"Talking Irises" TALL BEARDED IRISES: ELEGANT, CAREFREE BEAUTIES IN THE GARDEN - Season favorites

Susanne Holland Spicker

Elegant and carefree, tall bearded irises have proven to be a satisfying and rewarding gardening experience for me in zone 6. By the time September rolls around, the flowers have long since faded, and the stems cut to the ground. However, the memory of last spring's bloom lingers... 

 (front to back) 'GLOBAL CROSSING'  (Van Liere '12), 'EMBRACE ME' (Van Liere '08),
'PRETTY GENEROUS' Innerst '04), 'FLIRTINI' ( Sutton '12),
 'SISTERHOOD' (Van Liere '11) This bed always does well.
They love where they're planted--just the right amount of sunshine and moisture

Pictured here are just a few of my season favorites. Some are relatively newer cultivars, while others are older classics that have performed well over the years. 

'GLAMAZON'  Blyth '07   Beautiful in every way!

 July and August are busy months in Zone 6 in the iris beds: dividing existing clumps, planting new rhizomes, relocating others and revamping beds with companion plants. I always take time to evaluate the successes or failures of the previous bloom season, and try to improve the beds. There have been several times I was ready to call it quits with an iris, thinking, despite my best efforts, it just wouldn't grow in my zone. But after transplanting it to another area in the garden, it wound up thriving. Although this isn't the case every time, more often than not, it is. 'GLAMAZON' (Blyth '07) is one example--it is now thriving after moving it. In its second year, several stems with huge blooms rewarded my patience--I'm so glad I didn't give up on it.

Another example is 'EDITH WOLFORD' (Hager '86). It has been reliable and prolific for several years now after having marginal success with it in a prior bed. It never disappoints, blooming consecutively now for over 10 years. My advice to the beginning iris gardener is to always try another location before removing it for good.

'EDITH WOLFORD' Hager '86    A Dykes Medalist and reliable, older variety

'ENGAGEMENT RING' (Ghio '11)    Every bloom is perfect!

Another season favorite was 'ENGAGEMENT RING' (Ghio '11). This exciting bi-tone has excellent form, with clear, soft yellow standards and pure white falls rimmed in fuschia-orchid. The bushy bright gold beards against the stark white falls make it a stand out in the garden. It was not only a personal favorite, but visitors to the gardens voted it their favorite.

'DARKSIDE' (Schreiner '85)    Outstanding black!

An older black, but one that performs well consistently is 'DARKSIDE' (Schreiner '85). Although I have several other blacks, this is still one of my favorites in this color class. It's hardiness and reliability, even in an off year where other irises struggle because of weather-related problems make it a must-have in my garden.

Other 2016 season favorites include:

'PURPLE SERENADE' (Schreiner '05)  Mulberry-claret beauty

'LEMON CLOUD' (Painter '08)   Beautiful form and longevity of bloom

Amoena 'MILES AHEAD' (Schreiner '10) 

'FLIRTINI' (Sutton '12)   Wonderful combination of color and form! I love the yellow turned-to-blue beards on this light melon and white beauty

'EYE FOR STYLE' (Blythe '06)  Magnificent!

'HIGH BLUE SKY' (Ernst '98)  I love the soft blue of this iris with darker veining on the falls

'ABOUT TOWN' (Blyth '97) A clump of this iris is glorious!

'ROSY FORECAST' (Williamson '10) Beautiful combination of colors on this pink plicata

'KATHY CHILTON' (Kerr '06)   Dramatic!

(Left) 'PROUD TRADITION' (Schreiner '90), an older, reliable variety and 'BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT' (Van Liere '13), the first year bloom on this beautiful blue.--I love these iris with the bluebells and bright two-toned cherry lupine

'ROMANTIC GENTLEMAN' (Blyth '02)   Stunning!

'JESSE'S SONG' (Williamson '83)  Reliable and hardy--among the first to bloom

'EPICENTER' (Ghio '94) Excellent form on this dramatic plicata

'QUANTUM LEAP' (Sutton '05) I was very pleased with this first year bloom.
 It was a gift from an iris friend--Thanks, Lori L.

