ROOTS Journal of the Historic Iris Preservation Society
Volume 29, Issue 1 Spring 2016 ROOTS Volume 29, Issue 1, Spring 2016 2016 HIPS General Meeting Date Everyone is invited to attend the 2016 HIPS CONTENTS General Meeting scheduled for May 25 at 1PM at the AIS Convention in the Marriott Hotel at the 3 From the President’s Garden - Cathy Egerer Newark International Airport, New Jersey. Please 3 Announcements, Errata, Editor’s Note note there will no longer be section board 6 The Iris in the Cradle of Horticulture - W. Douglass Paschall meetings at the AIS Convention, so the HIPS 9 The Locator Board will meet by teleconference prior to the 10 ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ - Milan Blažek Convention. a 15 HIPS NEW Rhizome Sale - Judy Schneider 18 National Collections - Charles Carver Copyright Information 21 HIPS Outreach - Cathy Egerer Unless specifically stated otherwise, all rights are 21 The Search for ‘Emma Cook’ - Part 1 - Nancy McDonald reserved by HIPS. AIS and all affiliates may 22 Iris Colour Rendition - Anne Milner reprint freely, with attribution; please send the 24 What We’re Growing Now: The 2015 Databank - B. Barney ROOTS editor a courtesy copy. All others, please 27 Rescuing the Lankow Historic Iris Collection - C. Carver inquire. a 31 Display Garden Reports - Tammy Skahan & Arlyn Madsen 35 Society Business - Cathy Egerer THANK YOU! 35 In Memoriam From the bottom of her heart, the editor thanks 36 The HIPS Website - Laetitia Munro Phil Edinger for vetting our photo illustrations and 37 Treasurer’s Report Janet Smith for cheerfully volunteering to be our 38 What Do You See? Purple Basal Foliage - Dave Prichard Photo Editor. Merci beaucoup to Catherine Adam 40 Vendor List - Dave Prichard for her valuable information about our cover iris, 43 HIPS Contacts which was incorrectly named in the AIS 1939 Check List. a
HIPS MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
- E-members do not receive paper copies of Subscription Votes Price: U.S, Price: ROOTS; all others do. ROOTS will be available to Choice Canada, & Rest of World all members on the HIPS website. Mexico (Overseas) - ALL memberships include access to the HIPS TRADITIONAL MEMBERSHIP website. - U.S., Canadian, & Mexican members pay the Single Annual 1 US $13 US $20 same price & have access to the HIPS Rhizome Sale. Members elsewhere pay extra for postage. Single 1 US $33 US $52 We’re sorry, but we cannot ship rhizomes overseas. Triennial - Join online or send a check or money order in Dual Annual 2 US $15 US $22 $US, payable to HIPS, to our Membership Chair Judy Eckhoff, 7911 S Yoder Rd, Haven KS Dual Triennial 2 US $39 US $58 67543-8114; 620-931-5114; you may also reach Judy at
LIFE MEMBERSHIP On Our Cover Single Life 1 US $225 sorry, not ‘Deuil de Valéry Mayet’ (Denis, 1912) from a available lantern slide from the Scott Arboretum Dual Life 2 US $250 Archives, Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College. Sadly, we know of no ROOTS is issued twice per calendar year. source for this iris, which commemorates the - All prices are in U.S. dollars. French entomologist & zoology professor. a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 2 Spring 2016 From the President’s Garden Contact Doug Paschall, the program administrator, at
ANNOUNCEMENTS
2020 AIS Centennial Logo: This gorgeous logo was created by our own HIPS member Lori Galletti. Congratulations, Lori! You may all remember Lori as the collector of Bertrand Farr irises and memorabilia, and one hard-working lady. We sure hope the AIS will be selling tote bags and T-shirts with this logo on them!
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 3 Spring 2016 particular class, hybridizer, or color pattern Membership Drive 2016 (amoena, plicata, luminata, etc.) would be a great WE NEED NEW MEMBERS! The 2016 asset. We do not require that you have a lot of HIPS Membership Drive will run from now until experience identifying irises; we will train you. September 1, 2016. Earn points and win rare Interested? Write to ID Chair Charles Carver historic iris rhizomes! You will earn one point for
HIPS Launches PBF The Pollen Project: The AIS has started a Study: Read all about it! See page wonderful project for 38 of this issue. hybridizers to share pollen. One of the many reasons to ID Committee: HIPS is preserve old irises is to keep assembling an ID Committee, to the gene pool alive, just as include representatives with people do with vegetables. If expertise or familiarity for each of you are a hybridizer or if you the iris classes. We seek candidates have pollen to share or both, and referrals for potential candidates. this is the project for you. Our goal is to have teams for each Learn more at: class who could discuss the irises
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 4 Spring 2016 HIPS 30th Anniversary in 2018: We descriptions are so unhelpful, that I was especially will celebrate the 30th anniversary of HIPS in the curious about this one. Fall 2018 issue of ROOTS. If you were a charter or Editor’s Note: Phil, I enthusiastically thank early member of HIPS, or if you know or knew you for helping us keep the record straight. Yes, it’s someone who was and would like that person to be nit-picking, and that’s exactly what we need if we remembered in this issue, please write to the editor. are to truly preserve historic irises. Please keep up a If HIPS were an iris, we’d be considered historic at the good and diligent work. - Nancy age 30, so let’s make this anniversary issue a special one. a From the Editor
Starting with this issue, our new printer is ERRATA Sundance Press, of Tucson, Arizona. Sundance has printed the American Iris Society Bulletin for a number of years, and comes highly recommended. Phil Edinger, ever alert at our request for We look forward to a happy and productive mistakes in ROOTS, pointed out some anomalies in relationship with them. the Fall 2015 issue. Phil writes: We would like to thank AG Press for their - The 2013 Distinguished Service Award went to years of service printing ROOTS. Linda Sercus, not to Presby. [Linda, our apologies.] Janet Smith, our Ad Hoc Slide Preservationist, - On page 29, the iris shown as ‘George J. has taken on another role for us as well. Beginning Tribolet’ (E. B. Williamson, 1926) is what has with this issue, Janet is our new Photo Editor. I been circulating for many decades as ‘Mme Henri could not be more delighted or appreciative. Cayeux’ (F. Cayeux, 1924). I’ve never been totally The Spring 2016 issue was planned to comfortable with what we have as the Mme being accommodate the HIPS Rhizome Sale in its old the right thing, mainly because the stated parents format. Now that there’s a new schedule for the both have all-green foliage and what we grow has Rhizome Sale, we can move the date of the spring pbf. ‘George J. Tribolet’ at least is known to have issue a bit earlier next year. Although Cathy and I pbf. still have snow on our irises as I write, I understand - The other image on page 29, labeled many of you are rejoicing in flowers, so I guess for ‘Sandilands’, has to be wrong, for two reasons: 1) you it really is Spring already. that iris never was introduced; and 2) that flower Notice that this issue of ROOTS is a little never would have been considered for registering in longer than usual. That won’t always be the case, the late 1960s. I’d guess it’s something from the but we plan to flex between 36 and 44 pages to 1930s; it resembles ‘Moki’ (Thole, 1937), but I accommodate all the wonderful articles people don’t have a photo for comparison. submit. Thank you for those! - On page 22 is a shot labeled ‘Imperial Blush’ (H. Finally, a little lecture: If we are to continue P. Sass, 1932) with an apparently identical noid. I’d saving historic irises, we need new members. like to know more about the supposed ‘Imperial Please share your passion, your spark, your Blush’, as so far it is among the missing of the Sass enthusiasm with others. Find young adults who orchids. A fairly detailed description appears in the love flowers and history, who enjoy the excitement final official group of AIS descriptions in Bulletin and stress-relief of gardening. Find newly retired 53. The color, “very pale Hortense violet,” seems people who finally have time to take on a new and about right, as do the drooping falls and the “white, absorbing project in the garden. Find kids and get orange tipt” beards. Styles are noted as being them started on this joyful pursuit. If we truly love “darker,” which these don’t appear to be, and the our old irises, and don’t just say we do, we need to haft is “inconspicuously veined vernonia purple.” provide for their future. Let’s do this! In these flowers I don’t see even inconspicuous haft Have a wonderful iris season and enjoy your veins though inside the throat is perhaps some summer! inconspicuous darker marking. There are so many Nancy McDonald a old orchid noids floating around, and old
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 5 Spring 2016 The Iris in the Cradle of Horticulture by W. Douglass Paschall
