Nostalgia

     I rarely am nostalgic for times past and don't long for the return to rural America of the 19^th Century, no matter how beautiful and pastoral it may have been. I do like my indoor plumbing, drinkable water from the tap, and central heating. However, as a member of the AIS for over 50 years (I did start, I must point out, as a young teenager and Phil Edinger has the record in Region 14 for AIS membership with 60 years), there are times when I look back at the garden scene years ago and firmly believe it was better than today.

Melodrama (Cook) Williamson image

     When I started growing irises—or, as I like to say, farming iris—since that is what I did in those days with long rows or plants, the health of irises in Santa Clara Valley, known locally as the Valley of Heart's Delight, was fine—Maynard Knopf, Bernice Roe, Clara and Ruth Rees, and Auda and Hazel Stewart had wonderful plant collections, each year growing the latest introductions. In the case of the Stewart sisters, they also kept up a voluminous correspondence with all the hybridizers of the day. There were even three iris societies—a day group of women that I understand was mainly social, a Campbell area iris society, and The Clara B Rees Iris Society. Though the valley has grown in population from 650,000 to 1,781,642, growth alone does not explain the decline is growing irises here.

     At that time, the importance of Clara Rees' Snow Flurry as a parent was well known; Bernice Roe was working quietly in her pursuit of green color, though her first introduction Sunset Blues would come from crossing two obvious irises—Whole Cloth and Melodrama; Mary Ellen Knopf had died and Maynard had taken over the breeding lines. Oddly enough, I have much clearer memories of the Rees and Roe garden than the much closer Knopf garden and shortly thereafter Maynard retired and moved to Potter Valley. The Knopfs, too, had been interested in the color green (more on that in another blog)--they did a couple of things that were unique. Seedlings were grown under a double numbering system—one number until they were selected and then a new number after selections. It creates havoc trying to figure out if named varieties are actually sister seedlings since selections form the same cross could have wildly varying numbers.

Launching Pad (Knopf) Williamson image

     The other interesting marketing approach for the Knopf was to offer to sell their creations a year before introduction with the condition that the plants were not to be sold, traded, or distributed until the year after introduction. Three of the key Knopf irises that were to be used heavily in hybridizing and have a profound impact of the gene pool—Craftsman, Denver Mint, and Launching Pad—were all offered for pre-sale. I have the dubious record of not buying any of them before introduction; it was a good lesson for me in learning not to trust written descriptions. Their fourth important iris, West Coast, came later and West Coast is behind many of the best oranges and yellows of today.

Craftsman (Knopf) Williamson image

     But more of these ramblings in the next post about iris California hybridizers going green.
     My sincere thanks to Janet Smith for converting my slides into digital images.

The Greatest of Them All – A Reflection on Caesar’s Brother

Sometime in the 1920s F. Cleveland Morgan made a controlled cross between two Siberian irises in his Montreal garden. There are two unexpected aspects to this sentence – most people who were interested in new irises in those days just grew Siberian seedlings from bee pods and the pollen parentage is not known; controlled crosses were not the norm. Also, Mr. Morgan was a very busy and important man in Montreal – a director of the family-owned department store chain and a wealthy and very active patron of the arts – so one wonders how he had the time to run an iris breeding program. Apparently he had wider iris hybridizing interest than Siberians, but his only three AIS registrations all resulted from this cross: Caesar (1930), Caesar's Brother (1932) and Tropic Night (Caesar x unknown; 1937). In an article in the AIS Bulletin in 1931 he states that he had many thousands of other Siberian seedlings under consideration, but only Tropic Night appeared after this – what happened to the rest I wonder? Other affairs apparently took precedence.

The parents of this cross were Blue King and Nigrescens. The first is a mid-blue I  sanguinea collected in Japan by Barr in the early 1900s and it is still around today  Nigrescens is a bit more mysterious, but it was a dark blue I. sibirica presumably of European origin, attributed to the Belgian horticulturist and plant explorer Louis van Houtte, and has been in commerce since around 1875. It seems to have disappeared from sight now and I couldn’t find a photo of it among our “historic Siberians” slides, but it probably survives in the corner of some garden. Caesar and his brother were initially registered with the spelling "Caezar" and the names were later changed to their current form in 1949. In 1953 Caesar's Brother  received the Morgan Award (which precedes the current Morgan-Wood medal and was named after the ubiquitous Mr. Morgan).

