' Rougaroux '
Joe Musacchia

   As you can see Louisianas do well in Central New York. If you would like to extend your iris bloom season, by all means try Louisiana iris. All pictures here are courtesy of M.J. Urist of Louisiana Iris Gardens.  

Late Stalks: Rebloom Breeding in zone 6A

By Betty Wilkerson

Welcome to my garden.  I'm in Kentucky, zone 6.  Once again, it's been a crazy, crazy spring.  We had some really nice days during the last half of winter.  Good days to clean the iris beds and get ready for spring.  This is when it started getting crazy!  I suspect it was Mother Nature in stress mode, but maybe it was just the irises acting weird.  

Just a few days into the bloom season, it looked like a lot of the early things would not bloom!  Then, stalks started to spring up, or so it seemed, on the ones that should have bloomed earlier.  Everything was out of sequence.  However, it did make rebloom crossing easier because more flowers were blooming at the same time.  

At the end of bloom season, the inevitable depression set in.  It's generally over for another year (except for rebloom). Then I noticed extra stalks showing up. There were a couple on some of the new reblooming seedlings, and one on a slightly older seedling from rebloom breeding lines!

There's one on 'Cameo Blush,' and one on 'Over and Over.' 'Silver Dividends' also put up a stalk but with only two blooms.  (No other introduced irises bloomed at this time.)

'Cameo Blush' (Weiler by Friendship 1998)

'Over & Over' (Innerst 2003)  

Two of the seedlings from 'Tara's Choice' X 'Again & Again' put up stalks. The yellow one, 2152-02re, has cycle  rebloomed in the past and is in my older reselect bed with 2 stalks up.  2152-03 is from my previous "baby" bed and was not seen before.  It wasn't great.  No, I don't always plant all of a given cross at the same time. It depends on space and time, and what I want to see, but these were pretty and several rebloomed, so I planted all of them.


One of my disappointments has been 2527, a cross with 'All Revved Up' & X 'Lunar Whitewash.' 'All Revved Up' can bloom all summer and 'Lunar Whitewash' is a good cycle rebloomer, so I'd hoped for some type of rebloom, with good form.  I got form but none have rebloomed, yet. It was a bit surprising when some of these seedlings started putting up late stalks.

2527-05 ('All Revved Up' X 'Lunar Whitewash') 

2527-01 ('All Revved Up' X 'Lunar Whitewash)

2527-05 ('All Revved Up' x 'Lunar Whitewash')

 The latest developing stalks were 2145-01 ('Pure as Gold' X 'Summer Radiance') and 2603-04, a dark one from ('Lunar Whitewash' X Romantic Evening') X 'Over and Over.' A large group of 2145-01 crosses bloomed and were photographed in the spring, while 2603-04 did not bloom in the spring and this is my first time to see it.

2145-01 ('Pure as Gold' X 'Summer Radiance')

2603-04 (('Lunar Whitewash' x 'Romantic Evening') X 'Over and Over')

With three exceptions, all of the surprise reblooming has been on my seedlings which have at least one rebloom parent. My theory, and it's just a theory, is that I should take this as a signal that, if not rebloom, they have some type of "loosy-goosy" genes that allows later bloom.  One thing for sure, they don't put up these late stalks every year. Come to me, my favored children!

You've had another peek into the strange habits of mother nature as she works in and around Bridge In Time Iris Gardens.  For further reading about reblooming irises, visit the Reblooming Iris Society site  or subscribe to "The Recorder" through the website.

This is Normal, I Swear...

By Vanessa Spady

As happens to many of us who have fallen in love with irises, my plans, schedule, diet, and social life are all drastically altered when bloom season approaches. It’s just a truth that I have learned to acknowledge, and have had to gently acclimate the important people in my life to this as well.

You, too, may suffer from Seasonal Monopolistic Iris Lallygagging Epidemic (SMILE).

I know the month and week varies regionally, but for me the syndrome begins in March. See if you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself:

• A willingness to allow otherwise important life activities to lapse

• A surge in getting up extra-early to walk through your garden to see if any buds have developed

• A sense of urgency to repeat the above activity several times daily

• A refusal to heed weather conditions that would otherwise keep you indoors

• A complete disregard for social engagements that would cause you to be away from your garden for more than ten hours

• A compulsion to count—and recount—the buds and stalks forming on your iris

• Several sets of otherwise “past their prime” garments kept on-hand for sudden excursions to your garden to adjust sprinklers, fencing, and other items that might interfere with the growth of buds

• A strong drive to look at photos of irises you already own in anticipation of your own blooms

• A lack of social skills in any arena not directly related to your buds, blooms, hybridizing, or other critical maintenance of your iris garden

• An aversion to having any “wildcard” elements in your garden, such as children, pets, neighbors, less-attuned spouses and friends, and anyone possibly less obsessed with irises than yourself

These are serious symptoms, and if you find that you recognize yourself in any of the above listed behaviors, do not panic! The good news is that you are going to be fine. Bloom season is limited, and chances are you will be able to resume a somewhat normal life within two to three weeks after the last bloom appears. It helps if you have someone in your life who also has SMILE, and you can have a “buddy system” for ensuring that you eat, sleep, and bathe enough to keep gardening.