On sloping terrain eleven miles southwest of plants to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Philadelphia’s City Hall lies the campus of Benjamin Franklin, and the royal gardens of Swarthmore College, one of the most highly Europe; Longwood Gardens, encompassing the regarded liberal arts colleges in North America. private arboretum of the Peirce family that was From the moment of the school’s founding by begun in 1798; Wyck, where roses unknown Hicksite Quakers in 1864, the 240-acre anywhere else were nurtured without interruption grounds—then partly rural pastures—were graced for nine generations; Tyler Arboretum, centered on with gifts of trees from founders, supporters, the Painter family’s extraordinary nineteenth- faculty, and alumni, who on the site were studiously century collection of specimen trees from around extending a pattern of natural embellishment that the world. had made Philadelphia and its surrounding Greater By the early 1920s a wealthy Swarthmore Delaware Valley the nation’s “cradle of alumnus, Arthur Hoyt Scott, hoped the campus, an horticulture.” amalgam of individual plantings over decades, The Swarthmore community and the school’s could be made to coalesce into something more leaders knew well this Quaker tradition of strategic, more unified, more befitting the growing gardening, with its impetus in the sect’s belief that prestige of the school and the heritage of the we seek to understand God through observation of region’s horticultural bounty. Scott, the inventor of the natural world. The region’s unmatched the paper towel and president of the Scott Paper abundance of botanical sites today is a testament to Company, was also a dedicated gardener of lilacs, those roots: Bartram’s Garden, the home of early peonies, and flowering trees, and not least a breeder naturalists John and William Bartram, who supplied of bearded irises. To help envision what the campus could become, he, his wife, and Swarthmore botany professor Samuel C. Palmer turned to another Philadelphian, a nationally-known landscape architect, John Caspar Wister, who in 1920 had founded the American Iris Society and in reviews of the season had written favorably of Scott’s own iris seedlings. Years of eager, earnest discussion, planning, and approvals, shoehorned into the conspirators’ busy careers, came to a halt when Arthur Scott died in 1927. Things could have ended there, were it not for Scott’s widow, sister, and brother-in-law, who in 1929 endowed and established on the Swarthmore grounds the Arthur Hoyt Scott Horticultural Foundation (now the Scott Arboretum). In that first year, a prize, the Scott Medal, was also created, to honor an individual who had made an outstanding national contribution to the science and art of horticulture. As his accomplishments up to that year had already made him a rising force on the national gardening scene, we can forgive the family for awarding the first Scott Medal to their friend John Wister. As 1930 dawned, Wister was also named the foundation’s first director. It would be as much a challenge as a blessing. John Wister, planting irises at the New York Botanical Garden, July 1924
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 6 Spring 2016 I became Director of the Foundation on and additional men he could recruit through a local January 1, 1930. I was given no definite unemployment-relief project in every element of instructions. horticulture, with particular attention to propagation of seedlings and cuttings that could extend the Though Wister, quoted above in his recap of impact of his meager budget. He traded plants with the foundation’s first decade, assured readers he had botanical gardens throughout the Northeast and the enthusiastic support of the college’s president, wheedled gifts from other growers. To one supplier faculty, and staff, we need to remind ourselves that he offered irises from his own personal collection in this was the outset of the Great Depression. exchange for twelve thousand narcissus bulbs. Resources were reduced and spread thin, even in an The first windfall gifts came in 1931 with institution of Swarthmore’s stability. Wister’s donations of 34 varieties of Japanese cherries, 79 salary was $1,000 (the equivalent of $13,000 today) varieties of peony, and 91 varieties of iris from two per year, a number that would not increase donors. Offered before Wister was able to finalize throughout that first decade. The foundation’s full on a master plan where everything should go, the lot annual budget was $3,000, and its endowment was were planted along the route between the less than one-twentieth that of the Arnold President’s House and Parrish Hall, the college’s Arboretum at Harvard. administration building, and the Quaker meeting Despite the tight funding, Wister dedicated house. Wister was using every lever to stir support: himself to fulfilling the practical mission that Arthur Scott had envisioned: the establishment of a It is still necessary to go to Washington to collection of trees, shrubs, and flowers that could see cherries, to New York to see irises, to thrive with minimal care in the eastern Pennsylvania Rochester to see lilacs, and to the Arnold climate and soils, that would offer North America’s Arboretum near Boston to see at all increasing number of amateur gardeners a vision of complete collections of hardy trees and what they could grow with greatest success and shrubs, all of which is a reflection on enjoyment in their own yards. Wister did not slight Philadelphia, the home of Bartram, Painter the pedagogic needs of the college, and emphasized and Meehan, and many other famous holdings of large numbers of species within certain botanists and gardeners. genera that in their diversity of form and habit could illustrate fundamental distinctions that students needed to learn in the science of botany. Native plants, already present or reintroduced, would be the focus in the undeveloped woods that covered a steep slope down to Crum Creek. On the 80 acres of the central campus, existing holdings of rhododendrons became the core of a specialty collection, and other such concentrations would be pursued of conifers, magnolias, hollies, and Scott’s favorites: flowering cherries, tree lilacs, peonies, irises, and narcissus. To achieve these ambitions Wister had the help, when other duties did not interfere, of college groundskeepers. There was little money to purchase plants. As he set about to shape and execute a plan to lend order to the college’s existing flora, moving (or removing) almost as much as he would The Scott Arboretum’s display garden for peonies and irises, spring 1943, with add, Wister trained the groundskeepers commuter rail line and station in the distance
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 7 Spring 2016 He had been instrumental himself in 1924 in that are passed down of what has been, allege that the creation of the iris collection that he cited at the the iris beds were plowed under during World War New York Botanical Garden, and was just as II, when manpower to tend the plants was destined involved in founding the Presby Memorial Iris to be in short supply. Some of the herbaceous Gardens in 1927. With this new planting he was collections on the campus, indeed, met this fate. satisfying the goal he and Scott had conceived years Inventories and photographs in the archives earlier to add another pearl to the string of display nevertheless reveal that the iris holdings planted in gardens that would give this flower the exposure 1941 were still going strong in 1943, 1944, and they felt it deserved. He was building a model and a 1945. The latest inventory of the irises to survive in demand for irises, as he would for each of his focus the arboretum’s archives dates from 1966, and was collections. last checked for accuracy in 1969, the year Wister As the cherry trees grew, their shadow retired his post as Director. It is likely that the beds spread, reducing the bloom of what lay underneath, were gone soon thereafter. By that time, in one site and pressure was on to move the irises to a sunnier, or another, the iris display had been maintained for less crowded site. From his first months on the job, nearly forty years. Wister had intended to place perennial flower beds The fate of the iris garden at Swarthmore is for roses, daylilies, peonies, and irises on the lower a lesson for those who would wish to see campus, near athletic fields, where the land was flat preservation take a primary role in plant science and and trees were sparse, but the migration, realized in husbandry: even secure, strong institutions of a stages as the size of the collection expanded, took a horticultural focus are not always safe repositories decade to come to fruition. In 1936, new iris when leaderships change, when missions evolve, acquisitions were planted in chrysanthemum beds when circumstances or priorities shift. Today, there near Worth Hall, a women’s dormitory. Two years are no bearded irises at all on Swarthmore’s later an iris display garden of six long beds was campus, and only a couple of species may be found created for 535 varieties on a hillside south of the in small numbers amid the natural plantings. Field House. In the autumn of 1941, the display Swarthmore’s irises are now a piece of lore, garden landed in its final destination, on flat ground remembered by a few whose primary purview is to bordering commuter train tracks and the build on other collections of extraordinary note. To Swarthmore station, with dedicated beds for irises the lay visitor today there is only a single, discreet and peonies. There the plants would not be reminder of what once was.... On the Scott Medal integrated with other genera, as was the common that is awarded every year to a leader in the science practice of Arts and Crafts gardens of just a decade and art of gardening, in the upper right field of or two earlier, but would be arrayed in monoculture sculptor Walker Hancock’s medallion relief, floats a rows and groupings for more light and air and, single iris stem, honoring the passion of Arthur above all, for undistracted study and comparison of Hoyt Scott and the esteem that he and John Wister the cultivars. Within the beds shared for a flower that has the irises were separated by captivated plant lovers across species, size classes, dates of centuries. hybridization, and bloom cycles, to emphasize the range and The author would like to thank development of forms. This Claire Sawyers and Jody model—the teaching garden—is Downer of the Scott Arboretum the pattern most often and Chris Densmore, Susanna encountered in iris display Morikawa, and Pat O’Donnell of gardens to this day. But in an the Friends Historical Library of arboretum of national renown, Swarthmore College for their of wondrous collections, it is a invaluable assistance in the specific display garden that research and preparation of this exists no longer at Swarthmore. article. a Institutional memory at the Scott Arboretum, the stories The Scott Medal