There are two remarkable things about Caesar’s Brother. Most of its contemporaries from the 1920s and 1930s have by now fallen by the wayside (including its brother, Caesar, which is rarely seen these days). However Caesar’s brother is not only still available but is very common in commercial catalogs –  many pages of sources show up in a Google search. I’m guessing there are more references there than for any other individual Siberian. Perhaps this is not unreasonable since Caesar’s Brother is a vigorous and adaptable plant and has very attractive clear deep blue-violet flowers that still epitomize “Siberian iris”. Even more remarkable than its persistence in commerce and in people’s gardens, is its ability to grow and flower well where other Siberians won’t, particularly in warmer regions of the USA. Most Siberians do not tolerate hot weather well, particularly in the spring when damp, cool conditions allow them to develop and bloom at their best. In hotter climates they tend to grow and bloom short, if at all – but not Caesar’s Brother. I have seen strong, tall clumps blooming in southern California, South Carolina, and Texas where other Siberians have given up the struggle. Why is this? Hybrid vigor could be part of the answer to its longevity since it is a primary cross between I. sibirica and I sanguinea, but where does the heat tolerance come from? However it may arise, it is an increasingly valuable property in a warming world. When the city of Chicago is now planning for a climate more like Baton Rouge before the end of this century, we may be seeing the Siberian iris comfort zone heading up to Hudson’s Bay. For someone interested in hybridizing Siberians, the production of warmer-growing versions would be an excellent goal and Caesar’s Brother is an obvious starting point.

Now for some questions here at the end. Does anyone have a picture of, or, even better, is still growing Nigrescens? And, if you are reading this in the warmer areas of the US, what Siberians grow and flower well for you? They might like to meet that fine young fellow, Caesar’s Brother.

IRISES Fall Issue

I understand fairly well that this is not the Kim and Kris after 72-days separation news, but it's an exclusive nonetheless to iris fans who are hungry for iris news. As you can see it's the cover of the latest Bulletin of the American Iris Society, IRISES. It's hot off the presses and heading to your home, and to the e-membership files for viewing. I feel like I'm holding the secret Oscar ballots, or something similar. What a treat.

This issue contains several interesting articles and newsworthy pieces, including lots of and lots of iris pictures taken at the National Convention this year held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada with fairly detailed descriptions of each guest garden; pictures of all Top 15 Irises of the Victoria Convention; Sections News; Youth News; an article written by Hybridizer Marky Smith from Washington, who is asked to name her top eight Intermediate Irises (IBs); and so much more. Two featured pieces also caught my attention and I will write about them in later posts here: "Bloom Season" by Bob Pries, from North Carolina and "The Other Irids: The Peacock Flowers," by Michael Mace from California. I'm told that this issue of IRISES is running a little late, but it's been printed and should reach the first of you next week.

Lastly, IRISES Editor Kelly Norris is a very curious person, and he is looking for a few good men and women to report whatever news they may have encountered in their gardens for Irises section "In Your Backyard." Trying something new in your garden this year? You're faced with a challenge? Too many or too few irises? Discovered something important about irises in your area? Kelly wants to know. Please write him at editor@irises.org. The Winter issue of IRISES is being produced right now and I'm sure Kelly will be happy to hear from you.

To receive a hard copy of IRISES you must be an AIS member or an e-member to read a PDF copy anywhere in the world. For more information on membership with the American Iris Society, please click here.

Iris Classics: 'Cardinal'

The quest for a red iris has been at the forefront of many hybridizer's work since the beginning of hybridizing. One of the most important varieties in the history of red irises is the sublime 'Cardinal' by A.J. Bliss. Introduced in 1919, 'Cardinal' is one of the early tetraploid irises, a child of 'Trosuperba' crossed with the famous 'Dominion'. Tho not a red iris itself, it was very popular with iris growers and was heavily used in hybridizing for red tones.


'Cardinal' is a tall bearded iris, around 40 inches in height, which blooms mid-season and stays late.

From the Indian Spring Farms catalog for 1928:

"Dominion Seedling. One of the richest flowers of the Dominion race that carries the perfect form and velvety texture of its parent to greater height on low and widely-branched stems. S. a distinct shade of lavender, overlaid with rose, erect and arching inward at the top; F. rich raisin-purple, very broad and rounded, and of wonderful glossy texture. A rich, bright Iris that gives a beautiful color effect with transmitted light."

