Study a few iris catalogs, especially from hybridizers, and you will see that far more remarkable achievements are being made with iris breeding.
Once color-crazed, iris hybridizers also concentrate on vigor, disease resistance, and good branching and height variations.
All the varieties discussed in this article are vigorous except one or two, which have enough ethereal coloring to be worth growing anyway. Most are moderate, and some are even low in price. I write from my growing experience of 14 years in my garden.
Indeed, if one has not planted any new irises in the last three or four years, he is missing something. These are irises worth growing!
Blue Sapphire Iris
One glance at the Popularity Poll of the American Iris Society, and you will see that one iris everyone should grow is ‘Blue Sapphire,’ which leads the list of the 100 best for the second rear.
This iris deserves all the praise given to it. Its rippling light sapphire blue is a tall, unfailing accent in the border from early in the season to near the end. It grows well and has handsome foliage.
Biscay Bay Iris
Bob Schreiner has come up with the perfectly performing deeper blue, ‘Biscay Bay,’ a mass of it that magnetized my garden visitors last year. One unusual advantage is its relatively low height, 32-33 inches.
Near it, I like the lacy median ‘Yellow Dresden,’ which is an easy producer of many crinkled yellow flowers. On the other hand, nothing could beat ‘Party Dress,’ which has a more pure personality than any other iris on the market.
It, too, is inclined toward lower height. Acid to this the perfect mauve-pink median, ‘Little Gem,’ and you will have your visitors and yourself drooling in short order.
Dancing Deb Iris
A medium-hued blue that excites me more each year is Chet Tompkins ‘Dancing Deb,’ which has the size and vigor this hybridizer strives for in his flowers.
A silvery blue rapidly stealing the heart of any beholder because of its color, its different tailored shape, and its all-around satisfaction is Tell Muhlestein ‘Praiseworthy.’ Salem is near it in color and is charming.
There is available now a dark, dark blue, very reliable iris deserving to be known everywhere—Night Patrol. No other iris has its deep blue coloring.
Better Known Blacks
There is a sooty charmer, the best here of all the better-known blacks:
- ‘Storm Warning.’ Big, tall, bold, and black in appearance, it commands attention and is a foil for the lighter colors.
- Toxfire, “Coronation Gold’ and “Glittering Gold” are all flashy deep yellows loving its company, while
- ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘June Meredith’ are pink family members richly compatible with their velvety darkness.
Popular Iris
`Happy Birthday’ is surely the most popular iris I grow, but people who see it near ‘June Meredith‘ say that ‘Happy Birthday’ is peach-colored.
No other pink iris generally approaches ‘June Meredith’ for pure pinkness, sheer beauty, and general performance.
I rate the second ‘Lynn Hall,’ while Theta’ has a charm and the sturdiness that the skillful hand of Orville Fay knows how to create.
Near ‘Storm Warning’ or ‘Night Patrol,’ I like, too, one of the yellow-white combinations. Of these, ‘Mystic Melody’ has the most contrast, while ‘Soft Answer’, with its subtle combinations, turns away any fault-finder.
`Crinkled Ivory’ is a fascinating cream companion. `Figurine,’ a less well-known Babson iris, a faint blue-washed cream, is superb nearby and will stop every garden visitor.
Highly-Favored White Irises
- ‘Cascadian’ inherits the blue-white ruffling of its mother,
- ‘Snow Flurry,’ with increased size and vigor. It is early and bloomed well in the past mid-season.
- ‘Spanish Peaks’ and `Helen McKenzie’ are pure white, but ‘Inverness’ is even better.
- However, a sleeper in this group is ‘Late Snow,’ which is in bloom by midseason but fading with ‘Mayan Gold’ at the season’s very end.
- With its fiery beard, ‘Frost and Flame’ set hearts aglow.
- Gordon Plough’s ‘Cloud Dancer’ is up and coming with a bright beard, too.