I also find it helps if you can acknowledge to those around you, early on if possible, that you will be subject to SMILE when your irises begin to form stalks. Their understanding that you will be influenced by SMILE for a short period each Spring will allow you to re-integrate into your normal life with fewer apologies required.

Let me see if my story will help you in your recovery from SMILE:

I go out to my garden as often as five times a day when the buds are forming. I count them. I write down which ones form on which dates. Then, when they begin opening, I write down which ones open on which date. I make a photo box (more on that later), and shoot the blooms on the first day they open, as early in the morning as possible. I take multiple photos of each first bloom, sometimes as many as 20 each, to ensure I have a good, focused shot. I will then shoot the same blooms around day 3 (or day 2 if it has been warm), to compare the progression of the bloom.

I enter all this data into my computer.

I get up as early as possible so that I’m in my garden in the earliest part of the day, with the best light, to catch the blooms as they first open.

AND I have been helping my friend Chris hybridize, which means spending hours each weekend morning, as early as we can, harvesting anthers, hybridizing, record-keeping, tagging, photographing, and of course, admiring all the new blooms.

I do this until it is too hot, or too late to hybridize (yes, here in central California, it can get too hot to work outside after about 11 am, even in early Spring). So once I am forced inside by the heat, I can download all my photos, catalog the data, and then start sharing them online. Maybe, somewhere in there, I will remember to eat.

Soon after that, it begins to cool down, and I go outside to start watering and checking for new blooms. I do this until after dark. Perhaps I might come inside and eat, and have a shower. If I’m not too tired.

It only lasts a few weeks... that’s my justification for ignoring friends, family, pets, work, other chores, housework, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and pretty much the rest of my life. The heat here means our bloom season comes fast and doesn’t last too long, so I give myself up to my garden as much as I possibly can. I SMILE, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

So, good-bye normalcy, hello SMILE. Iris, you really got a hold on me. See you next year, ok?

A fraction of the results:

'Orange Harvest' ( Bennett Jones, R. 1986). Seedling #74-34-5. TB, 32" (81 cm). Midseason bloom and rebloom (late October in Oregon). Bright medium orange; red beard; slight fragrance. 'Orange Chiffon' X seedling #69-24-5: ((( 'Spanish Gift' x 'Marilyn C') x Shoop seedling #63-18) x (( 'Spanish Affair' x 'Marilyn C') x Hamblen seedling #H5-35)). Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden, B Jones 1988.

'Can Can Dancer' ( Larry Lauer, R. 1997) Sdlg. 91-195. TB, 36" (91 cm), Midseason bloom. Standarads and style arms yellow; Falls purple, edged brown, shoulders yellow; beards mustard; ruffled; slight sweet fragrance. ('Edith Wolford' x 'Ragtime') X (('Edith Wolford' x 'Ragtime') x M. Dunn M78-657, 'Personal Friend' sib). Stockton 1997. Honorable Mention 1999.

'Let's Fly' (Schreiner, R. 2015) Seedling TT 1024-C. TB, 34" (86 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards yellow (RHS 8A); Falls veined purple-violet (81B), edged yellow; beards orange. KK 914-A: (CC 1402-2: ('Burgermeister' x AA 1638-A: (S 324-40: ('Latin Lady' x  'Bristo Magic') x 'Leading Edge')) x CC 760-A, 'Bold Fashion' sibling) X 'Jamaican Dream'. 2015 Schreiner.

'Revere' (Joseph Ghio, R. 2001). Seedling 97-36B. TB, height 40" (102 cm). Very early to early mid season bloom. Standards white, yellow halo; style arms white, fringed gold;Falls white, blue rim; beards gold. 95-36C. 'Impulsive' sibling, X 'Dear Jean'. Bay View 2002.

'Crystal Gazer' ( Keith Keppel, R. 2002). Seedling 96-45D. TB, 34" (86 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards medium violet blue (M&P 42-FG-8/9) paling (42-C-7) toward edge; style arms light violet blue (42-C-7); Falls blue lilac (42-BC-4) paling to silvery lilac white center; beards lilac lavender (42-BC-2/3), soft ibis pink (1-B-10) in throat; ruffled, lightly laced. 'Lotus Land' X 'Fogbound'. Keppel 2002.

'Trajectory' ( Paul Black, R. 1997). Sdlg. 91207A. SDB, 13" (33 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards dark purple; style arms white, edged purple; Falls darker purple, white luminata patch; beards white; pronounced spicy fragrance. 'Black Star' X 87130J: ( 'Chubby Cheeks' x 85319B: ( 'Gentle Air' x 'Chubby Cheeks' sibling)). Mid-America 1997.