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 8 Spring 2016 THE LOCATOR: hg Keven Vaughn is looking for two of his MTB Our Locator column is designed to help you find an introductions, ‘Little Bluebeard’ (1977) and iris when all other hope is lost. Please check the ‘Tammy’s Tutu’ (1982). If anyone has these and Commercial Source List online or, if you do not use will share, swap, or sell, please notify the editor. computers, write to Dave Prichard. If the iris is not commercially available, look at the HIPS Databank hg online or write to Brett Barney; if the iris is in the Databank, Brett will inquire of the owner whether MISSING BEE WARBURTON IRISES: the iris can be shared. If neither of them can help, Vicki Flanagan writes: “My grandmother, Bee write to the editor; we will be happy to publish your Warburton, was an iris hybridizer. I am working on quest here. Please let us know if The Locator helps a historic iris garden that will include her irises. you find the iris you sought; we love success stories. Here is a list of some of the missing ones. Please Contact information is on page 43 of this issue. contact me if you have any iris or any leads, at
Siberians: SDB: Blue Song Butterscotch Cream Bountiful Violet Cookies Deep Shade Crown George Henry Daughter Navy Fanfare Gentle Air Stars by Day Jenny Grace Tweed Lady Vi In Pearls Little Lamb Wings Away Missie Moonday Versicolor: Pitti Sing Rougette Red Dandy Shape Up Scented Air Wild Hearts Sea Change ‘Little Lamb’ (Warburton, 1980) SDB Sky And Snow Chuck Chapman photo Louisiana: Sugared Ice hg Sweet Accord Sweet Corn Taradiddle MDB: Trebor Ann Carol Mori, archivist for the Patton Family Already Wine Archives in Massachusetts, found a reference to TB Arrowhead ‘General Patton’ (Kleinsorge, 1947) in their files. Barrette IB: She would love to find it to plant on the Patton Busy Child Alexandra Beth homestead. If you have it, please email her at Lemon Doll Berry Parfait
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 9 Spring 2016 ‘AMAS’ and ‘MACRANTHA’ Known and Unknown Irises by Milan Blažek
This article is Part 2 in the series of articles Mr. ‘Macrantha’ did surpass most of those in flower Blažek has written about the Iris Garden at size, and its culture was as easy as that of various Prùhonice Iris Gardens in the Czech Republic. In clones of I. germanica, distributed worldwide in the this episode, we learn about the search for the true course of a few centuries. ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’. In this article, single In the 19th century, rather advanced large- quotation marks denote the correctly identified flowered hybrids arose, bred by combining ‘Amas’ clones, while no quotation marks are used around and related collected Eastern irises with some rather the name when the identity is uncertain. We have small-flowered cultivars containing European put an iris name in bold only the first time it species in their pedigrees. These small-flowered appears, since most appear throughout the article. species included Iris variegata, which contributed yellow pigments to the genetic mix. The name ‘Amas’ fascinated me when While I. germanica, as a hybrid with limited studying texts about ancient garden irises and fertility, was a difficult parent in breeding programs, genetic resources. ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ are the crossing of colorful European irises with I. among the names most often found in these works. germanica-like purple irises (predominantly from ‘Amas’ is especially well known, and with good Eastern Mediterranean countries) brought reason. In West- and Middle-European gardens, it revolutionary changes in all bearded garden irises. was one of the first cultivated clones with large ‘Amas’, collected in 1885 in Amasya, in flowers, and was soon included in breeding northern Turkey, was named by celebrated irisarian programs. By basic flower color, branching, and Sir Michael Foster. The name ‘Macrantha’ blooming time, it was logically included in the appeared a little later: Van Waveren used it in 1907. group of ancient garden irises identified botanically This plant became better known after publication of as Iris germanica. the cytological study of basic bearded irises by Dr. Although ‘Macrantha’ was obviously widely Marc Simonet in France in the early 1930s. cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean countries, Professor L. F. Randolph and his colleagues this was not the case in Western Europe, where the continued to develop and apply Dr. Simonet’s basic development of bearded iris hybrids was findings on later modern garden irises. These finished before the end of the 19th century. results were generally accepted, but the use of a name in botany does not always correlate with its use in gardens. Botanists and horticulturists were not looking at these plants in the same way, with the same perspective or goals, or with the same nomenclature. Tetraploid irises were accepted as the progenitors of modern hybrids, but corresponding knowledge of the origins of those tetraploids was not clearly understood. There is a difference between knowledge about the names and real knowledge of the plants belonging to those names. The names of Mediterranean large-flowered irises are often seen, and irises are grown under those names. Nevertheless, when I completed the Iris Iris germanica & germanica-like tetraploids gene-pool collection at Prùhonice, for a long time it
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 10 Spring 2016 was very difficult to find ‘Amas’ & ‘Macrantha’ in the Pruhonice ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ Collection under their correct names. As recently as 20 years In the course of years, we obtained a ago, it was often stated, even few plants and considered as possible by people deeply interested in candidates: wild and historical garden irises, that ‘Amas’ and Sample 1, Clone 1: a tetraploid iris related ‘Macrantha’ are synonymous. to, but not, ‘Amas’. In Romanian villages I Two closely related ancient found (besides a few tetraploids related to I. garden irises were cultivated, aphylla) a rather common large-flowered and their correct names were clone related to I. trojana, similar in color known, but these plants were to the bicolor or bitone clones of I. trojana regularly interchanged and or I. germanica. I collected the plant in a sometimes cultivated under few villages where it was the most attractive quite other names—or the local large-flowered iris. This iris does not opposite, their names were match the descriptions and paintings in W. used for similar but incorrect R. Dykes’s 1913 book, The Genus Iris, even ancient garden irises. if it is probable that Dykes knew the plant. We met with these But it is not certain; it seems that in Dykes’s problems quite often also in time, plants from Eastern Mediterranean our work at Prùhonice, where territory were better known in England than Sample 1, Clone 1: R 48 our main purpose was the those from the Balkans. I gave my plant demonstration of genetic development from wild the working symbol R 48. After some time I saw a species and ancient garden irises to the most perfect portrait of it in the American Iris Society advanced modern hybrids. The beauty of the plants collection of Mike Lowe’s photos, identified as was important, but our primary motivation was to Amas. I could hardly agree, but it was and still is develop and maintain a collection of rare (or not possible to mark the plant with a more accurate eventually common) plants, under their correct name. names. Therefore, both ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ Conclusion: This ancient tetraploid garden were part of my basic target. It took, however, a few iris is not rare in European or North American decades before I reached this easy-sounding goal. gardens, but it remains nameless. Now everything is clear, but the path to this clarity was not easy. Sample 2, Clone 2: a tetraploid iris that I labeled On my way to understanding the situation, I for a long time as Amas. I brought this iris from communicated with a few deeply interested people. Macedonia, and later from Bulgaria, where it grew One of them, Anner Whitehead, did immense in small towns and villages. In these territories, at research about the history of these two plants and that time, modern irises were still absent and wrote a paper about it. [Whitehead, Anner M. therefore each collection gave me hope that the “Amas and Macrantha: The Gordian Knot Untied.” plant was an ancient garden iris. SIGNA, n. 83, Winter 2009: 4092.] Anner’s work Clone 2 corresponded better than Clone 1 with is so detailed that I concluded that no further the description of ‘Amas’ by Dykes. He included publication about this topic is necessary. But it may ‘Amas’ under varieties of I. germanica, with which be interesting for readers to read about the theme Clone 2 really corresponds in a few characteristics. from another viewpoint—about its identification It has rather big flowers, but some true I. germanica among plants collected in other territories than in clones do, too. In contrast with Clone 1, Clone 2 Amasya, and verification of historic iris plants had a few hairs at the base of the standards, which obtained under those names. are also found in some I. germanica clones, such as ‘Florentina Coerulea’, the most common clone of