'EMBRACE ME' (Van Liere '08)  An all-time favorite pink--gorgeous with fast increase

'FLAMINGO FRENZY' (Johnson '12) I love the dusky beard and blue-pink color on this laced and ruffled iris

'DEEP CURRENTS' (Johnson '09 ) I love the deep color on this stunning flower

'TENNESSEE GENTLEMAN' (Innerst '91)  First-year bloom - a pleasant surprise!

'TENNESSEE GENTLEMAN' (Innerst '91)  The standards are especially beautiful

I could post several more season favorites, but time and space won't allow. I hope some of these favorites inspire you to add to your iris gardens, or have brightened your day a little. 

If you had a favorite in your garden this year, I'd love to hear from you. What makes it a favorite? 

The Louisiana Iris Species Preservation Project

By Patrick O'Connor

In 2015, the Society for Louisiana Irises adopted a proposal by Charles Perilloux of Baton Rouge to create a “Louisiana Iris Species Preservation Project.”  At the 2016 SLI convention, procedures and plans for the project were approved, and work has begun.

The problem that has precipitated the need for the project is the disappearance from the wild of many of the forms of the five generally recognized Louisiana iris species which comprise the Series Hexagonae:  I. hexagona, I. brevicaulis, I. fulva, I. giganticaerulea, and I. nelsonii.  When the modern “discovery” and introduction to these plants to horticulture occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, they were already recognized as endangered.  Dr. John K. Small first encountered these irises in Louisiana in 1925, and his subsequent publications in the Addisonia: Journal of the New York Botanical Garden were entitled “Vanishing Iris” and “Salvaging the Native American Irises” (both 1931).

I. fulva 'Ouachita Half Moon' (Thomas Barham)

I. fulva 'Shangri-la Pass" (Benny Trahan)

I. fulva dwarf from Illinois

In Louisiana the irises are not currently threatened everywhere.  One can still see large stands of native irises in freshwater swamps and low wild areas.  But the extent of these natural spaces has diminished markedly over the years.  The current city limits of New Orleans, for example, once contained massive fields of irises, but development has destroyed them all.  Louisianas are often seen in roadside ditches, but one pass of a road grader or a crew spraying herbicide wipes them out.  I. hexagona, the first to be given species designation based on specimens from South Carolina, apparently is entirely gone from its state of origin.

I.. brevicaulis from Gary Babin in Baton Rouge

I. brevicaulis from Point Coupee Parish, LA

It is not just numbers of plants that are threatened.  When a population is destroyed, any unique forms that may have developed in the area are also eliminated.  The Louisiana Iris Species Preservation Project is focused precisely on the need to preserve the range of colors and forms found among the native Louisiana irises. 

And the variety is remarkable.  The species fulva and brevicaulis probably are more varied than the others, no doubt due to a much wider geographic range.  Both extend well into the North, whereas hexagona and giganticaerulea are limited to the Southeast and Gulf Coast states.  I. nelsonii is restricted to a few square miles in South Louisiana near the town of Abbeville.

I. nelsonii 'Bronco Road' (Benny Trahan)

I. nelsonii 'Young's Coulee (Benny Trahan)

It is instructive to see the ranges of these irises displayed on county level maps.  The website of the Biota of North America Program presents beautiful distribution maps of all the irises species native to North America.  Take a look at:  http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Iris 

I. hexagona from South Carolina

I. hexagona from Florida (Benny Trahan)

Interestingly, the BONAP site recognizes a sixth Louisiana iris species:  I. savannarum.  Savannarum was one of the species names applied by Dr. Small, but most authorities have abandoned it, lumping these irises, found mainly in Florida, with I. hexagona.  BONAP, by contrast, shows hexagona as having a more restricted range from North Florida and up the coast to South Carolina.  I. savannarum, following Small, is an iris that extends from North Florida down to nearly the Everglades.

