Within the past 50 years, Western Oregon has become the threshold of new developments in the iris, achieving the top award in the International Iris Competition in Florence, Italy, last year.
Hybridizers and growers in Oregon are adding scores of new varieties and types to the ever-expanding list of new creations. The vast, virtually untouched fields into which they can extend their work indicate many more years of expansion ahead.
Although Oregon is the home of more than a dozen species of wild iris, modern cultural developments did not begin until about 1910.
At that time, the late Howard E. Weed of Portland began devoting himself to growing, hybridizing, and promoting iris as a garden specialty. Although working with other kinds, he specialized mainly in bearded types.
Dr. E. R. Kleinsorge, a Silverton physician and surgeon, became interested when he got some of Weed’s iris for his garden. Within a few years, he was deep into a hobby that is still growing.
The Cooley Iris Gardens of Silverton began handling the Kleinsorge hybrids as they were released and grew with them. Today they are the home grounds for the new Kleinsorge creations.
Starting Irises And Daylily Nursery
Robert Schreiner started his iris and daylily nursery near Salem some 35 years ago and, as he describes it, “grew up on iris.”
The late Dr. E. J. Kraus, after he retired from the University of Chicago, returned to Oregon State College, where he devoted himself to various special hybridizing projects, prominent among which was iris development. Most of his hybrids were released through Schreiner.
Meanwhile, Chet W. Tompkins of Canby developed his Fleur de Lis Gardens. In 1958 he developed Allaglow, a cross of Ballet Dancer x L. Albright x Golden Twilight, released in 1958.
In 1960 Allaglow won the Golden Forin top prize at the international show in Florence, Italy. It was especially honored for its profusion of flowers.
Fifteen years ago, Walter Marx of Boring began seeking perennials that would give nearly continuous year-round bloom. He soon discovered that many species of iris provide blooms every month of the year—at least in mild and medium-mild climates.
His continuous bloom hobby led Marx into extensive hybridizing projects, now contributing many new iris hybrids to the world’s gardens.
Whatever the type of iris you desire, whatever characteristic you want, you can find something to meet the requirement in the iris nurseries of the Pacific Northwest.
Here are just a few of the new releases of the current year from Oregon.
Kleinsorge Hybrids
Kleinsorge hybrids released by Cooley’s include the yet-to-be-named Kleinsorge 470, one of the largest floral iris yet developed.
Many blooms are carried on strong stems, colored in light cocoa brown shades with violet-tinted falls. Some of the blooms are as large as small dinner plates.
Schreiner Hybrids
Schreiner hybrid releases include the following:
- Brightside, ivory-lemon-yellow, with unusual ruffled petals
- Brasilia, with a new red henna color
- Licorice Stick, a deep blue-black solid-colored flower
- Crinkled Beauty, orchid-mauve with distinctive lace-edged petals
Chet Tompkins is bringing out the following:
- Allaglow, Herald Angel, extra large, pure white with a red beard and heavily ruffled petals
- Top Dollar, a cross from Allaglow, rich golden yellow; Donnybrook, tall, large-flowered, with broad, intensely red petals
- Madame Butterfly, pure white amoena variant, with broad, velvety white falls, veined blue
- High Note, a broad-petaled, ruffled bloom with brilliant pink color and geranium red beard
Marx gardens bring out a new dwarf bearded iris, which is:
- Guppy, a medium blue without veining, 6” inches high
- Elf Charm, a long, pointed flower with cream standards and deeper cream falls, 10” inches
- Little Smoky, an early blooming, 3” inch-tall plant of smoky purple color
Fourteen varieties of Japanese Marliigo hybrids, a group of which Marx is the originator, are being introduced this year.
Their color and character are indicated by names such as Silver Waves, Velvet Canopy, Dark Drapery, Tinted Cloud, Brilliant Burgundy, and Drifted Snow.
In addition to this year’s releases, several hundred hybrids are being tested in Oregon nurseries, adding another exciting chapter to the iris story in the coming seasons.
44659 by Dean Collins