TALL BEARDED IRIS, MY FAVORITE PINKS, PART ONE

By  Dawn Mumford

Looking at photographs of your irises is one way to enjoy your irises beyond the bloom season. I would like to share pictures of my favorite pinks, but I have so many that I will have do it in two parts. 

'Designer Gown' by Ghio 1985

(This will be 'historic' next year: it will be 30 years old.)
This beauty has a fine gilt edge on it.  You don't see it until the sun hits it and then it is an eyelash wide line of gold on the edges of both the falls and the standards.  Oh My!

'Magical' by Joseph Ghio 2007

 Wister Medal 2014. 

This was my first bloom year for this iris and it took my breath away.  It has extravagant ruffling. 

Many of my "pinks" have a lot of shrimp color in them.  In the garden I still label them as pinks. So I am grouping them together.  It is only in a collage or viewing the photographs and iris side by side that you see that there is a slight orange or shrimp colored cast.  Sometimes I grow similar colors together so that I can see the subtle color difference.  It also makes a bigger splash of color.  Here is a collage of colors side by side to show differences in pinks and corals, and shrimp.  

'My Ginny' by Spoon 2000

This one is one of my husband's favorites irises.  It grows well here.



'Electrabrite' by O. Brown 1983

This one is aptly named because it seems lit from within.  

'Geniality' by O.  Brown 1981

This has long been in my top 25 irises.  It is rather short at 31 inches.  It also doesn't increase as well as lots of others but the colors are worth it. It has both ruffling and lacing.   

'Heatheridge' by Joseph Gatty 1985 

This one has a lavendar flush where the standards and falls come together.  

'Rose Tattoo" by Nearpass 1976 

 This is another that my husband likes.  Some years it has a lot of tattooing and other years it doesn't.  

'Lovely Kay'  by Hamblen 1979

This is one of my clearest pinks that has no shrimp or orange cast.  It looks beautiful in the garden planted next to pure yellow and cornflower blue.  

'Kitty Kay'  by Keppel 2002

This iris has a really pretty form.  I have had trouble with the plant itself.  The leaves are not hardy and the plant itself doesn't increase very fast.  But oh, what a bloom!

'Dream Cake'  by R. Ernst 2002

The hot coral beard and the veining make this one a tour stopper.  This is the first year for it to bloom in my garden.  It won a right to stay.  

'Anna Belle Babson' by Hager 1985

(This will also be on the 'historic' list next year.)
This one has a lot of shrimp coloring in it and reminds me of "Beverly Sills" who is one of its parents.  

'Magdalena Louisa' by Brad Kasperek 2003
I heard that Brad named this one after his mother.  It is a lovely broken color iris.  I was a little fearful of broken color at first and this one seemed more subtle than 'Bewilderbeast' and 'Hot Dogs and Mustard'.  I like lots of the broken color irises now and with Zebra Gardens just 21 miles north of me I  can buy all I want until the money runs out, my husband's patience runs out or we run out of room.  

'Falling In Love'  by Ben Hager 1988
I know this looks like many others but how do you resist the name? 

'Femme Fatale' By Gatty, 1988.
She posed for this one at 10:34 am.


I will continue with more favorite pinks in my next post.  Which of these do you like most?  Which pinks do you like best in your garden?  

Iris Bloom Season in Northwest Louisiana Part II

by Ron Killingsworth

Earlier we looked at some irises and other flowers that bloomed this past spring in NW Louisiana.  The season was very late and when it finally turned warm, everything bloomed at once!  

"Flareout" a Louisiana iris by Marvin Grainger 1988

"Flareout" is one of many doubles hybridized by Marving Grainger.  It has all falls and the style arms are usually deformed. 

"Longue Vue" a Louisiana iris by Dormon Haymon 1999

Dormon Haymon named this iris for Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans.  It remains a favorite white iris and is a great garden iris.