Saving the variety of species forms for posterity requires a long term and systematic effort.  It will have to be implemented in phases and will take several years to achieve the full scope envisioned.  In years past, many specimens have been “rescued” by those attracted to their unique beauty, but “saved” plants sometimes are forgotten and effectively lost as people pass from the scene or interests change.   Without intervention, much of the genetic diversity of Louisiana irises will be lost to future generations.

I. giganticaerulea 'Barbara Elaine Taylor' (James Taylor)

I. giganticaerulea from LaPlace, LA

The approach of the Louisiana Iris Species Preservation Project is to create permanent collections of representative examples of the colors and forms of each species from throughout its geographic range.  Once established and thriving in the collections, plants would be made available to individuals and organizations consistent with guidelines adopted for the project.

A beginning has been made.  Charles Perilloux chairs the SLI committee overseeing the project.  A list of over 50 specimens, often named irises, has been compiled, and many have been assembled in a planting in New Orleans.  The Greater New Orleans Iris Society is taking a lead role in maintaining an initial core collection using space made available by City Park in New Orleans. “Stewards” have been identified who eventually will maintain duplicate plantings of some or all the irises on the Preservation List. 

The Project is in need of Stewards outside Louisiana.  It is important to identify and maintain forms from the full range of the Series Hexagonae.  At present, some species forms from around the country have been obtained, but all the Stewards reside in Louisiana.  Some of the species, such as some hexagonas (or savannarums) do not thrive in Louisiana growing conditions, and a special effort is needed to create plantings in other states and regions.

The Greater New Orleans Iris Society website has a page on the Species Preservation Project that outlines the organization and procedures of the effort.  http://www.louisianairisgnois.com/SpeciesPreservation/  An upcoming article in the SLI publication Fleur de Lis addresses this also.

The GNOIS website also displays in one place pictures of many of the irises currently included on the Project’s Preservation List.  One often hears about the progress made over the years in hybridizing Louisiana irises and about the color breaks that have been achieved.  A glance at the assembled pictures of the many species forms is an eye opener.  Many of the color breaks we have welcomed were initially supplied by Mother Nature.  As wildflowers, the Louisiana irises were already a remarkably varied group of plants, and the native forms need to be preserved.

2016 Summer Rebloom in KY, Zone 6

by Betty Wilkerson

In my zone 6, Kentucky garden, summer rebloom is anything that blooms between the end of spring (approximately the third week in May) until the beginning of cycle rebloom in the fall (approximately September 15).  My last post discussed the late stalks, which I consider to be rebloom.  Now, on to the full summer bloom.  

The very first summer stalk I found was on 'Artistic Showoff.'  It is a sibling to 'Echo Location' and usually starts rebloom late, some six weeks after the spring bloom is over.  This year an established planting is also producing stalks later in the summer.  

'Artistic Showoff'' (Wilkerson 2013) 

After sending up a late beautiful stalk with over 11 buds, 1907-10Re has four more stalks. Unfortunately the last two, blooming in the extreme heat of July, have heat stunted stalks.  The stalks do not reach full height and the blooms are stacked on top of each other.  

1907-10Re (Wilkerson seedling) 

 'Summer Honey' has won "best specimen" in a fall show in Virginia.  The exhibitor was Mike Lockatell.  It has two stalks on one clump this summer.  One row was used and the other row is a bit under grown as the adjoining field imposed upon the plants.  It is usually well branched.  The first stalk was hit with a strong thunderstorm so the first couple of blooms were a bit mauled.  I am lining out the rest in hopes of more stalks next summer.  

'Summer Honey' (Wilkerson 2013)

'Over and Over' is really dependable in my garden when it comes to rebloom.  It's been in three different beds over the course of nine years and has rebloomed in all three locations. It has very clear and clean white standards and falls with a trace of blue/lavender along the edges.  Currently, a new clump transplanted in the fall of 2015 has two blooming stalks.  In the fall it is a very good foil for my own 'Star Gate', so I try to keep them planted together.  

  

  

'Over and Over' (Innerst 2003)

There was another stalk on 2611-04Re.  This is a total of eight stalks in approximately ten months, two stalks in the fall of 2015, four in the spring of 2016, one late stalk right after spring bloom ended and another in the early summer.  Another sibling, 2611-06, is showing color and should be open in a couple of days.  It appears to be much like 04Re.  