New Color Range in Iris Rainbow
A new, exciting color range in the iris rainbow is apricot. ‘Magic Mood,’ ‘Sweet Girl Graduate,’ Apricot Glory,’ and ‘Festoon’ have this mouth-watering color.
‘Apricot Supreme’ has it in greater depth, plus a tall stalk that commands attention.
Plicata Varieties
- If plicatas are your cup of tea, ‘Bazaar’ is a rich mulberry and white, large, reliable performer, the best in its color range.
- ‘Dark Halo’ is near black and white and, even nearer, reputedly, is David Hall’s ‘Dot and Dash.’
- ‘New Adventure’ is orchid-pink and white, with many flowers.
- ‘April Showers’ is soft yellow and white and appealing.
- While ‘Belle Meade’ and ‘Caroline Jane’ are the best generally available blue-white plicatas,
- I understand ‘Rococo’ will displace all others of this color; it is big, clearly marked, and gaily fluted—and eagerly awaited to bloom in my garden.
Bronze Iris
The bronzes have always been close to my heart.
- In the lighter range, ‘Banner Bright’ will lend brilliant, airy grace to any garden.
- ‘Butterscotch Kiss’ will invariably give a mound of butterscotch ruffles and is destined for all-time popularity.
- In the burnished bronzes, `Ginger’ is good, and ‘Golden Blaze’ is brilliantly attractive and vigorous.
- In the deep bronzes, only one, Schreiner’s perfect ‘Bronze Bell,’
- Can surpass Dr. Kleinsorge’s still gorgeous ‘Pretty Quadroon.’
- ‘Olympic Torch’ is headed up the ladder; watch for it.
Variegatus Varieties
If you like variegatus:
- ‘Firechier’ is the best since `Gypsy.’
- ‘Cherry Falls’ is a captivating median with its bright falls beneath the gold cup.
Amoena Varieties
In amoenas, ‘Bright Hour’ has perhaps surpassed ‘Wabash,’ which is still good, clear, and sharp.
But the entire iris world is raving over ‘Wholecloth,’ which is clear medium blue below snowy standards. No pink amoena has come yet, but it is on the way.
Among purples, some new ones demand fresh enthusiasm. ‘Pirate King’ is a giant good one, while ‘Purple Haven’ and ‘Total Eclipse’ leave little to be desired.
Iris Lapham
Lapham has found red pigment in the iris where none seemed for so long to exist. His ‘Big Time’ is the reddest in the effect of all “reds” in my garden, with his ‘Dress Rehearsal’ and Mrs. Whiting’s ‘Technicolor’ is still giving competition.
Supposed to be redder than all is Lapham’s own ‘Long Last,’ introduced in 1960, eagerly awaited to flower in my garden this year. Tompkins has won fame with reds; his ‘Ebony Echo,’ short in the South, is a deep dark red, and ‘Defiance’ is well-rated.
‘Captain Gallant’ is a true red of higher price. Torn Craig’s `Zombie’ is superb, deep, rich red, big and bold, and very new. ‘Bang,’ really brown-red, is the best performer in this class for me, but ‘Tall Chief,’ redder, is good.
Orchid Varieties
By far, the most appealing color family in all my garden for visitors is the orchid one. Every year without fail, `Evenglow’ is a knockout.
It is almost a true lavender, very tall and stately, grows splendidly, and produces giant flowers on a rigid stalk, never needing a stake. Close behind this in favor are ‘Crispette’ and ‘Crinkled Lilac.’
For more pink in the make-up, one needs ‘Amethyst Flame’ and ‘Lovely Diana,’ which are more breathtakingly beautiful than any iris seems entitled to be.
‘Rosedale’ is a rosy median in this range I never have enough of, and ‘Applause ‘, 35 inches tall, is a dark horse in mauve.
‘Pink Clover’ is the late-bloomer in this class and is exactly named. ‘Mary Randall’ is the lovely one defying the list of adjectives for description, a top-notch iris. Finally, ‘Violet Harmony’ is tops in performance, a long-blooming iris.
44659 by Loleta Kenan Powell