From J.C. Nicholl's Irises catalog for 1928:

"S. lavender overlaid rose, broad and beautifully arched. F. circular, rich prune purple, very velvety. Wonderful texture, and spledidly branched. Grows well and is extremely floriferous. Many consider this Dominion seedling the best Iris in the world. It is certainly one of the most sought as the supply cannot catch up with the demand, in spite of the price remaining around $20.00."

Arthur John Bliss lived in a small and out-of-the-way village known as Morwellham, in the west of England. He retired early due to deafness and spent the remainder of his days gardening and hybridizing irises. His 'Dominion' is widely considered to be responsible for the tetraploid revolution in bearded irises of the 1920's. Mr. Bliss made many beautiful creations, and 'Cardinal' was one of his most beloved. You can see why. The color is delicious, the flaring form perfectly lovely, it is hardy and vigorous and it blooms for a long period. It has left a rich legacy in the history of irises and has been in the background of many top award winners thru the decades. 'Cardinal' is truly an iris classic - as good today as it ever has been.

Iris Classics: 'Madame Louis Aureau'

From its inception until the disruption of the World War II, the Cayeux firm lead the world in advancing the form, patterns and colors of bearded irises, leaving no doubt that Ferdinand Cayeux was one of the most influential iris hybridizers of the 20th century. Having trained under his father's apt tutelage, Ferdinand had taken on the work of iris hybridizing in his own right by the early 1920's, continuing a legacy of quality and artistry that the Cayeux et LeClerc firm was famous for.


One of his most renowned is the exceptional 'Madame Louis Aureau', a gorgeous plicata with a silvery white ground margined deep heliotrope. The intensity of the banding varies from year to year with the fertility of the soil and the season's fluctuations, but it never fails to bloom and is always beautiful. A vigorous grower, hardy everywhere and with perfect ruffled form, this one has been a favorite of gardeners since its introduction in 1934, and is still a favorite with historic iris collectors.


Hoffman's Iris Garden catalog for 1956 described it as

"Standards are lovely soft rosy heliotrope on translucent silvery white ground. The falls are banded and veined at margin with the same degree of color which gradually shades toward the center."

The heart of the flower is lit with the soft golden yellow of the styles, and there is nothing like it when the sun plays thru from behind. A very reliable and early bloomer, it often leads off the Tall Bearded season in my garden. It also has the excellent trait of a large bud count, ensuring our enjoyment for a long period. It is a child of 'Fakir' X 'Ferdinand Denis', and won an Award of Merit in 1939 and the French Dykes Memorial Medal in 1934.


'Madame Louis Aureau' has one more notable aspect that makes it a true iris classic in every sense - it's legacy. As one of the most widely used parents in advancing the plicata pattern in irises, almost every plicata today can trace its ancestry back to 'MLA' - it often appears multiple times in a single pedigree. It has indeed left its mark on iris history, and is still a worthy garden iris in its own right.

So the next time you are admiring a lovely modern plicata give a little thought of thanks to the remarkable creations of Mons. Ferdinand Cayeux and the unforgettable 'Madame Louis Aureau'.

Growing Siberian Irises

I don't know about you, but if I had a choice, I would live in two places. I would of course stay here in the Southern California area, but my second place would be at a location where I could grow Siberian irises. I just love them. They are so delicate and so different than their tall bearded cousins.

'Shaker's Prayer' growing in Southern California (click for larger view)

Being in a warm-weather location has limits to what I can grow, and we don't get that cold punch that many iris growers talk about. Even though I have tried to grow Siberians, they do grow and bloom, but very poorly compared to other areas of the country. I've noticed that the stems and blooms are smaller, plants are less floriferous, and they require more water than I'm used to providing to the rest of my garden. In any case, I have grown a few, but with dissatisfying results.

Here comes the good news, in 2012, the Lansing, MI area is hosting the Siberian and Species Iris Convention, called 'A Capital Idea.' Click here for more information. I think it's going be a wonderful event to attend because of the many Siberian and iris species many of us would never have a chance to see.

'Ginger Twist' growing at Salt Spring Island, BC as tall as TBs

Here is some of the information on this convention next year:

Lansing 2012 – ‘A Capital Idea’      

Siberian & Species Iris Convention

Convention headquarters:  Causeway Bay Hotel and Convention Center located in Lansing, MI.