'Lip Service' ( Joseph Ghio, R. 2000) Seedling 96-153Q. TB, height 34" (86 cm), Early, midseason, late bloom. Standards violet, paling to apricot at edge; style arms apricot pink; Falls apricot with violet overlay; beards light tangerine. 94-170K, 'Stage Lights' sibling, X 'Entangled'. Bay View 2001. Honorable Mention 2004.

Phenology of Pacifica Iris during Climate Shifts

Kathleen Sayce

Phenology, or the study of what condition plants are in (onset of growth, vegetative, pre-flowering, flowering, seed set, dormancy) at what date during the year, is fascinating to track during climate shifts. No, I’m not talking about climate change, but about regular weather cycles on the West Coast of North America. 

Iris tenax, wild collected seed from sea cliffs by Manzanita, Oregon, was flowering in June, and now has numerous pods. 

There are several regular cycles that last six months to twenty months or so: 

First, the familiar one–– the annual season, which cycles every year through winter, spring, summer, fall. 

Second, El Niño-Southern Oscillation Events, ENSOs. In the popular press, these are called El Niño, which bring warmer than usual weather to the Pacific Northwest, and range from dry to wet weather in winter depending on ENSO intensity and latitude on the West Coast. California often gets much wetter winters during ENSO events. 

ENSOs alternate with two other weather states over the Pacific Ocean. The other two are La Niña events and ‘neutral conditions’. La Niña events bring colder than normal weather to the West Coast, and neutral conditions in the Pacific are just that, not strongly warmer or colder. These three states of weather over the Pacific Ocean impact weather around the world. The National Weather Service posts intermediate to long term forecasts which can help us see what is coming over the next few seasons. 

Third, there is also a longer weather cycle, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which typically lasts twenty to twenty one years, warm and dry or cold and wet. In the warm and dry state, the Pacific Northwest has less rain, salmon populations fall as fewer fish reach streams to breed, and ocean conditions are poor for their growth and survival. Snowpacks are reduced in the mountains. At the same time, Alaska and northern British Columbia get the opposite, more rain and cold weather. The flip side is cold and wet in the Pacific Northwest, and warmer and drier to the north. 

I. douglasiana X I. chrysophylla has sturdy spikes with multiple flowers, on a tall plant that grows in dense clumps. I'm planning to divide this one at the next garden redo. 

The Pacific Decadal Oscillation flipped to warm and dry in the Northwest last year, with a strong ENSO event on top of it. We had a long dry summer last year, bracketed by two wet winters. This year saw average snowpack form, but it melted early as the weather warmed. 

What does this mean for Pacifica Iris in northwest gardens?  Flowering begins earlier, progresses faster, and is over earlier in the summer. Pollinators are often out of step with the bloom times, so seed set can be reduced on open pollinated plants, especially for those that are early flowering. 

Grown from SPCNI seeds, this late flowering PCI has unknown parentage, but often flowers into June. Flowers are species like, small and numerous on a medium-sized plant. 

During cool springs and cool to cold weather cycles, Pacifica Iris start flowering in April, peak in May, and continue into July, some years to mid July. During warm dry weather, iris begin flowering in March, peak in April, and are done by early June. This is months later than southern California gardens, and trails northern California by at least six weeks. 

The last Pacifica Iris to flower are a sturdy handful, including two species crosses and a local species. Those lovely frilly hybrids are long past when these irises start to flower. 

Iris tenax from Saddle Mountain, Oregon, also has nice rose-purple flowers.

Iris tenax from Saddle Mountain and the sea cliffs near Manzanita, Oregon, generally starts in May and finishes in June, with rose-purple flowers. 

A cross between I. douglasiana X I. chrysophylla with tall stems and flower spikes, and small dark purple flowers [seed from SPCNI several years ago] is one of my favorite May to June flowering clumps. 

Another cross between I. tenax X I. innominata also from SPCNI, flowers in May and June, and can be stunningly floriferous in cool wet years. I have white, pink-veined, and lavender clumps of this cross. 

Dwarf I. douglasiana is still flowering in late June. Also the slowest to ripen pods, I'll be collecting seeds in September from these plants. 

The last to flower, still in bloom in July most years, is a dwarf I. douglasiana, typically less than twelve inches tall, with sturdy short stems and lavender flowers. This also came from the SPCNI seed exchange, donated by Diane Whitehead from her garden in Victoria, British Columbia. 

Today as I checked the garden [too many weeds getting ahead of me already, ugh] I saw few to no pods on the early flowering irises, but the late flowering irises had many fat buds, already ripening seeds. 

With warm dry weather in store for the next couple of decades, I think it’s time to focus on these late flowering plants for the next generation of new Pacifica Iris in my garden.