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 11 Spring 2016 I. germanica in Central and Southeast Europe. trip for colleagues from the Institute because of this This convinced me that this plant is the true Amas. aim—to see, in addition to towns and mountains, I sent its photo to Mike Unser under this name and any botanical gardens we could. After a long, it is still included among the portraits of historic friendly correspondence with Mr. Lock, the head of irises. the garden in Linz, we succeeded in getting a permit for a short trip out of our country. Before 1990, this was quite a difficult matter. We really found in Linz a plant cultivated under the name I. trojana. We later learned that the plant did not correspond with the portrait in the Dykes monograph. It was almost the same, but not identical with my Amas. I labeled it “Amas tm”. The symbol “tm” was a shortened Czech word, tmavý, meaning dark, as the flowers were slightly darker than Clone 2, my supposed Amas. So I had no I. trojana again, but a third possible Amas. As I knew that the Linz plant was not I. trojana, I used another opportunity to drive to Austria once more, after the opening of our borders in the 1990s. We had hoped to find I. trojana in Linz, maybe even the plant of A. J. Kerner, but again found only the darker “Amas tm”. Later a friend, an amateur gardener living in Linz, presented the same plant to me, again as I. trojana. The collections of Austrian botanical gardens suffered in the war. So much was lost that even the identification of saved plants may be not right. In the Botanical Garden in Vienna, I obtained another plant labeled I. trojana. The Vienna plant was an easy case: it was ‘Florentina Coerulea’. But Amas from Linz, Austria the Linz plant was a valuable sample, even if not cultivated under its correct name. Its identification, Sample 3, Clone 3: a tetraploid iris obtained lasting in this way a few years, showed that the under an incorrect name, which at last proved to Austrian plant is the correct ‘Amas’. be the correct ‘Amas’. Another longstanding aim A true conclusion was impossible before an and strong desire was to obtain a true I. trojana for analysis of the names and qualities of the partly- the Prùhonice collection. Theoretically it may have correctly, partly-falsely named samples. For this a been a representative of real West Asian species, new plant was useful, this time a plant named not just the clone ‘Trojana’ described as a species. ‘Macrantha’, not ‘Amas’. This final determination, I knew that the original plant was described by A. J. however, was possible after obtaining other plants Kerner, an Austrian botanist, so the easiest way to later in the 1990s, when we already had three search for some plants was in the country where it candidates in the collection for the name Amas. was described. In years when not only Troja, in far western Sample 4, Clone 2 – a tetraploid iris being very Anatolia, but also Austria, were very much closely related to my first possible Amas (R 48) but politically inaccessible from my country, I once labeled as Macrantha. In 2002, I obtained from a succeeded in visiting the botanical garden in Linz, group of American friends a collection of important Austria, where I expected to find I. trojana. In historic irises in which there was a plant labeled reality I organized through a travel agency a group ‘Macrantha’ from Phil Edinger. It was from a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 12 Spring 2016 reliable source, the collection of Professor L. F. Randolph, and originally from the collection of Dr. Simonet, who reliably identified his plants. Independently, I brought from the botanical garden in Frankfurt a plant that we found there as I. macrantha in the bed with bearded irises, mostly cultivars of various age which were liquidated. After a few seasons of comparing this plant with my possible Amas irises and with the Austrian “trojana”, I found that my first Amas (R 48), which corresponded with the Dykes description, was not true ‘Amas’, but ‘Macrantha’. At last I had, after a few decades of blind searching, two very similar, but not identical irises.
Taxonomic characteristics of ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ Unfortunately, it is not easy to evaluate their taxonomic characteristics— whether they belong to one species, I. macrantha, or whether they are two clones of some other species. They are similar to I. germanica, but surely do not belong to I. germanica species. Their branching is that of I. germanica, which is very typical: in normal, not extremely strong plants there are two flowers on the top of the stem, and there are two lateral one-flowered branches. Their blooming time is identical with the basic blooming time of almost all clones of I. Macrantha branching germanica. They are similar to I. trojana and I. Conclusions mesopotamica, but differ in branching and The exact history of this category of plants is blooming time. difficult to follow: written materials do not Among plants which may be considered as guarantee that the author had the same plant under wild plants, not garden clones selected in the distant the same name, and the occurrence in gardens is past in an unknown territory and from unknown never as stable as the occurrence in the wild, where species, ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ are nearest to the we can return mostly even a few centuries after the Greek plants named by some botanists I. germanica original publication. More exact data and questions and by gardeners “Vikos Iris”. In this sense, the are welcome. botanical nature of ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ is still Only obtaining two samples, I. macrantha unclear. from Frankfurt and from American friends, enabled They are still sometimes found as wild- the final determination of the correct plants: My growing garden escapes in Southern and Eastern purported Amas collected as a nameless plant in Europe; ‘Macrantha’ seems to be much more Macedonia and Bulgaria was in reality ‘Macrantha’, common. I saw a few photos, almost certainly of while the plant obtained from Austrian botanical ‘Macrantha’, from Crimea and Eastern Europe. gardens as I. trojana was ‘Amas’. The substitution The identification showed that Sample 4, of this clone by ‘Florentina Coerulea’ in one of the Clone 2 is the true ‘Macrantha’, as was Sample 2. gardens was another detail, not useful on the way to the true ‘Amas’, ‘Macrantha’, and Iris trojana.
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 13 Spring 2016 Iris trojana the important cytological differences are. We did not obtain the correct I. trojana from These two irises and ‘Florentina Coerulea’ Austria, but did get it from the USA, together with can still easily be included into I. germanica, ‘Macrantha’ in 2002; however, that is another story. broadly speaking. Their blooming time is very similar: earlier than other tetraploids. Their branching corresponds with I. germanica: two flowers at the top of the stalk and two or three side branches, generally one-flowered. The flowers are slightly larger, but with respect to variability of size among true I. germanica clones this difference is not definite. The flower color of ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ is rather lighter than most bitone or bicolor clones of I. germanica. In this respect there exists only one similar, a little lighter clone of I. germanica. It is the most distributed clone of I. germanica in Central and Eastern Europe, known as ‘Florentina Coerulea’. It is common also in America, not under its name, but simply as a nameless clone of I. germanica. Interestingly, all three of these irises, ‘Florentina Coerulea’, ‘Amas’, and ‘Macrantha’, have some hairs in the furrow of Macrantha has hairs at the base of the standards, visible in standards. center of photo; not to be confused with the beards ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ differ from all I. germanica clones in that they are fully fertile. If Similarities with other irises their flowers are pollinated with pollen from a W. R. Dykes, who understood very well tetraploid plant, there arise pods full of viable seeds. irises positioned on the border between species and They are similar with other tetraploid cultivars, included ‘Amas’ among clones of I. ancient garden irises distributed in culture in their germanica. In his time, he could not know where same degree of fertility, and in differences in the shade of color: the difference between intensity of color of standards and falls of ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’ is similar in comparison with obviously bitone/bicolor I. germanica clones. The falls of all common ancient tetraploids are darker than those of ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’.