Above picture, the organizers: left to right: Bob Bauer, Judy Hollingworth, John Coble, Jill 

Copeland, Jim Copeland, Bob Hollingworth. John Kaufmann

Thursday Evening, June 7 
"A Capital Welcome‟ 
Reception at the Convention  Center
Light snacks and beverages
Slide show and Information session
Sponsored by: Connoisseurs of Michigan

Convention Gardens on tour:


Ensata Gardens located in Galesburg, MI is home to more than 180 Siberian varieties, about 450 Japanese varieties, and a host of daylilies and hostas.  After viewing the guest Siberians and Species enjoy a stroll through their relaxing gardens and be sure to check out the koi in their ponds.

Siberian Iris Seedlings

Jim & Jill Copeland‟s garden is located is Lawton, MI.  They have a beautiful winding ribbon of Siberian & Species iris waiting for you as you enter their garden.  After viewing the guest iris, those who are adventurous should checkout their seedling garden on the backside of their property or a bit closer is Jill‟s restful shade garden.

John & Jean Kaufmann‟s garden located in the Lansing area houses the TriCounty Iris Society‟s TB iris in addition to John‟s experimental herbicide plots.  There should be plenty of bloom for all to enjoy.Bob & Judy Hollingworth‟s gardens are also located in the Lansing area.  The guest bed at the Hollingworth‟s home was originally laid out as a block S for an MUS welcome, but more beds were added  for greater ease of viewing and the block S has become hidden.  The Hollingworth‟s will also have a good display of hostas and Japanese primroses for all to enjoy.

'Ships are Sailing' growing in Salt Spring Island, BC.

Very tall 'Ships are Sailing' plants

In addition, there will be a tour of Bob & Judy‟s farm where Bob‟s seedlings are growing. I'm so looking forward to attending this convention. I can hardly wait. For more information go to the Society for Siberian Irises website. 

Photo credits: Group photos by Deb Diget. Siberians by Andi Rivarola.

Cooley's Gardens: A Classic Garden Closes

As of this month, October, 2011, Cooley's Gardens is officially closing its doors. Tho gone, they will not be forgotten. A legacy of iris hybridizing and introduction spanning eight decades is not so easily erased. Iris lovers the world over will continue to cherish and enjoy the varieties that are with us due to the efforts of the Cooley family and all their heirs that have lovingly kept the business going all this time. As well, historic iris lovers will continue to collect their beautiful catalogs, for which they were renowned.



Cooley's Gardens started as a back yard hobby of Rholin and Pauline Cooley in Silverton, Oregon. They produced their first commercial catalog in 1928, and went on to become one of the largest iris firms in the US, lasting 83 years as of 2011. It has been continued by subsequent generations of the family, most recently by Rick Ernst and his wife Katie. Sadly, Rick passed away this past spring.

Cooley's was the primary introducer for many famous iris hybridizers. Early on, in 1929, Dr. Kleinsorge began introducing his illustrious varieties in their catalog with his beautiful 'Klamath'. Cooley's continued to introduce almost all of his irises until his final varieties 'Bengali' and 'Buckaroo' in 1961. Another legendary hybridizer featured in Cooley's thru the 40's, 50's, and 60's is Dave Hall, most famous for his line of 'flamingo pinks' that so captivated the iris world, he also brought us many other new color breaks as well. Cooley's later brought us the work of master hybridizer Jim Gibson and his ground-breaking work with plicatas, as well as the award winning productions of Larry Gaulter.


I was fortunate to have the chance to visit the beautiful display gardens at Cooley's during the 2006 AIS Convention. The garden was a mass of beautiful flowers and the fields stretched away into the distance - row after row in a dizzying rainbow of blooms. Visitors eagerly toured the display beds and admired the indoor floral arrangements for which Cooley's has been so famous over the years.

All things must eventually come to an end, and Cooley's Gardens can rest assured of their place in iris history. We will always have their legacy, all the beautiful irises they created and those they introduced, to remind us of their contributions to the world of irises.

Join the Conversation

AIS Electronic Membership

We're happy to let you know that The American Iris Society (AIS) just announced a new membership service - Electronic Membership.

(click on pictures for a larger view)

E-membership is separate from the normal AIS membership. E-members do not receive printed copies of IRISES, the AIS Bulletin. Instead, they have access to IRISES online using an easy to use viewer. E-members also have access to online viewing of The Basic Iris Culture booklet and automatic access to irisregister.com, the online iris registration database. Additional services may be made available in the future.

