Mass Plantings in Public Spaces

By Mike Unser


On a recent Sunday I headed down to our local farmer's market and was absolutely thrilled to see that the City of Olympia had incorporated irises into its landscaping design at the public plaza that was constructed in conjunction with the new home for our city's Hands On Children's Museum. This great museum started in a small storefront downtown before moving to a larger space near the Capitol campus. The visitors just kept growing and they kept expanding until finally being given the funds to build a permanent home near the Olympia waterfront, just a few blocks from its first home.  It is a huge hit with kids of all ages and has won numerous awards.

Along with the museum, the city constructed a public plaza across the entire front of the property. What a work of art it is! It is filled with sculptures and nestled into the landscaping, mosaics underneath and even a flowing 'creek' that kids can play in. 

The planting focus was on water-wise plants, and along with many native species they have planted large masses of a single variety of bearded iris. This really shows the power our favorite flower can have in urban design.

 There are dozens of very large clumps spread across the entire area. The large masses and repetition make for a very striking show and the color carries well over a wide area.

 This area has been ripe for development for decades, and I hope the city will continue to incorporate irises as more projects come into their own over the years. If you get to Olympia in the springtime be sure to stop by and see the blooms. 

Dominance and Patterns in a Reblooming Iris Cross

By Betty Wilkerson

Most of you know that I’m not an expert on iris genes. I’m going to take you down my garden path so you can see some of my seedlings. The plicata pattern has never been my favorite. I didn’t have a lot of options in the beginning, or when the irises, and I, moved to Allen County during the fall of 2003. 

In the spring of 2004, a couple of the brightest blooms were ‘Radiant Bliss’ and ‘Summer Radiance.’  This was not a cross I’d planned, but it did make sense.  ‘Radiant Bliss’ is a tall, well branched rebloomer and tall, well branched iris make the best pod parents.  It's a fall cycle rebloomer.   ‘Summer Radiance’ had refused to set pods and was being used as a pollen parent.  'Summer Radiance' is without plicata in its geneology and it reblooms in July and then in the fall.  

Genetically speaking, solid color selfs are dominant over plicata.  What does this mean to people that have never made a cross?  When using a self, in this case 'Summer Radiance,' that has no plicata in the parentage, none of the children will be plicata.  The children will be a mixture of variegatas, bitones, bi-colors, and blends, with possible overlay or apron patterns.  Many will have lots of haft lines & murky colors.  

'Radiant Bliss' (Wilkerson 2005)
Pod Parent

'Summer Radiance' (Wilkerson 1996)
Pollen Parent

In a cross like this, many seedlings will be some version of a solid color.  Some will have haft lines, like the ones in these pictures.  Some colors will be clear, while others are murky.

(1814-01re)

(1814-03)

(1814-05)

More exciting, for me, would be the variegatas.  I had hopes one of these would rebloom, but no such luck.

(1814-06)

There were several red seedlings.  One (not this one) did try to rebloom, but really late.  I saw it as winter bloom. Haft lines were bad on the red ones.

(1814-08)

'Summer Honey' (Wilkerson 2013)

In the end, 'Summer Honey' (#1814-02re) was the star of the crop.  She fall bloomed for several years.  During the summer of 2011, after a lineout planting the year before, 'Summer Honey' bloomed each day from spring bloom until the first fall freeze!  It was a good sized planting, but still nice to have bloom all summer.  Could a good sized planting be the solution to continuous bloom?  

What Rains May Come to Pacific Iris Flowers

Kathleen Sayce

Irises are at an inherent disadvantage in a spring-wet climate, because they have upturned flowers like tulips instead of down-turned flowers like many lilies. Hybridizers in dry spring areas have selected for wide, frilly flowers over the past few decades; usually these plants flower in late winter to mid spring. In spring-wet areas, these flowers are hammered by rain, damaged so badly that pollination cannot occur. 

A modern wide-petaled, frilly Pacific Iris flower on a dry day. This is an unnamed seedling, flowering for the first time this year.  

So what's an irisarian to do with wet weather during flowering?  The answer is to evaluate flowers to see which ones do well, or at least better, in intense rain. Most of us can live with moderate damage, and are happier with a colorful spring flower display that doesn't look like soaked tissue paper was tossed around the garden. 