2611-04Re (Wilkerson seedling)

We've had a hot summer, but it's also been wet.  There have been about three weeks in which the night time temperatures have not been below 70 degrees.  This may have an effect on the fall rebloom.  If night temperatures are as important as we've come to believe, there may only be late fall rebloom, which can be frozen back unless the freezing temperatures hold off.  

My primary goal is to have rebloom before the late fall hard freeze.  Although I'm not really crazy about having blooms open in extremely hot weather, I can see cutting some stalks to bloom indoors.

Inside or outside, I've found my garden to be a wonderful place this year. Hope you have all enjoyed your gardens, too! 

Truth, Consequences, and the Inevitability of Both

By Vanessa Spady


Once again, as I begin writing the collection of deep and significant lessons I have learned as a gardener of iris, I am humbled, awed, and pooped. Apparently, I like this state of affairs as I am in no way considering a change to my gardening circumstances. I have a large garden, and as you know, with iris that means that it’s always expanding. I don’t keep up with all the associated chores, but scaling back is not my plan. While I love the idea of being “done” planting, or weeding, or feeding, I must acknowledge that it’s probably not in the cards for me. That’s the truth.

I admire the iris gardeners who get their orders of new rhizomes and dash out to the (already prepared) beds and lovingly, carefully plant those new iris in the long-ago designated order and space where they belong. I have nothing but respect for the gardeners who seem to have conquered weeds, leaf spot, excess increases, and the laws of time, and post pictures of their impeccable, immaculate, gorgeous and altogether perfect looking iris beds. I don’t know how they do it, truly I don’t. 

Even when I wasn’t working, I didn’t have perfect beds, or manage to feed or weed on a timely schedule. I created lots of beauty, but it was always squeezed in between the other things I was doing in my life, and never, except on day one, do my beds look groomed or tended. Sometimes they don’t even look like beds that were planted on purpose. Things around here get that feral look pretty quickly.

Scroll back in time to see how these looked when they were first planted...
Feral is the right word for the current conditions

But I do have the ambition to plant my rhizomes as soon as they arrive. And I know I’m not alone. I know some of you have rhizomes growing—nay—thriving where you put them down “just until you can get them planted..." I believe that I’m not the only one who pots new rhizomes with the promise to “get them into the ground when the weather cools off a bit” and then ends up creating a drip system to water all those potted iris… I am certain that I’m not the only one who finds a box in the garage sometime in September or October and opens it to find a cluster of dried and cranky rhizomes that have been completely forgotten in the midst of everything else that has to be done which sadly comes before gardening. That’s the consequence.

I do a lot of apologizing to my rhizome orders, or rather, to the unopened boxes they ship in. I often resent the parts of my life that require my time and attention and keep me from planning and executing those perfect beds of perfect arrangement and perfect sun, water, and exposure conditions. How dare I have to eat, and sleep, and go to work? How dare that new business I bought in May take up so much of my time… it’s bloom season! Or, it’s digging season! Or, it’s new order arrival season! Or it’s dividing season, or planting season, or weeding season… It’s not realistic for me to ignore my life, and so I squeeze in iris time whenever and wherever I can.

So I freely admit that I have slam-planted about half the iris that I have ordered into raised beds in the shade, in no particular order, after soaking them for a day or two because they sat for (up to) 6 weeks in boxes in my hot garage. I also admit that I received orders from vendors I did not remember actually ordering from (and I just found out I still have one more shipment headed my way, egad!). And I must also disclose that shopping from the comfort of my couch in the midst of those long, cold winter evenings means that I’m receiving more iris than a team of us could prep for and plant in a timely fashion.

This is the punk-rock of planting iris. I make a nice soil mixture, I put them
in the shade, and I plant them in whatever order I grab them out of the box.
Unorthodox, but they have name tags, and in they’re in a bed,
so I’m satisfied for now

The good news is that the rhizomes (mostly) forgive me. I break all the rules, and they still grow for me. I neglect them. I overheat them. I ignore them. I am in all ways a bad iris mom. So far, they look a little dry, they aren’t as lush or green as they could be, and they certainly aren’t going to be re-blooming this fall. But they’re in decent soil, and they make new green shoots, and they turn out to be just the right plant for the kind of gardener I am these days. Which is humbled, awed, and pooped.