"Gladiator's Gift" a Louisiana iris by John C. Taylor 1990

Hardy gladiolas and poppies growing with Louisiana irises in the background

'Heavenly Glow" a Louisiana iris by Richard Morgan, 1988

This remains one of my favorite irises.  It grows well and has such nice green style arms.  The veining is very nice.  Richard Morgan produced a lot of great irises.

"Hush Money"  a Louisiana iris by Mary Dunn 1998

If forced to name my favorite Louisiana irises, this one would probably be at the top of the list.  It is a great garden iris and is simply beautiful.  And, what a name.  (Especially when Louisiana politicians are so well known for their "hush money"!)

"Iris.Nelsonii"  - Dwarf

We do not grow a lot of the species of Louisiana irises but I really like this tiny little nelsonii.

"Iris.Nelsonii" growing in a clump

A mixture of various hybrid Louisiana irises in one of our many beds.

"June's Pick" a Louisiana iris by M. D. Faith 2002

"LaFitte Celebration" a Louisiana iris by Pat O'Connor 2002

A nice clump of this iris growing by the Koi pond with several others off to the side.

"Notta Lemon" a Tall Bearded iris by Tom Burseen 2009

I really like this Tall Bearded iris!  It was a gift and that makes it even more special.

"Our Parris" a Louisiana iris by C. Carroll 1987

I have never met C. Carrol and really do not know much about the hybridizer, except he hybridized outside the US.  It is a pretty iris and I look for it each bloom season.

"Peaches in Wine" a Louisiana iris by Heather Pryor 1997

"Pointe Aux Chenes" a Louisiana iris by Joe Musacchia 2005

A beauty with a great south Louisiana name.  Joe Musacchia (Cajun Joe) has produced numerous lovely Louisiana irises.

"Praline Festival" a Louisiana iris by Dormon Haymon 1992

Another beauty with a great "southern" name.


That's about it for part II folks.  Don't miss part III. I hope your bloom season was more "normal".  If you are interested in knowing more about or growing Louisiana irises feel free to contact the Society for Louisiana Irises for more information.  You can learn more about all the other irises at the American Iris Society website.

Until next time -- don't just sit there, get out and grow some irises!

2014 Wister Medal Winners

By Andi Rivarola

Gorgeous 'Black Magic Woman' by Rick Tasco (R. 2008) became one of the three winners of the 2014 Wister Medal.

The other two are:

'Montmatre' by Keith Keppel, (R. 2007) and 'Magical' by Joe Ghio (R. 2007).

The Wister Medal

The highest award given by The American Iris Society to a tall-bearded iris.

This medal is named in honor of John C. Wister (1887-1982), founding member and first President of the AIS. All iris categories award only one medal for each year with the exception is this category, the very popular Tall Bearded (TB) iris category. There are three Wister Medals awarded each year, and only AIS registered judges may vote for them.

2014 Award Winners

The entire list of Award Winners for this year can be found on our website: 2014 AIS Awards.

And, for a fantastic and more expanded list with links and images, visit The AIS Encyclopedia: 2014 Awards at the Iris Encyclopedia. 

"Talking Irises" COLOR COORDINATING YOUR IRIS BEDS WITH OTHER IRISES

Susanne Holland Spicker

In the past when planning my beds, I always organized them with a specific color or colors in mind, with a few favorite irises, then added an assortment of several perennial plants that coordinated with, or enhanced the bed.The past several years, however, my passion for tall bearded irises has increased and I have planted additional irises that coordinate with each other, adding several to the beds. The upside is that this past season the beds were a glorious array of coordinating colors! The downside to adding more irises is that division must be done every 2-3 years in my beds because of closer planting. I still have companion plants of every kind, but the number of irises now outnumber the other perennials.

