By Sylvain Ruaud In Italy iris hybridizing is not a new activity. But as you are about to find out, over the years it has taken its own — very original — dimension. Everywhere else in Europe it is men who have dedicated their lives to irises, certainly with enthusiasm and passion, but also as a…
By Ron Killingsworth and Patrick O’ConnorWhere, oh where, did that name originate? Iris names have always intrigued me. Some names are easy to figure out. Others defy reason. Another interesting subject is people’s names. Where in the world did the parents get the name they stuck on that poor child? Have you often wondered that? That subject…
via Louisiana Iris Names – Where did the hybridizer find that name? — World of Irises
By Mike Unser
A selection of irises I have grown that were introduced in the year 1926. In the United States Grace Sturtevant and Bertrand Farr were working in the east, EB Williamson and the Sass Brothers in the mid-west, and Mohr and Mitchell in California. England’s own Arthur Bliss was thrilling European gardeners, as were…
via Photo Essay: Historic Varieties from 1926 — World of Irises
Congratulations to Mike Sutton and Sutton Iris Garden!
The American Iris Society Announces the 2019 Dykes Medal Winner ‘Bottle Rocket’ (Mike Sutton 2009)
First awarded in 1927, the Dykes Medal is the highest award of the AIS, awarded to no more than one iris per year. Irises are eligible as a Dykes Medal candidate for three years following the winning of a classification medal. Only AIS registered judges…
by Jean Richter
This is an introduction to three women iris hybridizers from the 20th century who are perhaps not particularly well known, but all created iris of great beauty.Our first hybridizer is from the earliest era of the American and British Iris Societies, in the early part of the 20th century.Miss Violet Insole was a…
via Three Twentieth Century Women Iris Hybridizers — World of Irises
“Dwarf bearded irises may be found growing wild throughout much of southwestern Europe, from Spain and Portugal, through southern France, and into northern and central Italy….”
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Dwarf iris can be seen blooming among the tulips, weather depending.
Easy to plant, easy to care for, easy to enjoy! That is the Iris. And such variety too! Variety of size, variety of bloom season, variety of color, variety of style. Isn’t success in life all about the choices we make? That simple maxim can apply to the realm of the flower garden too. The Iris offer such a host of choices, one is surely to find just the right color, or size, etc. Let’s talk about the breadth of bloom time, for example. The Miniature Dwarf Iris and the Standard Dwarf Iris are among the very first Iris to bloom. Weather depending, of course, they open up their diminutive blossoms (just 5 to 15 inches in height) approximately mid-March to early April (in most temperate zones), heralding the launch of another promising Iris season.
The Dwarf Bearded Iris are no less hardy than their taller, more robust cousins. Dwarf Iris, both Miniature and Standard types, propagate with strength and, once in bloom, stand up to the early spring frosts. There are several wonderful resources available which provide great detail on the origins of these hybrids. The Dwarf Iris Society is a good place to start for further links and leads on exploring the subject. Several Iris breeders today have introduced spectacular Bearded Iris cultivars in miniature.
Intermediate Iris bloom early in the spring, often alongside tulips
As spring widens its embrace upon the land, weep not for the fading Dwarf Iris, for the Intermediate, Median, or Border Iris are opening on the garden scene! A bit taller than the tallest Dwarf, yet shorter than the shortest Tall Bearded Iris, they offer brilliant bloom to span the gap between March and May, a beautiful complement to the Cherry blossoms! The earliest blooming Tall Bearded Iris will overlap with the later-blooming Intermediate Iris, to create a seamless floral transition of color. Sprinkle in several mid-season and late-season Tall Bearded Iris around your garden, and the color show continues well into June.
A few moments spent casually mapping out the succession of Iris blooms in your garden will yield months of rainbow color from your ankles to above your hips! Dwarf, Intermediate, Tall Bearded, as well as Beardless Iris, are all planted in the summer months. Below is a simple chart, indicating approximate bloom times for Iris ranging from the Miniature Dwarf to the Tall Bearded, and including the Beardless Iris such as, Siberian and Louisiana. Bloom time is greatly dependent on weather conditions and gardening practices, however. For example, Reblooming Iris require regular extra fertilization, watering and dividing.
|
March |
April |
May |
June |
July/Aug/Sept/Oct |
|
Min. Dwf. & Std. Dwf. (5″ to 15″; 5cm to 28cm) |
Intermediates & Border (16″ to 27″; 40cm to 68cm) |
Tall Bearded (28″ to 48″;70cm to 122cm) |
Tall Bearded & Beardless (such as, Siberian and Louisiana) |
Reblooming Bearded Iris of all sizes |
Intermediate Iris (IB) “Many Mahalos” (Aitken, 2003) blooms early, among the tulips.
If you are one who can hardly wait for the year’s Iris season to start, you have merely to plant some Dwarf Bearded Iris this summer. You will have Iris blooming with the first inkling of spring warmth. Even if you consider yourself simply a fan, a dabbler, a curious gardening newbie to the world of flowers, give the Dwarf Iris a try!
Do you grow Dwarf Iris? Share your comments below!
What to do in the Iris garden this month…..read more on our site.
By Kevin VaughnI grew up in Massachusetts in the AIS of the 60’s and when we went on tours the iris were not grown like a corn field but rather as a part of a garden picture. ‘Cup Race’ was one of the famous irises to come out of the Stedman Buttrick garden.Image courtesy of…
via Irises as Part of the Perennial Border — World of Irises
Back in the spring of 2015, as we geared up for the celebration of the 90th anniversary of Schreiner’s Iris Gardens, and to welcome the Annual AIS Convention-goers, we received a message from Cathy Egerer of the Historic Iris Preservation Society. She proposed we plant an historic Schreiner Iris bed in our Display Gardens to commemorate our golden anniversary. While our 10-acre display garden contains beds filled with hundreds of Iris cultivars, seedling tests, guest Iris, Dyke’s Medal winners and more, surprisingly we had not yet dedicated a single bed to our own legacy of 90 years of Iris breeding.
We agreed that this would be a tremendous addition to the garden. Ms. Egerer then enlisted the help of dedicated Iris enthusiasts across the country. These generous individuals donated and shipped the historic Iris rhizomes from their own gardens to us here in Oregon. We received several dozen specimens of older Schreiner hybrids, dating back to 1936. Once cataloged and arranged, Ben Schreiner (4th generation owner) planted the “newcomers” and tended to them throughout that first winter.
Thus, our official Historic Schreiner Iris bed was conceived of and built. We would like to very sincerely thank Cathy and all of the folks who donated Iris and time and postage to this project (please forgive us if we have forgotten to list anyone by name): Carlos Ayento, Nancy McDonald, Linda Baumgartner, Judy Schneider, Arlyn Madsen, Lani Shooks, Patty Del Negro, Wanda Rezac, Charles Pickett. We are grateful to you all for helping to restore these historic Iris to their roots.
Do you grow historic Schreiner Iris in your garden? We would love to know.
By Susanne Holland SpickerPlease join with us in congratulating Robert Hollingworth for outstanding Siberian Iris ‘Judy, Judy, Judy,’ the winner of The Morgan-Wood Medal, The American Iris Society 2017 Awards.’JUDY, JUDY, JUDY’ (Robert Hollingworth 2010) Photo by Robert HollingworthThis exceptional Siberian iris is described by the AIS Wiki as follows:’Judy, Judy, Judy’ (Robert Hollingworth 2010)…
via American Iris Society 2017 Awards ‘Judy, Judy, Judy’ The Morgan-Wood Medal — World of Irises
For the Love of Iris 