Reliable identification of ‘Amas’ and ‘Macrantha’
With respect to similarity of all these irises, the best is comparison of living plants, especially of their blooming time, branching, and flower color. This can be partly substituted by good photos, but hardly by words alone. a
‘Amas’ (left) & ‘Macrantha’ (right) comparison of bud stalks and spathes
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 14 Spring 2016 The NEW HIPS Rhizome Sale: 2016 by Judy Schneider & the Rhizome Sale Committee
The HIPS Annual Rhizome Sale is undergoing a format change. Our goals are to get fresher, healthier rhizomes into the hands of our buyers and to end the frustration of buyers receiving only a few of the rhizomes they requested. The new sale will be conducted primarily online and will be a “live” sale, so buyers will know quickly what is still available to purchase and what they have already purchased. We have also developed a way for people without computer access to still purchase irises: see NO COMPUTER ACCESS? below. We are confident that this will be a good change for all concerned. DONORS Please email or mail a list of cultivars you can probably donate to the Rhizome Sale Chair, Judy Schneider
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 15 Spring 2016 locked 30 minutes before the start of Round Two. All remaining irises will be transferred to Round Two and will be available for purchase during that round. Still July 20, 2016: 8PM Central Time (8:00 in the EVENING) - Round Two begins for HIPS members only, and just one rhizome per cultivar for now. July 23, 2016: 8AM Central Time - Non HIPS members may now purchase irises. Also, you may now all buy more than one rhizome of each cultivar if you wish. July 30, 2016: LAST DAY TO ORDER!
TIME ZONE CHART These hours are when Round One starts in the morning and Round Two starts in the evening:
9:00AM or PM Eastern Time 8:00AM or PM Central Time, as in our example 7:00AM or PM Mountain Time 6:00AM or PM Pacific Time
HOW TO ORDER (or see No Computer Access?, below) Patty’s Noid 138 NM p hoto allowed per buyer in the first three days. You can 1. At the start of your preferred Round, email your come back and buy other cultivars in Round Two, list of chosen cultivars to though. Only HIPS members may purchase irises
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 16 Spring 2016 4. Once you are sure you’re done ordering, email us QUESTIONS? at
5. ALL ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JULY 30 (except Canadians; see below).
6. Once your order is paid, we’ll pack and mail it quickly, so you can get the plants in the ground as soon as possible. We ship by US postal mail only.
NO COMPUTER ACCESS?
You may request a paper list of available irises from Judy Schneider, 1778 CR 107, Whitesboro TX 76273. Judy will send you the list as soon as it’s available. Because Judy must have your request by July 6 at the absolute latest, we suggest you send your request NOW, while you’re thinking of it. We need your mailing address; MAKE SURE WE CAN READ YOUR HANDWRITING. If you do not have computer access for purchasing irises, you may phone Judy Schneider at 940-594-5557 with your request, starting at 8AM TB ‘Miogem’ (McKee, 1945) NM photo Central Time on July 20 (see TIME ZONE CHART, above). ‘MIOGEM’ (McKee, 1945): Among the CANADIAN ORDERS “Home Garden Highlights” listed by John Dolman, Jr. in 1949 was “Miogem, Mr. McKee’s Canadians, you must be HIPS members to masterpiece, which is proving itself one of the very buy irises. Please follow the HOW TO ORDER best I have ever grown; it has richness of color, instructions, above. We will send all Canadian substance, form, proportion, branching, spacing, orders in one shipment to the Canadian Rhizome poise, rapid increase, and vigor of growth.” Mr. Sale Coordinator, B.J. Jackson. You will pay the Dolman was at that time AIS Regional Vice regular US$6.50 per rhizome price, plus a US$7.00 President for Region 3, and his long article starting surcharge per customer to cover the cost of the on page 40 of the October 1949 AIS Bulletin well phytosanitary certificate and initial shipping to B.J. repays reading. The individual shipping costs, from B.J. to you, are Tell Muhlestein, in his 1951 catalog, included in the rhizome price. CANADIAN described ‘Miogem’ as a “stunning broad rose with ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JULY 27. metalic flush in falls. Good substance.” a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 17 Spring 2016 NATIONAL COLLECTIONS: A NEW CONCEPT IN CULTIVAR CONSERVATION by Charles Carver
In 2014, the American Iris Society formally conservation of as many iris cultivars as approved the formation of the Committee for possible—National Collections proposes a different National Collections, directed by Robert Pries, who approach to achieve that. Their efforts are not had brought the proposal before the AIS Board. In competitive but collaborative. 2015, I was appointed chair of National Collections National Collections (NC) has set two initial and granted leeway to develop a new initiative for tasks for itself. One is the creation of a National preservation of iris cultivars. (ideally International) Databank of all irises, in all Every day we lose another iris cultivar. classes, being grown by members of the various iris Preservation for the past 30 years, characterized by societies and in other private, public, and advocacy and education, has not been able to stem commercial collections. The point of the data is to that tide of extinction. National Collections, in an establish which cultivars still exist, where they are alliance with the Guardian Gardens Program, aims located, and in how many locations. That to reverse that tide and create, as Doug Paschall of information can then be used to inform the GG so succinctly commented, “a seamless web of assembling of collections. preservation.” National Collections and Guardian Curiously, only two iris societies have Data Gardens are the vanguard of a paradigm shift in Chairs: HIPS and the Dwarf Iris Society. NC is cultivar preservation, the next logical step beyond considering two scenarios to address that. One is advocacy; that is, the formation of systematic that each society appoint their own Data Chair and structures for the conservation of iris cultivars, a conduct surveys of their respective classes. The cooperative and coordinated effort of private, other is that NC recruits its own Data Chairs for public, and commercial gardens. Members of HIPS each class and requests permission to survey the are likely already familiar with the GG Program and memberships of the individual iris societies and, of its efforts to assemble at-risk irises into sanctuaries course, public and commercial collections. I hold in a network of gardens curated by members of its the premise that the best people to preserve a class program. of iris are the those who are sufficiently enamored While National Collections and Guardian of it to join a society dedicated to its cultivation and Gardens have the same long-term objective—the development. Almost everyone who grows irises, whether historic or modern, has among their collection an iris that is at the least uncommon, if not rare—or perhaps even the last remaining clone of a particular cultivar—but isn’t aware of it because their inventory, if they keep one, is not part of a central databank. I cannot stress enough the importance of gardeners keeping personal iris inventories and participating in surveys. Databanks rely on private, public, and commercial growers’ inventories and are only statistically meaningful with wide participation. While it is apparent that no databank will ever be entirely comprehensive, the success of preservation is relative to the amount of data that can be MDB ‘April Ballet’ (Cleo Palmer, 1972) Barbara Jackson photo assembled. To PRESERVE irises, we
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 18 Spring 2016 can be taken to preserve what remains, and that effort will commence this year. The other task of National Collections is to assemble as many types of collections as possible to assure the survival of iris cultivars. The ideal, the gold standard, that NC promotes, is Core Class Collections that contain all of the existing introductions of each particular class, whether historic or modern. Since all cultivars will become historic if they can survive the 30 year sojourn to active historic status, and given that a great many do not, NC proposes that cultivars enter collections as as soon as possible after introduction, a kind of “Shepherd’s” program to shepherd them to historic status. According to the AIS Wiki, the current class cultivar counts are as follows:
Japanese (JI): 2,049 (The Japanese have their own registration system. They have been breeding irises in Japan longer than we have in the West. Very few of these are registered with AIS and thus are not included in this count.) Louisiana (LA): 2,341 Pacific Coat Native (PCN): 1,145 MTB ‘Little Egypt’ (Allen Harper, 1986) NM photo Siberian (SIB): 1,606 Species (SPEC): 1,424 (includes selected and must know what exists, where it is, and whether it is named forms) common, uncommon, rare, endangered and on the Species cross (SPX): 661 brink of extinction...or likely extinct. Spuria (SPU): 916 Many people are not aware that most Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB): 1,566 introductions are never widely distributed and that Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB): 5,132 some become extinct within a few years as a Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB): 726 consequence. A survey of the MDB (miniature Intermediate Bearded (IB): 2,747 dwarf bearded) class now underway indicates, thus Border Bearded (BB): 1,664 far, that of the 1,566 varieties listed in the American Tall Bearded (TB): 38,941 Iris Society’s online encyclopedia (the AIS Wiki), Aril (AR) & Arilbred (AB): 2,224 only 402 are still known to exist—assuming their identities are correct. That suggests a 74% These numbers are presented to put extinction rate, and that may prove to be the norm preservation, class by class, in perspective. When for many classes of iris, which should be a red flag extinction is factored in at a conservative rate of for all of us. Of the 402 MDB located so far, via the 50%, all of the above numbers can be reduced by survey, well over half are being grown in only one half, and the approximate size of a Core Class to three gardens, which makes them endangered Collection can easily be calculated. Doing the math cultivars. A dozen of those are Caparne-Welch makes the equation less overwhelming, especially if Medal Winners and another dozen C-W Medal you consider preservation one class at a time. I am Winners have not showed up in the survey at all. convinced that a handful of people can preserve an This means that almost the entire MDB class is entire class. Very few Core Class Collections extinct, likely extinct, or on the verge of extinction. would exceed a thousand cultivars. If separated into Without the data from this survey, even though it is historic and modern collections, they could be not complete, this would not be known. Now steps reduced even further in size.