When it rains during flowering, I take a waterproof camera into the garden and record how well each flower and its plant hold up. Flower shape is important. Stem sturdiness is important; lovely flowers that lay flat on the ground (due to weak stems) are not going to make the cut. Very important is how well the flower survives being battered by rain and wind. Enough rain, and any iris flower can be battered into oblivion, so the following is a first attempt at a weather-tolerance scale.

For this year, the following is the result of rain-on-flower observations in my garden:

Wide frilly flowers often fare badly in heavy rain; they can tolerate light rain. The petals are thin, and a few days of intense rain shreds them to fragments. 

The same unnamed Pacifica Iris seedling following an intense rainstorm. Its wide petals tend to melt in heavy rain. The damage to the falls is not a deer or slug, it's rainfall that tore off portions of the petals. 

Yellow flowers typically melt in heavy rain. Open one day, gone the next. It's quite shocking to see how poorly this color fails to hold up to a good storm. Do any yellows hold up well in rain? I grow four or five, and am going to research this in coming years. One of the yellows has weak stems, and these are battered to the ground in storms. It's toast. 

Another unnamed seedling, a lovely yellow, after a rainstorm. Note the damaged style crests and standards, and melted falls. 

White flowers vary in durability. Some do well. Others melt. Doug' flowers (Iris douglasiana selections and crosses) are at the core of many reliably sturdy hybrids. 'Canyon Snow' is very sturdy for a white flowered Pacifica Iris, and is a Doug' selection. 'Cape Sebastian' is an unregistered Doug' selection with a white flower and purple signal, and it also does well. Both have been available for several decades, and are highly recommended. 

'Canyon Snow' when dry, above, and wet, below. This Doug' selection holds up well in rain with sturdy upright stems and durable flowers. 

Older hybrids have narrower petals and less frilling, and often do surprisingly well in heavy rain. Go back about 20 years, to find these sturdy forms. 'Mission Santa Cruz' and 'Cape Ferrelo', to name two, also do well in intense rain. 

'Harry's Rootbeer' holds up in rain. This hybrid is a 'Mission Santa Cruz' progeny, bred for southern California, which also does well in the Pacific Northwest. 

Species and species crosses often also do well. This includes Iris tenax, I. tenax x I. innominata, I. chrysophylla  x I. douglasiana, and others. Flower petals are sturdy and narrow compared to modern hybrids. Flowers are held upright on strong stems, which rarely flop on the ground in heavy rain. Only I. innominata tends to melt and flop. 

Iris tenax from Lewis County, Washington, does well in rain, as do many Pacifica species. 

I. tenax is usually upright and sturdy, with flowers holding well in all but the most intense rains. No surprise, this species is native to the Pacific Northwest, and flowers latest in my garden. 

From observations made this spring, I know that some yellow flowers melt in heavy rain. I plan to look for and breed for sturdier yellows, and use rain screens to protect plants now. 

For those large frilly flowers, use rain screens. If my climate is consistently wet in mid spring when these ruffled beauties flower, then I have to be ready to lose them. They may be toast as well. 

Older hybrids, in a wide range of colors, do well. Rejoice! Use rain screens over the plants I want seeds from, and enjoy the flowers, rain or shine. The ideal form has strong petals and sturdy upright flower stems. 

As for species, they flower very well, so long as I keep away from yellows. Too bad for me that the yellows are my favorite color. I'm just going to have to get over it. I would like to know if readers have similar observations in wet spring areas. Are there particular colors that rain damages more in your garden? Or flower forms that do not hold up well to your weather?

I'm So Glad

by Jim Murrain

    The familiar Gladiolus is a well known member of the Iris Family. Most species and hybrids are from southern Africa and not hardy in much of North America. However, there are the less well known European Glads that are remarkably cold tolerant. With the exception of G. italicus which is easily obtained at any garden center in the Fall, the other species are unfortunately somewhat rare.

Gladiolus byzantinus

    The largest and showiest in my garden is Gladiolus byzantinus. It is over three feet in hight and has large colorful flowers. There is more than a bit of name confusion surrounding this species and the next one I will show. They will often be listed as Gladiolus communis ssp. byzantinus or Gladiolus byzantinus ssp. communis.