And, the new rhizomes are slowly but surely getting planted in temporary raised beds, and labels are being made simultaneously (which is certainly part of the delay in planting, in my feeble defense), and I suspect I’ll have all the 2016 orders in the ground before, oh, September eighth? Maybe as late as the tenth? I’m pretty happy with that, since “in the ground” is a major step in the right direction. The truth is I love iris, so I embrace this chaos. The consequence is that I sometimes garden after dark, and make labels on my lunch hour.

Run out of real name tags? No problem. There are always plastic knives around.
Note the not luscious green leaves on some of the rhizomes.
Trust that the roots look fantastic.
No, really. They do.

Once I’m done planting the new ones, I can consider separating, replanting, and moving some of the vastly-increased rhizomes from last year’s project… Oh yeah! Those! 

And, because we need inspiration when all we see is dirt and dry leaves and name tags, here are some pictures of the iris that bloomed earlier this year. My gosh I love them so...

Natural Blonde, and a close-up to show the iridescence

'Natural Blond' ( Joseph Ghio, R. 2002). Seedling #97-24B3. TB, 36" (91 cm), Early midseason bloom. Warm creamy peach, with light peach sherbet standards center, heart, and falls shoulders; beards peach, tangerine base. Seedling #95-29U2: (seedling #89-89R2: ( 'Lightning Bolt' x ( 'Stratagem' x 'Bygone Era')) x Shoop seedling #89-23-2: ( 'Tropical Magic' x sibling)) X seedling #93-40J3: ( 'Heaven' x seedling #91-92B2: (( 'Birthday Greetings' x 'Bubbling Along') x ( 'Birthday Greetings' x 'Presence'))). Bay View 2003. Honorable Mention 2005

'Coal Seams' ( Schreiner R. 2013) Sdlg. MM 425-1. TB, 41" (104 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards dark purple (RHS 89B); Falls slightly darker purple (89A); beards dark purple. 'Badlands' X GG 378-A: ( 'Dark Passion' x 'Thunder Spirit'). Schreiner 2013. Honorable Mention 2015

'Suspicion' ( Keith Keppel, R. 1998). Seedling 93-83H. TB, 38" (97 cm), Mid bloom season. Standards greyed greenish yellow (M&P 19-DE-1), central area blended aster violet (45-F-7); style arms greenish yellow (19-C-1), lavender lip; falls light greenish yellow (19-B-1), slightly darker margins (19-C-1) and shoulders (20-K-1), giving russet green to oil yellow (12-L-1) effect; beards yellow (10-L-6); pronounced sweet fragrance. 'Wishful Thinking' X 'Spring Shower'. Keppel 1999.

IRISES, the Bulletin of the AIS - Summer 2016 Edition

By Andi Rivarola

I hope you enjoy the new edition of IRISES, cover below, which you will receive through the mail very soon. 

A warm welcome to those who are seeing the gorgeous cover of this issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of The American Iris Society for the first time. Those of us who were there in late May will recognize the image as that of Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. The Presby was one of the locations of the 2016 National Convention. 

The Spring 2016 issue of the AIS Bulletin will be available soon for online viewing within the Emembers section of the AIS website. 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.

It's all about Convention Beauties on this edition of IRISES, starting with the cover, the back cover and pages 2 and 59, all filled with fantastic Convention iris images. 

Wonderful shots of the Awards Banquet, on pages 22 and 23, showing AIS President Gary White presenting awards to a variety of winners, including Hybridizers Paul Black, Jill Copeland, Rick Tasco and Harry Wolford, but also a portrait of Virginia Keyser of Salinas, California who has the record for most AIS Conventions. Guess what the record is?

All Convention featured gardens are covered starting with the Glenara Gardens on page 24 — 26; the Hildengrandt Garden on pages 28 — 30; and an extensive coverage of the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens on pages 31 — 34, and then 38 and 39. People doing things on pages 40 and 41.