(l - r) 'PHOTOGENIC', 'ARISTOCRACY', and 'SOUTHERN MORNING'

(l -r) 'CHAMPAGNE ELEGANCE', 'MASTER TOUCH', 'LATIN LOVER', 

'GAY PARASOL', 'HEATHER CLOUD', 'MIDNIGHT REVELRY', 'GITANO', 

and 'POEM OF ECSTASY'

I have recently added some new irises to this bed.  The collage shows how I organize the iris in color schemes that are pleasing to the eye.  I've added ''CENTER ICE' and 'LIMERANCE' this year to this favorite garden bed.   I also moved two irises into different beds where I thought they would look better and to make room for new ones.  That's the great thing about irises-- they are so easy to move around. 

(R1) 'LOUISA'S SONG', 'MIDNIGHT REVELRY', 'POEM OF ECSTASY', 'JUMP

FOR JOY', 'GITANO' (R2) 'FLORENTINE SILK', 'CENTER ICE', 'GAY 

PARASOL', 'PLANNED TREASURE', 'ELLA LEEUW VAN LIERE' 

(R3)'LIMERANCE','PARISIAN DAWN', 'FEATURE ATTRACTION',

'PHOTOGENIC', and 'ARISTOCRACY'

Another bed that got revamped this year is a striking combination of red/buff/gold:

Collage showing partial view of a previous iris bed. 'BEWILDERBEAST', 'TIMELESS MOMENT', 'RED SKIES', 'DRAMA QUEEN' and 'COFFEE WHISPERS'

For example, this bed consisting of 10 irises will now have 15 next year, as shown in the new collage. 

(R1) 'ACTION PACKED', 'MIDNIGHT OIL', 'COFFEE TRADER', 'GNUS

 FLASH', 'COFFEE WHISPERS' (R2) 'DRAMA QUEEN', 'TORONTO', 

'RED SKIES', 'TIMELESS  MOMENT', 'BEWILDERBEAST' 

(R3) 'KATHY CHILTON', 'GOLDEN PANTHER','FLAMENCO',      

'DYNAMITE', and 'DECADENCE'

In choosing irises, I regularly pour over commercial catalogs, both printed and online. I also utilize the AIS wiki, a comprehensive encyclopedia of every iris that has been introduced.  Most have multiple pictures, and all the information regarding the cultivar is listed as well. I also enjoy viewing photos of irises in several groups on facebook; two being Iris Lovers and Iris Growers and Traders.

As far as my collages, when I have a new iris that I've just planted and it hasn't bloomed, I try to get a picture in a garden so I can take my own photo. When unable to do so, I use those photos only in my personal files, then replace my own picture when the iris has bloomed.

Making changes is easy with the collage. This bed has several new cultivars, and promises to be a favorite next year. 

Above: 'QUEEN IN CALICO', 'LENTEN PRAYER', and 'WINE AND ROSES'

Below: (l to r) 'EPICENTER', 'MONTMARTRE', 'NAPLES', 'NEW LEAF', 

'ARTIST'S TIME', and 'WEARING RUBIES'

The collage shows additions and changes made in the bed. 

(R 1) 'GLITTERATI', 'CRIMSON SNOW', 'AUTUMN LEAVES',

 'AMPLE CHARM', and 'GIGOLO' (R 2) 'MONTMARTRE', 

'GLAMAZON', 'EPICENTER', 'ARTIST'S TIME', and 

'CHERRY BLOSSOM SONG' (R 3) 'SPECTACULAR BID', 

'EVER AFTER', 'NEW LEAF', 'BARCELONA' and 'NAPLES'

Because there are so many tall bearded irises to choose from, mixing, and coming up with harmonious color schemes is an easy task. The hardest part is choosing from the thousands of irises that have been hybridized over the years, with every year hundreds more being introduced. Making a collage has helped make this process much easier for me.

Do you coordinate your iris beds? What color combinations do you like in them? What has worked for you in planning out your beds? I'd love to hear from you! 

(NOTE:These pictures 

should not be shared publicly without the consent 

of the photographer.Thank you fellow Iris lovers for the use of 'COFFEE 

TRADER', 'TORONTO', 'CENTER ICE', 'LIMERANCE' and 'KATHY CHILTON' photos).