To view a sampling of the contents pages of The Basic Iris Culture booklet please click here. 

The AIS Registrar is the world wide registration authority for cultivated non-bulbous irises. The governing standard is the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP or Cultivated Plant Code) as adopted by the International Union of Biological Sciences International Commission for the Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants. With access to the registration database via irisregister.com you will be able to check registration and introduction information of irises online -- lots of details that you won't to miss. More information on Registration and Introductions here.

Click on Join E-membership to become an E-member online.

The good news is that no matter where you are in the world, you can now read our quarterly publication online as soon as it's ready and enjoy all of the fantastic information on hybridizers' latest introductions, garden trends, news from the society, book reviews, convention updates, and much more as if you were receiving the Bulletin itself. Don't miss the next issue.

 

 Stay connected. Join the Conversation!

Iris Classics: 'Mexico'

Here's one of my favorite historic irises - 'Mexico', introduced in 1943 by Dr. Kleinsorge. Not the tallest or the most floriferous, but when it's blooming... Wow! This was a favorite of hybridizers and is the parentage of many award winning and well loved irises. Dr. Kleinsorge used it heavily in his own breeding lines resulting in such beautiful varieties as 'Bryce Canyon', 'Alpine Glow', 'Cascade Splendor', 'Pretty Quadroon' and 'Voodoo'. Thru 'Cascade Splendor' there are even more beautiful varieties we can trace back to the genes in 'Mexico'.


From Cooley's Gardens catalog for 1943

"Gay and brilliant, a blended bi-color of buff golden and broad plush-like falls of glowing red brown. Now there are many irises in this color combination, but this one is not the ordinary variegata type that you might expect. In the first place, it is a perfectly gigantic flower, with the falls slightly waved at the edges. And there is a coppery orange suffusion about it that makes it appear more as a blend than a definite bi-color. This is another of the very latest varieties, extending the iris season after most others have passed by."

'Mexico' was an important parent in the history of modern irises and is well worth growing and enjoying even today. The warm, brilliant blossoms add such a bright note to the iris border. It's one of my favorites and I hope you've enjoyed learning a bit about it.

A little bit of an Iris

                I relish growing things that are uncommon or rare. Of course sometimes it is rare because it is nearly impossible to grow. Other times it is rare because of its size or subtlety and few have taken notice. Of the later type, one that is easy to grow is Iris henryi. One of my favorite irises is this little bit of an iris. It has very narrow grassy foliage and flower size more common in violets. As a matter of fact that would be a good description for it. The violet of the iris world. It even happens to open a pale violet before aging near white. A clump of Iris henryi in flower is just, well, adorable!  Surprisingly, a clump in bloom is very showy. It covers itself in flowers.

                The foliage is evergreen so there is never a chance of misplacing this diminutive beauty. It flowers in abundance early in the bearded  iris season:  Mid to late April in Kansas City. So far there have been no pests or problems with this iris. It increases rapidly when moved then settles down to concentrate on flowering. At bloom time the older foliage splays neatly to showcase the flowers that are only two to three inches in height .The leaves can reach ten inches but always gracefully arching to appear smaller and in perfect scale. Everything in perfect proportion.

                When I say Iris henryi has grassy foliage, I really mean it. This could be difficult to find in a lawn of bluegrass. It is best suited to the front of the border in a shade garden, but with bright enough light to encourage flowering. It does not seem to require frequent division but I would encourage that you do so in late summer and share it with close friends.

                Iris henryi  is a member of the beardless  Series Chinenses and is from West Central China. It is a close relative of I. odaesanensis, I. speculatrix and a few others. We are thankful to Joe Pye Weed's Garden for propagating and distributing this little rarity. Iris henryi, a marvelous, if tiny, gem of an iris.

Iris Classics: 'Fairy'

The iris 'Fairy' holds a singular distinction - it is the very first iris to be hybridized and introduced in the United States of America. It was created by Amasa Kennicott who lived near Carbondale, Illinois, and was introduced in 1905. Very little is known about this iris, nor the man that brought it to us. We know he loved flowers and was an able plantsman, having learned from his father, Dr. John Kennicott, himself a renowned doctor who had moved to Illinois with his brothers in mid-1800's and prospered supplying plants to settlers from his home at The Grove.


