Iris Bloom Season in Northwest Louisiana - Part 1

by Ron Killingsworth

It seems the "normal" bloom season is not the "usual" bloom season.  Bloom was late this year, very late, and when it arrived, the Dutch irises, Tall Bearded, i.virginica, Spuria irises and Louisiana irises all bloomed at the same time.  And when I say the Louisiana irises all bloomed at the same time, I mean the early, mid and late bloomers all bloomed at once.  We had a relatively short bloom but boy was it something with all the irises blooming at once!

I wanted to share some spring pictures with you.  Most of the pictures are irises but I have thrown in a few other things just to keep you interested.  Sue, my wife, increased the number of Tall Bearded irises she is growing so we had quite a few in bloom this year.

"Applause Line" Tall Bearded by Joe Ghio 2004

It is difficult to grow bearded irises in the heat of Louisiana, but Sue and I built some raised beds in an area of the side yard that is shaded from about 2 PM til dark.  We made sure the beds are well drained and are watered very little from the sprinkler system.  They seem to be doing quite well.  Time will tell.

"Blue Jean Baby" a Louisiana iris by Charles Arny 1987

 "Blue Jean Baby" is one of my favorites - it is so pretty, in part because of the name.  There is nothing prettier than "my baby" in blue jeans!  Charles Arny is no longer with us but he left a lot of beautiful irises for us to enjoy.

"Braggin Rights" a Tall Bearded iris by Tom Burseen 2004

 Sue and I love Tall Bearded irises but they just do not like the weather in Louisiana.  Too hot and too wet.  Basically the same reasons most PEOPLE do not like the weather in Louisiana!  But this is a beautiful iris and worthy of bragging about, and it is growing.

"Bullion Audit" a Louisiana iris by T. J. Betts (2003) of Australia

This is an example of a beautiful yellow iris that should be welcomed in any garden. I really like the veining and the green throat of the style arms. 

"Cedar Bayou" a Louisiana iris by K. Strawn 1993

Registered as a "violet-blue" iris, it is a beauty and a great garden iris.

"Chacahoula Fire" a Louisiana iris by Rusty McSparrin 2005

A really breathtaking iris with some fantastic coloring.  The signals are outlined in red while red veining continues to the end of the petals.  I like the color, the form -- the whole thing!

"Cherokee Rose" antique rose bush - climbing

This rose bush is a welcomed sight each spring.  It blooms early and then it is gone.  The flowers are really pristine white and beautiful.  They remind me that Easter is near.

"Colorific" a Louisiana iris by Joe Mertzweiller 1978

This is a beautiful bi-tone iris with green style arms.  Mertzweiller was a college professor and hybridized a lot of irises.  He also converted the first Louisiana iris tetraploids.

"Dixie Deb" a Louisiana iris by Frank Chowning 1950

"Dixie Deb" is an "oldie but goody".  It still wins high level awards at iris shows.  The older open form is favored by many, myself included.  That is "Dr. Dormon" in the background - see more about this iris below.

Double Poppy (We call them Marie's Poppies)

Marie Calliet was a charter member of the Society for Louisiana Irises and lived in Little Elm, TX, north of Dallas the last years of her life.  We obtained some poppy seeds from her on one of our visits to her garden and we grow them in NW Louisiana.  This is an example of a double that grows well and blooms during the Louisiana iris bloom season.

"Dr. Dormon" a Louisiana iris by Sidney Conger in 1972

This iris was named for Caroline Dormon, a famous conservationist and botanist, among other things.  She lived near Saline, LA, and started Briarwood Nature Preserve.  This is one of many irises named to honor Caroline Dormon.

"Dural White Butterfly" a Louisiana iris by John C. Taylor 1989

John Taylor has hybridized many Louisiana irises "down under".  He has produced many beautiful and award winning irises.  This iris, although registered in 1989, remains an award winning white loved by all iris lovers.

Dutch Irises

We grow many varieties of Dutch irises and they are usually the first to bloom in our gardens.  This year they bloomed quite late.

More Dutch irises in NW Louisiana

White Dutch irises growing in NW Louisiana

"Fire Alarm" a Louisiana iris by Caroline Dormon 1951

This is one of Caroline Dormon's earlier irises and is actually more red than shown in this picture.

"Elvis Dreamer" a Tall Bearded by Tom Burseen 2008

"Enviable" a Louisiana iris by M. D. Faith 2002

M. D. Faith is no longer with us but he left a legacy of beautiful Louisiana irises.  He started hybridizing late in life but that did not stop him from producing some beauties.

"Extra Dazzle" a Louisiana iris by Heather Pryor 2003

Heather Pryor and her husband Bernard have introduced many beautiful Louisiana irises.  They live "down under" and often visit the US during the American Iris Society conventions.  Heather is a blogger here on World of Irises.

I'll continue my pictorial of the bloom season in NW Louisiana with part two.  Meantime, if you are interested in growing Louisiana irises, or just want to know more about them, then visit the website at Society for Louisiana Irises.  If you want to know more about all irises, visit the website of the American Iris Society.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

AIS National Convention 2015 -- Portland, Oregon

By Andi Rivarola

I really love the AIS conventions held at Portland, Oregon; that is why I believe that if you can only attend one AIS convention in your lifetime, make it to the Portland in 2015.  

Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden

And, since it's never too early to make plans ahead of time, I'm here to tell you that registration is open, the hotel is ready to take registrations, and the gracious hosts are preparing the gardens for your enjoyment. Click below for the latest information about the convention, such as a registration link; also information about how to make your reservations early to make sure you get a room on site; and to find out about the fantastic program that The Greater Portland Iris Society has put together for us. 