Gladiolus communis

    A close second for height and show is Gladiolus communis. It is very similar to the previous Glad but flowers a week or two later in Kansas City.

Gladiolus italicus

    The easiest to obtain of all hardy Glads is Gladiolus italicus, in fact it is often the species you receive when you purchase  corms or seeds regardless of the name given. Seed exchanges run by SIGNA (Species Iris Group of North America) and NARGS (North American Rock Garden Society) are your best bet to get the correct named plants although not guaranteed.

Gladiolus italicus  'Texas Snowflurry'

    There are few color forms available although the shade can vary between different seedlings. I obtained 'Texas Snowflurry' through Plant Delights a few years ago. I have yet to capture a good photo of it as it needs dividing badly and flowering has suffered. 

Gladiolus illyricus

    A shorter, front of the bed Glad, is Gladiolus illyricus. Possibly one of the hardiest members of this group it suffers from fewer flowers although it makes up for that as it is a very good grower.

    These and maybe a few other species are hardy to at least USDA z5. I have tried to ID what I grow but am not 100% sure if all are correct. I have yet to grow Gladiolus palustris, the most northerly of the European Gladiolus. All flower in mid to late Spring  and peak just as the Tall Bearded irises are beginning to wane.

         I hope I have piqued your interest and an increased demand for the hardy Glads may spur an enterprising nursery to offer a wider variety.

    One final note, these all prefer to be planted in the Fall as do most hardy bulbs.

Hey, Listen Up: Advice to Young Siberian Irises

By Bob Hollingworth

If only irises had ears, what could we achieve? At last it’s May here in Michigan, the heavy winter snows have finally melted, the daffodils are in full array, and the Siberian irises are awake again and throwing up shoots that are now several inches tall. The long heavy snow cover this winter was a wonderful mulch and they have come through in excellent shape with no obvious losses – perhaps the only positive from this winter, which our meteorological expert at the university described as “a once in a lifetime event and you can bet on it.” He’d better be right. Even now it’s hard to believe that only two months ago the seedling rows in the photo taken last week were under 12-18 inches of snow that had been there since late November.

Siberian seedlings, late April 2014

So as the annual cycle turns, it’s time to start thinking of what we shall see in another few weeks as bloom is at its peak. And particularly, from a hybridizer’s viewpoint, how will some of the recent seedlings that seemed notable last year perform this year? Will that rather puny but lovely seedling take off and grow now? Will the one with only three buds throw a few branches as it grows up? Is that exciting photo from last year for real, or did a bit too much Photoshop give it artificial glamour? Experience indicates with certainty that not all these wishes will come true, but one success can make up for several disappointments  Getting all the good qualities together in one plant just ain’t easy.

So let’s walk down the newer seedling rows, make some mental wishes, and talk to the plants about what they need to do to succeed in life. Here we have a tetraploid seedling (11R9B3) that combines the red and yellow shades nicely. The flower looks fine, and the plant is robust, but last year, like so many tetraploid seedlings, it bloomed a bit low in the foliage – will it rise up this year?

11R9B3

Growing next door is a promising yellow tet seedling (11R1B12), of which there are no large number around. This has the same problem – massive growth but needing  just another two inches of stem to be perfect. Just grow up a bit will you guys? You can do it with some positive thinking.

11R1B12

Seedling 11Q3B1 was a complete and pleasant surprise among the new tets, since it bloomed a good foot higher than its siblings, ending the season with stalks 45” tall, but the flowers, although pleasing, are really not all that original. What I really wanted to see was the plicata-like pattern on a yellow ground. And here it is, on a sister seedling, 11Q3A7, but that one bloomed much lower. So will this seedling in its second year elevate its performance to match its sib? Just look over at your sister there – if she can do it, so can you. Surely you aren’t going to let her beat you. Go for it.