'Fairy' is a lovely iris that has all the charming features one could want. The dainty blooms are held high on tall slender stalks. A clear glistening white in color, they are accented beautifully by the light purple style arms and crests at the heart, and the petals have a pale ghost of this color feathered along the margins. Just a hint of lemon yellow on the tips of the beard filaments adds yet another pleasing note. It is very floriferous, vigorous of growth and hardy everywhere.


While in life he dwelled in the shadow of his famous father, Amasa lives on in iris history as the hybridizer of the first American iris. You can read more about the illustrious Kennicott family and their story on the Illinois frontier in Clarance Mahan's book Classic Irises. 'Fairy' is much loved by collectors and is widely grown in historic iris collections around the US. Perhaps it is one you will add to your garden as a memento of the long and illustrious history of irises in the US.

The disappointments and joys of breeding tetraploid Siberians

Late August and early September is harvest season for Siberian seed pods. After a couple of weeks to dry out, it’s then time to open up all those promising capsules and find out what’s inside. I just finished doing this for the 2011 crop and came away rather disappointed, particularly with the yield of tetraploid seeds.

Breeding tetraploid Siberians can be a test of resolve for several reasons. First, with a few exceptions, they are reluctant to set pods – just less fertile than diploids which generally set seed with abandon. Whereas maybe 70% of diploid crosses end up producing seeds, probably only 20% of tetraploid crosses do so – and that in a good year. Not only that, the tetraploid pods typically contain fewer seeds. Finally, it’s not unusual for these seeds to germinate more slowly and less completely than diploids. So the overall result is much effort for few seedlings. Maybe this relative infertility explains why tetraploid Siberians are not found in the wild – not only would their production be a rare accidental genetic event, but they are less likely to produce seed to compete with diploids in the next generation. For every diploid cross that produces a hundred seedlings you might get only ten from a tetraploid cross. You might think this relative infertility would improve with time as the more fertile tetraploids produce later generations that breed more freely. If so, I’m not sure I have seen it yet.

There are a few tetraploids that are quite fertile: 'Moonlight Fair' and 'Simon Says' show up repeatedly in successful crosses along with a handful of so-far unnamed tet seedlings. Most are more reluctant, but with persistence may yield some seeds, and a final frustrating few just refuse to ever breed. Perhaps the most poignant result is to produce a remarkable new variety and find it is resolutely sterile. Two of the loveliest seedlings we ever produced are 97B1B25 and 97A2B52. Dozens of attempts to get them to be parents have failed utterly and neither were introduced for this (and other) reasons. Because of this differential fertility, after a while, the fertile ones begin to dominate the seedling gene pool in the garden and there is a certain sameness about the new seedlings, so it takes a continual infusion of new genes to maintain the variety that every hybridizer prizes. The main frustration though is that often you can visualize a good cross that should produce new and wonderful things, but you can never get there. Many lines of development are either closed off or peter out prematurely as fertility is lost.

I mentioned 20% success “in a good year”. What does that mean? Well, the chances of getting seed to set is clearly temperature-dependent. In my experience there is no point in making tetraploid crosses when the daytime temperatures rise into the higher 80s, as they often do. Diploids too are less likely to set seed then, but not to the extent of tetraploids. Even in a cooler year like this year, many pods develop but contain few, if any, seeds – I call these false pods. Strangely, this year virtually every cross made in the later part of this season, whether diploid or tetraploid, gave mainly these false pods. I have no idea why, but that’s the reason I’m not entirely happy. As if that were not enough, there is yet another challenge with breeding tetraploids – it is harder to get recessive traits to reveal themselves. This arise from the fact that tetraploids have four sets of chromosomes not just two, and therefore have four copies of each gene. For a recessive trait to show up in the progeny, all four genes for that trait have to be in the recessive form, not just the two as with diploids. In the end it is roughly four times as difficult to bring out any hidden recessive trait (red or white/yellow colors for example). So, you would need many more seedlings to get the same expression of recessives as with diploids, and for the reasons above, you actually get many fewer in most cases. This again makes certain breeding strategies involving the subsequent recovery of recessive traits in later generations much more difficult.


So, there’s a quite obvious question, if breeding tetraploids is so much more difficult and frustrating than diploids, why bother? Partly because of the challenge and sheer stubbornness, but more significantly because when things do go right you can get some wonderful flowers. By no means everyone prefers tetraploids and they certainly haven’t displaced diploids from the Society for Siberian Irises' Favorite Fifteen list, but they are appreciated by many (seven of the top fifteen vote-getters are tetraploids in the most recent 2011 Siberian popularity poll).