Iris In Wonderland

Just about everyone is preparing to come to Portland, Oregon, for the 2015 AIS National Convention “Iris in Wonderland 2015”. The convention dates are May 18-23, 2015. Five of the six official host gardens on tour are well known commercial gardens and have been hosts for previous conventions. Also, stay a few more days for "Another Day in the Garden," the Siberian/Species Iris Convention to be held immediately following the AIS Convention, on May 24-25. 

Mid-America Iris Garden

Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm

At the AIS National Convention in 2015, some of the most exciting commercial gardens, such as Schreiners, Mid-America, Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden, Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm, and Wildwood Iris Gardens will be in full blooming splendor during the tour.  Many of the prolific and successful iris hybridizers including Keith Keppel, Paul Black, Thomas Johnson and Terry Aitken will show you around and personally describe their innovative work and amazing creations. What can one say about that? Come join us for the Convention.

'Roy's Repeater' Spec-X

2015 AIS National Convention at Portland, OR

Hope to see you there!

"Talking Irises" TALL BEARDED IRIS--FIRST-YEAR BLOOMS, 2014

'PARISIAN DAWN' Keppel 2006

By Susanne Holland Spicker

The 2014 TALL BEARDED IRIS SEASON was the best for me in recent memory. I divided nearly all of my irises last year, and wasn't expecting a banner year, but their increase and bloom was more prolific than I have seen for several years. The weather in the top of Utah was ideal for them to establish a good root system in the fall, and the hard freezes in late winter and early spring came before there was damage to the buds, as had been the case the past few years. The new rhizomes I planted had a 95% bloom success--unheard of in my experience with new plantings. Although I was very happy with these new irises, sometimes first-year blooms aren't indicative of what kind of plant it turns out to be. I usually need to wait a few years to know important factors such as hardiness, vigor, and dependability in bloom. These are some of my favorite first-year blooms in 2014.

'PHOTOGENIC' Ghio 2006

'GOING DUTCH' Van Liere 2009

'RHINELANDER' Schreiner 2006

'LENTEN PRAYER' Schreiner 1998

'ABOUT TOWN' Blyth 1997

'PRETTY GENEROUS' Innerst 2004

'CHRISTMAS EVE' Van Liere 2010

'DESIGNER LABEL' Ghio 2003

'QUEEN'S RANSOM' Van Liere 2012

'TICKLE ME PINK' Van Liere 2011

'GYPSY LORD' Keppel 2006

'SISTERHOOD' Van Liere 2011

'DREAM TEAM' Johnson 2007

'BUBBLE BUBBLE' Ghio 2005

'ROLE REVERSAL' Ghio 2010

'LEMON CLOUD' Painter 2008

'GITANO' Keppel 2007

'ROSY FORECAST' Williamson 2010

'WINNING EDGE' Ghio 1997

'WEARING RUBIES' Blyth 2000

'SOUTHERN MORNING' Metler 2011 

'MARCHING TO ZION' Metler 2011

'OVERJOYED' Gatty by Keppel 1994

'ADOREE'  Blyth 2006

'FLORENTINE SILK' Keppel 2005

'EVENING TIDINGS' Schreiner 2009

'GOLDEN PANTHER' Tasco 2000

'ARISTOCRACY' Keppel 2006

'RED SKIES' Ghio 2007

First-year blooms are always exciting; it's much

like  Christmas  morning  to  go  out  and  see a 

new cultivar in bloom for the first time. Time will

tell if these new irises stand the test of time

for good increase, dependability and hardiness--

I hope so, they were beautiful this year.

I'd love to hear about a favorite first-year bloom 

you've had.  

Have any disappointed you with their vigor or 

dependability?

Surprise!

Griff Crump

Renee suggested that I might share some of this year's surprises.

The biggest and best surprise was recovery of an introduced variety that I thought had been lost.  Two years ago, I dug and lined out La Cumparsita, introducing it in 2013.  Luckily, before I sold any of it, it bloomed in two convention gardens and wasn't the right flower.  I saw photos and was mystified until some of the lined-out plants bloomed in my own garden and also were the same nondescript purple seen in the photos.  Clearly, the marker had been switched before the digging, probably during weeding, and an adjacent clump had been dug.  I was tempted to rip out the whole planting, but, since some of the lined-out clumps hadn't bloomed, I tossed only those that had bloomed and left the rest in place.  This spring, two of those which had been spared bloomed and were La Cumparsita!  It will take a couple of years to build up stock again, but I said to some of my fellow irisarians that if nothing else good happened this year, it was still a good year!

La Cumparsita

Other surprises were winning Best Seedling of Show at the Fredericksburg Area Iris Society's spring show, the Chesapeake and Potomac Iris Society's spring show and the Region 4 spring show at Timonium, Maryland.

The winner at Fredericksburg was tall bearded 062D1:

062D1

and at Chesapeake and Potomac, standard dwarf seedling 092B4:

092B4

At the Regional show at Timonium, I counted on the judges adhering to the judges' handbook, which requires only one bloom to be open on a seedling.  Although I must admit that I was surprised by my wins at Fredericksburg and Winchester, I felt that my entry at Timonium was a real winner, but would the judges vote for an entry which had only one last bloom and the shriveled remains of the other eight buds drooping from its branches?  Yes!  They went by the book and chose it. 

082L13

This is a product of Coffee Whispers X Blackbeard's Daughter.  It's a dramatic introduceable, and I'm looking forward to good things following from it.

Another very pleasant surprise was the appearance of a first-year seedling, 13P20, which displayed a remarkable  progression of blossom form, opening to resemble an iris of many decades ago:

 13P20

But, as a day passes, a later-in-time form develops:

 

Finally, a modern form is achieved.  At the right moment, all three forms are displayed on the branches.

If this seedling prospers and blooms true to its initial performance, it will be quite interesting.