Don't miss the AIS Centennial Convention Visits described in word and beautiful pictures by Jill Bonino on pages 45 and 46. 

Please also read about the Morris Arboretum on page 47, written by Jim Morris. 

There's a lot more to see and read in this edition of IRISES, either in digital or print formats. If you are an AIS member know that you will receive the print edition soon (it's in the hands of the U.S. Post Office), or if you are an e-member, then that version will be a available online soon as mentioned above. 

Happy gardening!

Dry Summers, Summer Water and Pacifica Iris

Kathleen Sayce

Pacifica Iris, or PCI, thrive in a mediterranean climate––that’s a small ‘m’ for the climate, not the geographic area. This climate type has a wet fall-winter-spring period, with rain starting in early fall to winter, and ending in late winter to late spring, depending on latitude. In the Pacific Northwest, cool wet weather can last from six to ten months, and very dry weather (no measurable precipitation) two to six months. Most years, the August-September period is very dry. Going south on the West Coast, the wet season shrinks until in southern California, it lasts a few weeks in midwinter, and the dry season lasts most of the year. 

Iris chrysophylla x I. douglasiana, a large leaved, branched flowered form that flowers in June. 

It’s August now, and that means the West Coast is well into the annual dry season, from northern Baja California, Mexico to somewhere along the British Columbia coast. My garden is dry, and I’ve started supplemental water to some plants, but my PCI do not get supplemental water. The last of the PCI are ripening seeds, most have already open seed pods, and they are toughing out the dry season in a warm dormancy. Roots are not growing. These irises wait out the dry weather.

Seed pods from the same plant as above, 2 months later. 

I could clean up plants at this time, but I have learned that if the dry season is prolonged, then PCI will abandon more leaves, and I’ll have to take those leaves off later. So I limit my cleanup to removing vigorous weeds, dead plants, and any plants I want to remove from a particular spot. There’s no replanting this time of year. Plants that are dug out now will not reestablish if replanted. If I were watering regularly, I might be able to transplant in a few weeks. 

On watering PCI in summer, opinions are mixed. Some say no water at all. Many  nursery growers have found that PCI are fine with regular summer watering. As Secretary for the Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris, I’ve been offered many opinions from members all over the world on this subject, and have concluded that PCI do not like hot, alkaline water. Cool, neutral to acidic water is fine. I prefer not to drag hoses or sprinklers, so I do not water them, though my plants would probably be bigger and have more flowers if I did supply water all summer. 

Iris tenax, flowering mid June, on one of the last rainy days of the year. 

Late summer is a curious time in the garden:  Flowers are still abundant on many perennial and annual plants, which will keep flowering with supplemental water into fall. Butterflies make the rounds on warm days, feeding on those flowers. The end of second flight of Anise Swallowtails is still underway. Margined White butterflies are on their fourth or fifth adult generation for the year. Soon, the occasional south-migrating Monarch butterfly may pass through. Even these plants are shedding leaves, setting seed, getting ready for summer’s end. Meanwhile, fall flowering bulbs and perennials are starting to show buds and first flowers. 

The clear signal that fall is coming is birds migrating south. I live on a large estuary, Willapa Bay, where tens of thousands of shorebirds, ducks and other waterfowl fly through each fall. Shorebird numbers are picking up from week to week. Bald Eagles fledged their chicks; the adults will leave by September for inland rivers, to fish for fall migrating salmon. I hear the fledgling eagles call for their parents by mid August, looking for those formerly attentive parents.

New visitors, two Indian peacocks, check out the flower beds. The turquoise, silver and blue eyes in the tail feathers would make a striking PCI flower.  

 This week, there was a new bird species in the yard. It’s not migratory, and yes, it is introduced. Two Indian peacocks wandered into the yard. Sightings have traveled up and down the bay for several miles this summer, and this week, it was our turn for a visit. The editor of our bulletin asked me a few weeks ago about my hybridizing goals for PCI. A PCI with the brilliance of a peacock’s tail seems a very worthy goal!