11Q3A7

11Q3B1

And a little further along here’s a plant (11Q7B5) that was treated with the chemical colchicine, which changes the genetics and induces tetraploid flowers. It seemed that a corner of the plant might be tetraploid and the flowers looked pleasingly different from the general run, but they gave no seeds in crosses with established tetraploids. Just a matter for patience, optimism, and effort again this year. It didn’t work out last year, but I you I know tried, and that’s what counts. This time you’ll make it for sure...

11Q7B5

Continuing with red and yellow mixtures, several diploid seedlings bloomed for the first time last year with interesting colors (12Q3B3, 12S3B2, 13P4B6). Of course, they will need to grow and flower well, but that’s another hurdle to be cleared.

12Q3B3

12S3B2

13P4B6

Ten years ago these would have been to die for, but in that time we have seen lots of such combinations introduced, primarily by Marty Schafer and Jan Sacks, so to be taken seriously, these must have something different that makes them not just “me too.” We shall see. Dare to be different, but keep in mind that three falls is quite enough; four is just a bit too different. And all of you, if you’re going to fade after the first day, try to do it slowly and gracefully. Then we get to 12S8B4. Not much to say here except that's exactly what I had hoped for, just keep it going. Great deep color contrast, nice bud count. A petite plant, but no matter, there’s room for those in the garden too. Wow, you’re looking great, but that foliage might be a tad untidy, could you straighten it up just a bit?

12S8B4

An area that continues to fascinate me for whatever reason is the multipetal Siberians. They present a special challenge in that each flower can have a different combination of flower parts and some look much tidier than others.

12S2B21

Seedling 12S2B21 was one of several in a cross I made for smaller multipetal flowers that on first bloom last year seemed to have come out very well, and, for once, most of the flowers were similar and quite tidy with just one layer of falls under a central bouquet of multiple standards and florets. Fingers crossed that it does as well again this year – and puts on a bit more growth. Perhaps you’d like a little extra fertilizer?  

11M7B5

Another goal is either a yellow amoena or pure yellow multipetal. It seems that seedling 11M7B5 is taking us well along to this objective. Just stay tidy and grow up a bit, and one day you could be queen of the show.

So we shall find out in just a little while which, if any, of these seedlings has paid attention to my advice and encouragement (threatening plants does no good I find and makes for a bad atmosphere in the garden). Discovering which have responded is what make anticipation so delicious. Although I might not let on to the plants, there is a price for not paying attention: and that’s a one way trip to the compost pile where heedless irises go. Their better behaved companions move on into the next stages that can end in getting their own name, an introduction to the wider world, and a shot at fame.

The American Iris Society Announces the 2014 Photo Contest

By Andi Rivarola

The 2014 Photo Contest Has Now Commenced

The AIS invites you to participate in our annual Photo Contest. Submissions for the 2014 AIS Photo Contest will be received from April 1, 2014 until midnight June 30, 2014. This contest is free and open to everyone, with the exception of contest judges and the contest chairperson who are not eligible to enter or win. The full entry information + entry form for the 2014 AIS Photo Contest is available now on the AIS website. For further information on this item please go to: Enter Photo Contest

Every year The American Iris Society sponsors a photo contest. Concentrating generally on irises, the people who grow and hybridize them, and their use in garden or natural settings, the contest is open to anyone who submits a picture. The specific categories vary from year to year, and are open to adults and youth alike with separate awards for youth submissions.

To see previous photo contest winners  from years past please go to: 

Photo Contest Winners

Please note: "Digital photo submissions to the Photo Contest must be high resolution (300 dpi or higher) and at least 4 X 6 inches in size. (Saved as a "maximum quality" jpeg, that would be a file size of approximately 1.4 MB)

There must be irises in the photos. Entries will be selected and judged in six (6) categories:

1. Irises in a landscaped garden
2. Irises in a field or home garden
3. Events, tours, a person or people (at iris location)
4. Close up of an iris or irises
5. Iris photos- art effects, macro of bloom segments
6. Photos of pets, wildlife or garden art with the irises

Again, for all the information you need to enter this year's photo contest, please go to:

Enter Photo Contest

And, to provide you with some inspiration here are a few of the winners from last year's contest:

Runner Up, Close Up: Spuria iris 'Sparkling Cider' at Northern Ogden, UT
by Susanne Holland Spicker

Runner Up, Landscape: iris Pseudacorus at Denver Botanical Garden
by Lowell Baumunk

2013 Runner Up, Youth, Field: TB iris "Seems Like Orange Sherbet,' Milltown, WI
by Piper Nelson

We hope many of you will participate!