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 19 Spring 2016 preservation must accommodate every concept that can be imagined for the organization of collections and that respects the interests of the curators. To be successful, however, preservation requires the foundation of a databank, and preferably a central databank, to inform a collaborative effort by private, public, and commercial gardens. As of this writing, National Collections is in contact with a number of curators of private and commercial gardens who have offered to host Core Class Collections of JI, Spurias, MTB, and MDB. Others are considering holding collections of PCN, SDB, and portions (satellite collections) of TB. Whatever we imagine calling preservation collections—Iris sanctuaries, conservatories, reserves, reservoirs, repositories, refuges, havens, arks, cultivar or gene banks, horticultural heritage sites—and whatever the principle that directs the organization of collections, the point is preservation of a genus of exquisite horticultural plants: IRIS, that we love and do not want to see lost. Anyone, in any iris society, interested in MDB ‘Ablaze’ (Walter Welch, 1955) NM photo assisting with a survey of an iris class that appeals to you or in hosting a Core Class Collection or a The concept of a Core Collection is portion of it as part of National Collections is challenging in regard to Tall Bearded cultivars, of invited to contact me: which there are almost 39,000 registered varieties. Even factoring in extinction (as high as 80% to a Charles Carver low of 50%), a Core Class Collection of TB would P.O. Box 392 be very large (7,600-19,000 cultivars). TB will Orcas WA 98280 have to be organized differently, perhaps into (360) 376-6109 separate historic and modern collections or by [email protected] a decade or possibly by hybridizer. Effective iris preservation requires redundancy; that is, a cultivar must be grown in more than one garden, ideally in different geographic and climatic conditions. Guardian Gardens, for example, has set a goal of establishing each cultivar in a minimum of five gardens. In general, though, it is reasonable to say that 10 people, willing to grow 500 different irises from a particular class, could save that entire class of iris and provide sufficient duplication (redundancy) to ensure that a cultivar lost in one or more collections could be recovered from another. National Collections has not restricted itself to the concept of Core Class Collections. In the end, Iris tectorum Pa tty Del Negro photo ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 20 Spring 2016 HIPS Outreach The Search for ‘Emma Cook’ by Cathy Egerer Part 1 Public Relations Chair,
Looking for Photos When choosing photos to go in ROOTS, we of Irises were the focus of the Spring 2016 issue course look for irises that are relevant to the article of Garden Design magazine, and HIPS (and our in question. So when I read Brett Barney’s report website) were mentioned in the article. Much of the on the HIPS Databank (see page 24), ‘Emma Cook’ article focused on modern irises, but two large (Cook, 1959) leapt out as a possible illustration. photos of Sissinghurst Castle Gardens showed Little did I know how complex the quest for a photo ‘Lothario’ (Schreiner, 1942) and ‘Shannopin’ of the true Emma would be. (Pillow, 1949) in full bloom. Garden Design is ‘Emma Cook’ is famous for being a color interested in doing a story on historic irises used for breakthrough, the first of its kind, with crisp white period plantings. This includes both the restoration standards and falls and a pretty blue rim that fades of gardens to their original state and gardens planted delicately into the white. Her complex pedigree with irises that match the era in which the house shows Paul Cook’s earlier color breakthrough, was built. If you have such a garden, we need ‘Progenitor’ (Cook, 1951) at least three times. photos taken in bloom season to go with the article. Sadly, ‘Progenitor’ is now probably lost, but we Digital photos must be taken at a minimum can, we believe, still save Emma. resolution of 300dpi, preferably higher. Please “Luminous white, with a brushed on border of email me if you are willing to be interviewed for the violet blue not unlike a tinted summer cloud,” wrote article, and/or have photos to share. Let’s spread Mrs. J. R. Hamblen, “Gracefully formed in serene the word on historic iris plantings! beauty, and remarkably weather resistant, she was the object of unreserved homage.” [“Drama of Irises Heading to England Progress”, A.I.S. Bulletin 161(April 1961): 11.] HIPS members are helping to fill in the British Unfortunately, many of the irises labeled National Collection of Dykes Medal Winners, held ‘Emma Cook’ are not, including in commerce; the at Myddelton House in Middlesex, England. Head falls and standards are too wide and too ruffled, and Gardener James Hall contacted HIPS last summer the blue doesn’t and explained that 14 medal winners fade just right were missing. Thanks to our generous into the white. members, we have located all 14 irises Still, we believe and will be shipping them to England we have located after the bloom season. A special at least one of the thanks to Elvan Roderick, who real deal. We hyridized ‘Ruffled Ballet’ and offered will report in full to send a rhizome from his own in a future issue. garden. We believe this photo, from Mary Need Membership Brochures? Hess at Bluebird (They’re free!) Haven, shows the We have updated membership real Emma. If brochures available for your local iris you have this one, club, flower show, or garden-related treasure it, and event. Let me know how many you watch for our want, and I’ll put them in the mail. detailed article in Please consider requesting a set to a coming issue. keep on hand so you have them when Emma must be an opportunity pops up. Help us saved. a spread the word about HIPS! a The real ‘Emma Cook’ (Cook, 1959), we hope. BHIG photo
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 21 Spring 2016 IRIS COLOUR RENDITION by Anne Milner
This article was inspired by the difficulties we on the way the colours are projected by the had getting the beautiful watercolour of ‘Evadne’ computer. The same photo will be subtly different (Bliss, 1921) to print the right colour in ROOTS on different computers. Then, of course, that will Vol. 28, Issue 2. The whole reason for asking Fern be distorted further when the image is sent to Harden to paint my collection of Bliss irises was another computer and a bit more for each time it is because the colour rendition of photographs was not copied. Printing a photo has its own problems, as accurate enough. The same problems of the colour rendition then is also influenced by the reproduction will occur with any image, of course. printer. I have regularly found that a photo that Anyone growing and trying to identify historic looks OK on the screen is totally wrong once it is irises will be aware of the thousands of photographs printed, despite having chosen a printer (and available for cross reference, particularly on the camera) for good colour rendition! Internet. Identifying an iris correctly from a This is where black and white photos come in. photograph is fraught with danger. Iris colours do Because your eye is not taken by the colour, your NOT reproduce accurately, and the colour will vary brain concentrates on the form, style, and the during the life of the flower, being stronger and markings, and it can be quite enlightening. Phil richer when the flower first opens. The colour will Edinger and I were trying to identify an iris that we also vary with the type of soil. Arthur Bliss himself hoped might be ‘Daphne’ (Bliss, 1920). It matched noted that ‘Phyllis Bliss’ (Bliss, 1919) seemed to all the early descriptions as a short amoena, but the change with the amount of lime he applied: “I do AIS 1939 Check List noted a photograph in ‘The find irises change….As to the pinks, I was rather Garden’ in 1924. Eventually, I managed to track staggered by the change in colour of Phyllis Bliss, down this photo, which showed that the iris we which I think must be due to the very heavy were growing was, sadly, not ‘Daphne’. The dressing of lime—it was less rosy pink and more reticulations and the form are wrong. We have not lilac pink this year. You must try her with not too yet been able to identify it, so I still have it growing much lime.” under the name Not Daphne. The colour will also vary with the season, wet There is another way to reproduce accurately or dry. If the temperature is very hot, the colour what the eye sees; a good botanical artist. A good will fade much faster. artist can interpret the subtlety of colour to a far So, if the colour is not constant in the flower, greater degree than any camera or computer. I am how can we reproduce it accurately in a doing this because I would like to leave as accurate photograph? The answer is that we can’t! The a record as I can of the Bliss irises, especially as I colours in a photograph will depend on the quality have had so much difficulty identifying them of colour rendition in a digital camera (or of the myself. Where I have been able to find an original film); then the image on a computer screen depends watercolour, it has been comparatively straightforward to prove ID. A few of the irises were painted during the Royal Horticultural Society trials in the 1920s and ’30s. These images are held at the RHS Herbarium at Wisley. There are also some pretty accurate original images from catalogues and books. So I have started to commission watercolours—one or two at a time—of those that do not yet have an accurate image. The originals ‘Evadne’: Take 1 ‘Evadne’: Take 2 ‘Evadne’ : Take 3 live in an acid-free box and I have accurate copies for current use.