When Pacifica Iris Pods Are Ripe

Kathleen Sayce

Mid to late summer is exciting:  it's harvest time for Pacifica Iris pods. Some species irises shed seed by early July in my garden, including Iris tenax and I. innominata. These species often grow at high elevations in the wild, flower in May or June, and have ripe seed by mid July to early August. They waste no time cranking out the next generation. Other species take more time to ripen seeds, nine weeks instead of five to six weeks, including I. douglasiana. Pods often go through a color change as they ripen, from green to gold or yellow. Even when not opened, a yellow pod has mature seeds inside, ready to collect. 

Just a few weeks ago, seed pods were green. 

Iris pods are opening all over the garden by late July, when the mesh bags come into use. Here, all pods in this cluster have opened, the tips are spread on the upper two, and the bottom one has valves spread to show the seeds inside.

Mesh bags or nylon stockings are good devices to use to contain seeds and ensure that a gardener's work in crossing specific parents isn’t lost at the seed collection step. Saving even a few seeds from a choice cross can be important in a hybridizing program. 

I cut the stems and collect the pods, still in their mesh bags, to dry before taking out the seeds. The stems can be tied together with a wire tie or string, hung in a dry shady place, out of the sun and away from direct heat––just as you would dry herbs or flowers, or put into paper bags in a warm dry spot. After a few days, any pods that can open, have done so, and the seeds are ready to clean and package. 

A basket of treasure:  Ripe pods in paper bags, ready to dry indoors. 

Normally the valves separate from the pods, and the seeds break off and scatter. Occasionally pods stay closed or only partially open. Either the tip will not separate, or the sutures along the edges do not open.  When this happens, I use a knife or razor blade in a holder to cut the tip off, or cut along a suture line, being very careful to keep my fingers intact, and to not cut into seeds. Then I gently peel out the seeds.

Seeds go into a bowl. Use a large bowl that you can swirl seeds around in. This lets you blow or toss seeds outside to separate seeds from chaff and pod fragments. I also use a sieve to shake out fine bits if the pods are dirty. I clean the seeds and remove all non-seed bits and pieces, insects, et cetera. Separating seeds from chaff is a very old process. Humans have been doing this for thousands of years. And it’s fun! 

After the seeds are clean, I put them in a clean bag (mesh or paper), to continue air drying. The label moves with them. I save seeds for seed exchanges, such as Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris, and Species Iris Group of North America.  

I learned the hard way to not put fresh seeds into glassine or plastic bags––they mold. The mold doesn’t kill the seeds, it’s just in the seed coats, but it looks terrible, and when it’s really bad, all the seeds are encased in a dense whitish mold into one solid lump. Ugh!  If there's too much mold I scrub the seeds with a plastic scrubby to clean them, then rinse and re-dry the seeds. 

Drying seeds, in a row of paper bags. This takes patience, and at least ten days!

Let the seeds dry thoroughly before packaging each seed lot. I’m not naturally a patient person, so this is hard. Wait ten days, at a minimum. More is better. Only when the seeds have dried indoors, in a clean mesh bag, and I have let the days slip past, do I then put the seeds into an envelope, label it, and set it aside to send to a seed exchange. I also share seeds out to gardening friends, and this is when those seeds are mailed. 

Labels need to include what, when, where, and any details of the plant or flower that are important. List:  Pod parent, pollen parent if known, the flower color on the pod parent if it’s a species or unregistered new flower, likewise any characteristics of the pollen parent that were important to note, or bee-pollinated, if open pollination was used. If you use crossing codes to track garden crosses, write down those codes too. This helps you and others track the parentage of your seeds. 

Another task is to take all the used mesh bags, wash them in warm soapy water, rinse, dry, and then freeze them for at least two weeks. Why freeze the bags? If any invertebrate eggs are in the bags, this will kill them. Washing, drying and freezing helps ensure that the bags are clean, and ready to use again next year.  