"Talking Irises" TALL BEARDED IRISES--WHAT IS A "SHOW STALK" IRIS?

Susanne Holland Spicker

As a lover of irises but not well-versed in the particulars of show bench judging, I wanted to learn more about what makes a "show stalk" iris. My quest led me to several iris connoisseurs of whom I have the utmost respect. Hearing what they had to say has led me to believe that there are several thoughts on the subject. I present some of those ideas now for your consideration. 

Phil Williams, Rockytop Gardens, says his "idea of a show stalk," since he thinks "the major purpose of an iris is to bloom as long as possible in the garden, is one that is branched well to display each blossom to its maximum," and he personally prefers "one blossom at a time." He goes on to say "if a judge obeys the handbook when judging, he/she is supposed to be familiar with varieties on the show bench." Phil also says that when he goes "into a garden and sees a stalk with multiple blooms open," he knows it "will be a flash in the pan as a garden iris" and he "rarely will add it to the garden unless it has fabulous form." He says he "tires quickly of irises that remain in bloom only 5-7 days due to multiple blossoms open on a stalk." In judging, he says that the iris purists will "demand that the top/terminal flower be the one in bloom.  He says 'IRENE'S SONG', Nicodemus 2011, is a perfect example of a show bench stalk. (photo unavailable) 

Another expert, hybridizer Walter Moores, who has had experience in both judging and showing, says that a specimen with one bloom can win "Queen of Show, but generally the judges look for one with 2 or 3 blooms."  He goes on to say that the "Queen should be perfection, or near perfection, for its class," with "a new variety given preference over an older variety," which has proven a  "controversial statement in the manual." He shares some good examples of show stalks.

'NIGHT TRAIN TO MEMPHIS' Moores '08
Photo courtesy of Robert Treadway

'ABSOLUTE TREASURE' Tasco '06
Photo taken May, 2014, Walter Moores garden

Betty Wilkerson, hybridizer, judge and iris expert, tells us "the requirements for show bench irises are much different than for garden irises."  She adds that  with show bench irises we want 2-3 open blooms, but in the garden we want one at time so we get a long bloom season." She goes on to say "wide branching can be nice on the show bench, (with balance), but can tangle stalks in the garden."  

Thomas Johnson, of Mid-America Garden says the term show stalk means that it is a great iris for showing and that a "show stalk is one with wide candelabra branching, nice bud placement and a good bud count." 

'BRUSSELS'  (Johnson '04) taken at Barry and Lesley Blyth's garden in Australia
Photo courtesy Thomas Johnson, Mid-American Garden

Joel Shaber, iris enthusiast, says as a gardener he is "primarily interested in branching which shows the best advantage in a clump. Wide branching, with lots of space between the flower and the stalk" is not something he "looks for, nor particularly likes."  He says he "much prefers a closer-to-the-stalk presentation, where the flower's edge very nearly touches the stalk, but stops just short of doing so." He says that "this style of branching gives a proud, upright look" which he likes, as we can see in these pictures he shares of one of the clumps in his Boise, Idaho garden.

'BELGIAN PRINCESS' clump in the bud stage
Photo courtesy of Joel Shaber

Clump of 'BELGIAN PRINCESS' Johnson '05, showing a closer branching
Photo courtesy Joel Shaber

Joel shares his 'RIO ROJO' Schreiner '09 (below), with show bench wide branching, and compares it with 'BELGIAN PRINCESS' (above), with closer branching, to help us see the difference. Although there are three open, well-positioned blooms on Rio Rojo, he tells us "there is something more to consider." He tells us to "look at the foliage-to-stalk ratio and how gangly and awkward the clump presents itself."  He goes on to say this is his "annoyance with the modern obsession with show branching," and when comparing Rio Rojo to Belgian Princess, it's plain to see "how stately Belgian Princess presents itself in both bud and in bloom, with straighter stalks, and many more blooms," although they are both beautiful.