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 22 Spring 2016 The difficulty of colour reproduction is the same, though, as we saw with ‘Evadne’. I have no image that will accurately show you what ‘Evadne’ is like! You just have to grow her, or visit me to see her or the watercolour! What I am saying, really, is beware trying to ID an iris from a photo, particularly a photo on the Internet. Photos are helpful in deciding what an Not Daphne: black & white photo by Anne Milner iris is NOT. Unless you know a flower well, you cannot be certain that the image is correct. Photos are wonderful, don’t get me wrong, and are a great help in tracking down possibilities. BUT the only real way to ID an unknown iris is by growing it with another that you ‘Daphne’, in The Garden, 1924 think it might be, or by taking a flower to another plant—not very easy or helpful when you are trying Our photo editor, Janet Smith, suggests that anyone to track down rare old irises which have lost their interested try changing photos to tif from jpeg or names! CMYK from RGB and watch what happens to colors. In the three photos of Fern Harden’s If you’d like to visit Anne Milner’s Display Garden, beautiful watercolor of ‘Evadne’ on the previous get in touch with her at: page, the left one is the original, the middle one is Meadow House, Baunton sRGB, and the right one is color-corrected. They Cirencester, Gloucs UK GL7 7BB have then been further processed by our printer, phone: 01285 643731 a Sundance Press. With all these variables, it’s not easy to ensure accurate color. a
‘Mrs. Valerie West’ (Bliss, 1925): photos taken in different lighting Anne Milner photos
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 23 Spring 2016 What We’re Growing Now: The 2015 Databank by Brett Barney, Databank Chair
isn’t, you can add it to your collection or, better yet, encourage the person to become a HIPS member. Besides its usefulness for such ad hoc efforts, the databank has become a key component in the Guardian Gardens network, which uses the information as a foundation for its work of systematic and long-term preservation. The development of the Guardian Gardens program is, to my mind, the most exciting and hopeful development for historic iris preservation since the inception of HIPS itself almost thirty years ago, and its reliance on the databank makes the gathering and maintenance of members’ garden inventories more important than ever. The 2015 databank offers an interesting snapshot of what we are growing, and one can spend hours looking at the data and thinking about its possible significance. In fact, I would encourage you to do that—it’s fascinating to see which irises (from which hybridizers, in which classes, and from which years, etc.) are most and least commonly reported, especially in comparison to what you grow in your own garden or in comparison to what was grown in previous years. ‘Fairy Rose’ (Schreiner, 1964) Carlos Ayento photo Here are a few observations to get you Having recently finished compiling the HIPS started thinking. Of the 3,518 different cultivars members’ garden inventories for 2015, I’d like to reported, 47% (1,640) are being grown by only one thank those who have contributed, report where we respondent. Although the 2015 data represents stand, and encourage all of you to keep those significantly more individual respondents and surveys coming. The databank, which is available cultivars than in 2007 and 2014, this percentage is for members to download from the HIPS website, very nearly the same as it was for those years, and now incorporates information from 88 private I’m curious whether, as participation continues to gardens, and as it grows it becomes more and more increase, this statistic will be affected. The useful as an essential tool for doing the work of increased reporting over the past year has had a preserving historic irises. Without knowing which noticeable impact on the proportion of irises from cultivars our members are growing, it would be the various AIS classes. In 2014, 76% of the virtually impossible to know which, of the tens of cultivars were tall bearded (TB), and the relative thousands of historic named irises, we have a hope lack of reporting of cultivars from other classes has of saving, and which ones are most in need of our caused me some concern. In 2015, I received efforts to save. inventories from a few gardens with significant Any individual member can use the collections of non-TBs, which had the effect of databank to help guide her or his own personal dropping the share of TBs to 70% of the total. The preservation work. If, for instance, you know class that made the biggest gain was Siberians, someone who is not a HIPS member but who grows whose count went from 28 (1%) to 90 (2.6%). an iris that a parent or grandparent hybridized, you While it’s interesting and helpful to examine can check the databank to see whether that variety is the data for clues as to what’s rare, it is also being grown by any of the respondents. And if it interesting to see what’s most common, especially
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 24 Spring 2016 among the datasets from the various years. The probably does not. One might argue that, by itself, most commonly reported iris in 2007, 2014, and the fact that no one claims to be currently growing 2015 was ‘Wabash’ (E. B. Williamson, 1936), ‘Cup Race’ (Buttrick, 1962), which was in five which well more than half of the respondents gardens in 2007, is no cause for alarm. Although reported growing. Changes in the rankings of some we will never be able to achieve perfect consensus of the other most commonly grown irises, however, about which irises should command our attention, might be worth noting. Perhaps the most striking of many of us at least agree that cultivars with a these is that ‘Rameses’ (H. P. Sass, 1929) and particular historical importance deserve to be ‘Stepping Out’ (Schreiner, 1964), which in 2007 preserved. We want posterity to be able to see ranked #2 and #3, respectively, are now in ties with living specimens of ‘Dominion’ (Bliss, 1917) and several other irises at #19 and #15. And ‘Babbling ‘Snow Flurry’ (Rees, 1939). Of the cultivars Brook’ (Keppel, 1966), then tied with ‘Dauntless’ missing from the 2015 databank but present in (Connell, 1929) for 7th most common, is now in a 2007, then, I will finally note a few that seem to me 7-way tie for 48th. Conversely, the fortunes of to belong to the category of historically important ‘Indian Chief’ (Ayres, 1929) and ‘Quaker Lady’ irises, even if the exact definition of that category is (Farr, 1909) have risen; from ties for 9th and 14th elusive. places, respectively, they’ve become the second and To my mind, the most prominent example third most reported. here is ‘Emma Cook’ (Cook, 1959), the iris that Even though the relative positions among gave the breakthrough color pattern its name. the commonly grown irises has changed, none of the Seven people reported growing it in 2007, but none irises most commonly grown in 2007 shows any of the 2015 respondents did. [See “The Search for sign of becoming rare soon. The numbers for some Emma Cook - Part 1” on page 21.] And what about of the irises outside the top one hundred or so, Award of Merit winners? Between 1940 and 1959, though, have changed in ways that might be of more by my count 240 irises earned this distinction. Of concern than as a matter of mere curiosity. Because these, 67 (28%) are absent from last year’s in both 2007 and 2015 about two-thirds of the databank. Quite a few are varieties that also cultivars were reported by only one or two gardeners, it isn’t that surprising that many of those irises appear on one list but not the other. More surprising is the number of irises reported by several respondents in 2007 but by none eight years later. Among these are the Schreiner introductions ‘Fairy Rose’ (1964), ‘Fire Brigade’(1957), ‘Glowing Tiara’(1966), and ‘Misty Gold’ (1943); Gordon Plough’s ‘Java Dove’ (1963) and ‘Little Angel’ (1959); Fred DeForest’s ‘Lake Shannon’ (1941); Carl Salbach’s ‘Golden Majesty’ (1938); Vilmorin’s ‘Fra Angelico’ (1926); W. R. Dykes’s ‘Wedgwood’ (1923); and at least a dozen others grown by three in 2007 but none in 2015. Over a dozen others dropped from four reports to zero. These include Lloyd Austin’s ‘Horned Amethyst’ (1959) and ‘Spooned Fantom’ (1960); Rudolph Kleinsorge’s ‘Chamois’ (1944); David Hall’s ‘Heritage’ (1945); and Keith Keppel’s ‘Nineveh’ (1965). As others have pointed out before, it is unreasonable to expect that HIPS will be able to rescue from extinction every iris ever created. The number of historic irises increases with each passing year, though the garden space devoted to them ‘Melodrama’ (Cook, 1956) Mike Unser photo