Large flowers, strong ruffling, vibrant colors, and even new patterns show up, generally with excellent vigor. Here for examples are four recent tetraploid seedlings still under number showing further development of the plicata pattern that first appeared with 'Emily Anne,' and a couple of others in which the ruffling and form are superb. This is what makes it all worthwhile.

What Are They...Median Iris?

I am sitting here transfixed...by my window watching it rain--well actually pour down. This might not seem to be such an unusual thing, unless you know that we have had only .6 of an inch of rain since September 2010. Well, what am I doing sitting here…I’m going out to run in the rain! Will be back to work on this blog when it stops raining.

It is now 24 hours later and here I am; very happily back to my computer. My iris just got 1.44 inches of rain, all since I began working on this blog! Now I am watching out my window as a skinny red robin pecks at a peach that fell from my tree and a beautiful Baltimore oriole is eating off my hummingbird feeder and being buzzed by three hummers. I could be content to just watch it all, but I must begin this blog. It will be about my newest love in iris and I must tell you I am not an expert on them…the median iris. I planted my first medians four years ago, and I will tell you my progress at the end of this blog if you stick around to read it.  

Who's First In Line?

Median Iris –What are they? They are a group of bearded iris that are shorter than the tall bearded (TB) iris and taller than the miniature dwarf bearded (MDB). They bloom after the MDBs and mostly before the TB iris. They extend the iris bloom season with regal form, remarkable colors and patterns. Median iris are smaller and compact compared to the tall bearded iris. They make perfect plants for borders or in the front of your flower beds, and make ideal additions in rock gardens. Medians tolerate wide varieties of conditions being much more cold tolerant, withstanding strong winds, and strong rain downpours. When the Median Iris Society organized in 1948, five new classes of bearded irises (MDB, SDB, IB, MTB and BB) were added to the already popular TB iris class.

(click on images for a larger view)

The result of this effort was having four distinct bloom seasons starting with the miniature dwarf iris season, followed a little later by the standard dwarf iris season, and then later came the intermediate bearded iris season and finally the border (BB), miniature tall (MTB) and TB season.

Median iris come in four different classes.

1.   The crossing of I. pumila with the tall bearded (TB) iris resulted in what is known as the standard dwarf bearded iris (SDB) type. The SDBs are 8–15” in height with blooms that are 2-4” in width. The SDBs bloom after the miniature dwarf bearded iris and slightly into the intermediate iris bloom season. They have thick attractive mounds of sword-like green leaves that grow throughout most of the season. The SDBs have an enormous variety of colors and patterns and that combined with a great vigor and ease of growth make them a wonderful edition to all gardens.

2.   Then there are the crosses of SDBs with TBs (or TBs with species iris) that grow into the intermediate bearded iris (IB). The IBs are 16-27” tall with flowers that are 3½-5 wide. The IBs fit both in size and bloom time between the SDBs and the TBs. They are very hardy growers, dependable bloomers, disease resistant and can withstand high winds, sudden freezes, and other unexpected weather changes. They come in the full range of colors and combinations as the TBs.

3.   Next we have the miniature tall bearded (MTB) iris that are 16-25 inches in height with very slender dainty stalks and nicely branched stalks with flowers whose combined width and height is not more than 6” total. They started as diploid runts of iris that first appeared in TB gardens. Then hybridizers used I. aphylla's, a family of shorter tetraploid species bearded irises that increase branching and have smaller flowers than TB’s. They started by crossing I. aphylla with selected BB and short TB until they developed a tetraploid MTB that met the same requirements as the diploid MTB. The MTBs have a very pleasant fragrance that is essential in this lovely iris also aptly named the table iris. The flowers are less ruffled and more tailored than the TBs. The boom season is later the IBs and about the same as border bearded (BB) and TB. This class is ideal for floral arrangements. MTBs are the best branched of the medians, and fit nicely in the garden.

4.  The class of medians known as border bearded (BB) started as small versions of TB iris that did not overpower other plants in an ornamental bed, and did not blow over in high winds, and worked well in flower bed borders. Over the years since BB became a class, hybridizers have made great strides in the improving the vigor, consistency of height, flower proportion, colors and color patterns. Bloomstalks of BB should be 16" to 27.5", the width of the flowers should not exceed 5”, the height of the flower should not exceed 8.5"and they should bloom along with the tall beardeds. BB iris look like and bloom like the TB iris but their size are smaller and properly balanced for its smaller size with erect fans that do not obscure the blooms.

