None of the essential perennial flowers I know require more care in selection than the modern iris. There are many thousand named sorts and several hundred new varieties on the market yearly – some perfect, some good, and some bad.
Catalogs, lists of 100 best, society ratings, and other methods do not give the amateur gardener a fair idea of the quality of the variety.
Catalogs, for instance, describe the colors in such terms that no one, unless he had an expensive Ridgeway’s color chart before him, could even begin to visualize the actual color by the description.
Often judging ratings are given after the name of an iris. These mean little, for wide varieties, are 30 years or older and still carry the same rating they did when they were first introduced, even though they have been superseded many times since then.
Even ratings given to recent introductions are open to question, as they are the opinions of appointed judges.
It can be asked, “How can an amateur get quality iris if the above remarks are true?” The answer is simple.
Until an honest attempt is made to re-evaluate the ratings of iris and simplify the color descriptions, a buyer can take the matter into his own hands by visiting any one of the many fine iris gardens open to the public every June and doing his own selecting.
There are, of course, several points to remember when this is done.
Related: Hybridizing Iris Flowers
Choosing Iris Color
First, choose colors YOU like, but remember that color and color alone do not make a good iris. To go with your choice of color, ensure that the flower has sufficient substance to withstand hot sun and rain without being ruined.
Observe the form of the flower – is it pleasing to you – are the standards reasonably well-closed, or are they floppy and wide open in the sun? Are the falls graceful, broad, and well-formed without pinching at the haft or drawn towards the stern?
Choose varieties with many side branches with flowers well-placed in a pleasing way, and one with little or no reticulation at the haft.
Remember that the more branches an iris has, the more flowers you will have and the longer the garden’s bloom duration. Ensure that the stem is sufficiently strong to support the bloom without twisting or bending and that it is proportionate to the fans.
Look the plant over, and observe if it tends to have a leaf spot. Ask the grower whether or not the variety is hardy in your locality with reasonable Winter protection. Ask whether or not it is subject to root rot. Is it an endless yearly blooming variety with a likely good rhizome increase?
From this information, it should not be too difficult for an amateur to choose a good iris without depending on commercial descriptions.
Of course, many gardeners are unable to visit gardens and must rely on other means to get suitable varieties, in which case he should place his orders with some grower in whom he has confidence and trust to luck that he will get what he wants.
If there is any chance to see irises growing in the different gardens, do so. It is the only safe way.
Regarding the price, remember that price never makes a flower. Some of the best older varieties sell for a dollar or less, and even many of the best newer types do not cost over five dollars a rhizome.
Considerable difference in opinion exists about the high prices placed on new introductions as to whether this is justified. Presumably, the scarcity of stock makes such prices, but the writer cannot agree with this.
By H Bent
15179 by NA