Do you grow PCIs, and do you save seeds to give to other gardeners?

2014 Dykes Medal Winner: MTB 'Dividing Line' by Chuck Bunnell

By Andi Rivarola

If I offered proof that I've been following the work of Chuck Bunnell, and in particular the many lives of MTB (Miniature Tall Bearded iris) 'Dividing Line,' would you believe it? 

'Dividing Line' at the 2006 Portland National Convention

Well, believe it or not, that is the case. I say the many lives because I have encountered it in several locations growing and blooming so happily that I stopped taking pictures of it, I must regret. I'm such a fool!

Besides having seen this gorgeous little Bunnell creation at several of the AIS National conventions the last few years, I also grow another of his MTBs, 'Missus Bee' with great success. May I remind you that it's very rare to grow any MTBs at all in the Mediterranean weather of Southern California where I live?

I first encountered 'Dividing Line' blooming profusely in rainy Portland during the 2006 National Convention. It's form caught my attention from the start, different from other MTBs and with triangulated edges; the quantity of blooms and bloom stalks also made it very attractive. And, I was intrigued by the vertical line across its falls. Who would have known?

'Dividing Line' at the 2006 Portland National Convention

So, it is with great pleasure that I say: Congratulations Mr. Chuck Bunnell for winning this year's Dykes Medal with beautiful 'Dividing Line,' a little iris that could.

Chuck Bunnell at the  Stanton Gardens of the 2012 Ontario National Convention

The entire list of Award Winners for this year can be found on our website: 2014 AIS Awards.

And, for a fantastic and more expanded list with links and images, visit The AIS Encyclopedia: 2014 Awards at the Iris Encyclopedia. 

What Do Iris Hybridizers Look For?

by Griff Crump

In suggesting topics for this posting, Renee Fraser remarked, "One thing I always wonder about hybridizers is which new intro caught their eye and why?"

The first attraction for me is, simply, the beauty of the flower itself.  The second motivator is its being of the patterns that I prefer, which are predominantly amoenas and near amoenas with velvety falls, usually dark.  The third consideration is whether it might fit into my breeding goals.

Here are some of the recent introductions that have caught my eye:

Judy's Smile (Skaggs 2014), offered by Stout Gardens At Dancing Tree.  From Starring x Kitty Kay.  I have both of the parents, so might try the cross myself.

 'Judy's Smile'

Another beauty, which I won't use in hybridizing (because it doesn't fit within my goals), but which I admire and would like to grow just for its handsomeness, is Mike Lockatell's  reblooming border bearded Double Dare.  I saw it when he first exhibited it at a Region 4 fall regional show.  I and others thought it should have won best seedling, but one of the judges just didn't like plicatas.

'Double Dare'

I always like a good red, and Don Spoon's Red Hot Momma (Rogue X Dynamite) falls in that category.  I can't seem to keep either of those parents alive (or, at least, blooming), but Don has, so maybe I'll approach him for a start.

'Red Hot Momma'

Lesley Painter's Midnight Rose (Napa Country Iris Garden) is the kind of iris that I really like, a near amoena with dark velvet falls.  As a hybridizer with limited space, however, its unknown parentage gives me pause, i.e., will it work with the genetics of my existing stuff?  If I had more space, I'd grab it.  (And if you have space, I think you should, too.)

'Midnight Rose'

Keith Keppel's Gambling Man (Silk Road X Roaring Twenties) caught my eye, as does anything with the Edith Wolford color pattern.  This, though, is from quite different lineage.

'Gambling Man'

I am particularly impressed with the introductions of Robert Piatek, of Poland, and those of Anton Mego,  of Slovakia.  I have Mego's Slovak Prince and seedlings from it, and I hope that others of  their cultivars will soon, if not already, be available in the USA.

'Slovak Prince' 

Which newer introductions caught your eye this year?