I am Debbie Strauss, a newbee in the median iris world. I am a member of The American Iris Society and just became the director in charge of the silent auction at the National Conventions. I am a Median Iris Society member and their new fundraising chair. I live in far West Texas in a desert-like environment. TB iris do wonderful here, especially if you stress them out before planting the new rhizomes (if you purchased them from anywhere except West Texas). Four years ago our local iris society hosted a fall regional convention for Texas; I was the iris auction chair. I wrote to every hybridizer I could and sent them a little money and asked for iris for our regional auction. I was not particular about what they sent and I received many many iris. Hmmm…lots of medians…their colors and patterns were too tempting, so I bid on and won many of them…I planted them and the first year they all did well and multiplied and at least half of them bloomed. Then the second year…I can’t even describe how delighted I was when the SDBs were lovely large clumps and bloomed beautifully. If you look at the photos below, you will see why my first plantings of median iris made me a big fan of the wonderful median iris classes.

The pictures below are from two year clumps! They are growing in my West Texas soil that is a very alkaline sandy mix. They are planted along side my hot driveway, with a large stinky hedge behind them. We get very little rain, only a few winter days below freezing, and rarely have below zero temperatures. We have wind with spring gusts from 30 – 60 mph nearly every day. To make it really bad; we had 68 days this summer of over 100-degrees and until last week only .6 inch of rain since last September. So for any iris to grow and prosper here…takes a miracle…well a very good hardy plant anyway. 

Even though the TB irises are the most popular iris among the AIS membership, I believe it might be because conventions and shows are scheduled around the bloom season of the TB iris. Perhaps like me, many people have not given the medians a chance. Even though only one border bearded iris, 'Brown Lasso' and one Intermediate Bearded iris, 'Starwoman,' have been awarded the AIS’s highest award, the Dykes Medal, I think those numbers will increase. Here are pictures of these two wonderful median Dykes winners.

Brown Lasso

I am predicting with all the stellar work of the median iris hybridizers median iris popularity will increase leaps and bounds in the near future. If you have not yet planted a median iris or two, take a leap of faith, look through the many colors, patterns, sizes, and bloom times and get started. Oh, by the way… I took "Best of Show" two years with a median iris! They thought they scheduled the show for TB bloom!

Iris Classics: 'Gerald Darby'

It is not often that you find an iris that can offer great garden interest thruout the growing season, but the classic species cross 'Gerald Darby' is one that really shines. This beautiful variety is a hybrid of I. versicolor and I. virginica, tho it is sometimes erroneously listed as one or the other of those species or even as the impossible cross of Siberian-Louisiana. Created by Gerald Darby, it was named and introduced after his passing in 1967 by Coe.


The show starts off with a bang in early spring when the fabulous foliage of this iris bursts forth heavily colored deep violet. The fans are very striking and the color rises quite high on them making it really stand out. In May the deep blackish bloom stalks emerge and rise to produce a profusion of small, flaring flowers in a lovely shade of medium blue-violet with bright yellow signals. The buds and blooms are profuse and a clump at its peak is like a cloud of butterflies.


This water loving iris can reach to six feet in ideal conditions, but rarely gets taller than three and a half feet for me, as our soil is very lean. It is happiest in moist soil but does just fine in regular garden conditions, where the rhizomes appreciate a good composty mulch. After the flowers finish, the foliage color fades to green in summers heat, while the seedpods swell and float like little green balloons over the gracefully arching fans. Most species crosses are sterile but 'Gerald Darby' usually produces abundant seed here, tho I have never tried to germinate them.


'Gerald Darby' is an iris that, thru the test of time, has really proven itself to be a fantastic addition to most any garden. It is terrifically hardy and can be successfully grown from Zones 4 to 9. A vigorous grower as well, it quickly makes a beautiful clump. You can purchase it from commercial growers who specialize in beardless irises and also those that offer pond plants. Try it, you'll like it.

You can see loads of fabulous photos and read more about this wonderful iris and the different ways to use it in the garden at Nancy J. Ondra's garden blog. You'll find additional photos and its official registration info at the AIS Iris Encyclopedia.