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 25 Spring 2016 appeared repeatedly in the yearly symposia of the commerce in or before 1986 qualify. Because it hundred most popular irises of their era. So what always takes a while for people to begin reporting has become of ‘Berkeley Gold’ (Salbach, 1946), their newly historic irises, however, I encourage you ‘Lady Boscawen’ (Graves, 1942), ‘Char-Maize’ to include all cultivars introduced at least 25 years (Lyon, 1948), and ‘Pink Sensation’ (Hall, 1947)? ago (i.e., in 1991 or before). That way, when an iris And what of ‘Rehobeth’ (DeForest, 1953) and such as ‘Mesmerizer’ (Byers, 1991) becomes ‘Melodrama’ (Cook, 1956), which were among the historic in five years, we will already have a pretty group of four irises in the runoff for the Dykes good sense of how commonly it appears in medal in 1960 (one of the few years none was members’ gardens. awarded)? Nearly everyone’s collection of historics Most of the irises that I’ve highlighted as changes from year to year—among other reasons, missing from the current databank are not yet, I because each year hundreds of irises become newly think, gone forever. Some (though by no means all) historic—so I hope that you’ll make sending in your are in fact available from commercial sources. And list a yearly habit. If you sent me one before this I’m sure that many others exist in our members’ time last year but haven’t since, please send an gardens. But unless those members who are update. For updates, I strongly prefer an growing ‘Sharkskin’ (Douglas, 1942) and ‘Fleeta’ abbreviated list of not your entire inventory but just (Fay, 1956) and ‘Garden Glory’ (Whiting, 1940) those to be added and those to be deleted from your make their presence known, those varieties will previous list. And if you’re not sure what you remain outside the scope of our abilities to act as an reported last time, I will be happy to send you that organization to preserve them. So if you’re reading information. this and haven’t yet sent me a list of the historic This is an exciting time to be involved in irises that you’re growing, I hope that you’ll do so HIPS. Historic irises have been featured in several today. It’s easy to do. If you prefer to have a form recent articles and television programs, and they to fill in, there’s one at will be a prominent focus of this year’s AIS
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 26 Spring 2016 RESCUING THE LANKOW HISTORIC IRIS COLLECTION by Charles Carver
George and Carla Lankow, residents of the were among the most beautiful and unusual irises I Seattle area and friends and mentors of mine, were have ever seen. The Siberians, mostly of modern longtime iris collectors. George’s first wife, Carol vintage, were dug somewhat randomly by friends (deceased), was a well-awarded hybridizer of dwarf and probably some family members, and and median bearded irises. His second wife, Carla, unfortunately no records were kept—a circumstance worked with what are called oft repeated that season. the 40-chromosome or I came to the garden sino-sib group of irises, a in July of that year to select challenging hybridizing from the MDB and SDB arena. She had also beds, look for some specific amassed a considerable and beardless irises, Carla’s pink noteworthy collection of setosas, and some historic historic bearded irises over Siberians, as well as to meet 50 years, mostly TB, but with Jack Finney of Oregon also a lot of MDB, SDB, to sort through the TB and bearded species. Her collection and select some noid TB collection was in diploids for his collection itself regarded as important. and mine. I had helped the Carla’s iris collection also Lankows divide their included Siberians, collections in the past and Japanese, Louisianas, already had most of what I versicolors, and robustas, was interested in, but wanted and a number of beardless some backups and to gather species and species crosses. Justin & Debora - current owners & historic iris heros more of the historic dwarf All told there were well over a thousand irises in the varieties not available in previous digs. Jack and I collection. (Robustas are a species cross involving spent most of the day among the historic TB and re- beardless Iris virginica and I. versicolor.) tagged a lot of the collection for a group coming in In 2014, personal circumstances compelled August to dig on behalf of the Denver Botanic the Lankows to sell their home and gardens. With Gardens. Later in the day, when I turned to the that they began the dispersal of their iris collection MDB and SDB beds, I found they had already been and a number of other horticultural collections. dug over, and the collection was in disarray, with George had maintained an almost complete baskets and tags scattered about and whole plants collection of Carol’s introductions. Divisions of gone. Most of the best and rare varieties had that entire collection were retired to Presby already been dug by a gentleman who placed them Memorial Iris Gardens in Montcalm, New Jersey. in a collection owned by someone who wished to Friends and acquaintances accepted the rest of the remain anonymous and I could not—have not been divisions. I persuaded some family members to able to—obtain an inventory of what was taken, one take the lion’s share of the Louisiana collection. of those curious and unfortunate obstacles one Patrick Spence of Cascadia Iris Gardens, President occasionally encounters in conservation circles. of the Society for Japanese Irises, and a close friend I was saddened to see portions of this of the Lankows, absorbed everything of note in the collection dispersed without documentation. Japanese collection. He also took charge of her 40- Additionally, I learned that some people had simply chromosome seedlings, which he commented were come and dug irises without even consulting the the premier collection of them anywhere. He has family, who were preparing the house for sale at since introduced one, ‘Rubicon’, and it has garnered that time. Without maps, I could not locate some of some attention. Carla had shown me photos of the Siberians I had hoped to save, but did find ‘Two those seedlings in previous years, and I thought they Worlds’ (Tamberg, 1983), which a family member
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 27 Spring 2016 encouraged me to take entirely, instead of just a Guardian Gardens program (GG), some folks at the division. Since I believed it to be quite rare, I dug Species Iris Group of North America (SIGNA), and all of it. I was very disappointed not to locate sending a message to the King County Iris Society ‘Zest’ (Sturtevant, 1934) one of only three Siberians (KCIS). I was very fortunate to engage Terry Bates, she introduced, because I was concerned that the Lankow’s former gardener, plant enthusiast, and Carla’s clone was the last remaining remnant of it. iris lover, who knew the garden very well. Doug The Lankow home sold that fall, and over Paschall of HIPS and GG was extraordinarily the winter of 2014-2015 I wrote a letter to the new helpful in assembling the team, and sent a detailed owners, whose names I did not even know, telling list of irises in the collection that he wanted to them about the collection they had just inherited and acquire for GG. A number of KCIS members asking permission to save more of the collection. I stepped forward, and Mike Unser, who was very sent it to the home address and about a month later familiar with Carla’s historic collection, and his received a response from Debora Hurn and her companion Daniel Hershly offered to come up from husband, Justin Hayward, who had purchased the Olympia to help for a day. Doug Paschall also home and were interested in assisting the located two people, Janiece Broderick of Utah and preservation of the collection. In May, while Jerry Ware of Texas, to host the noid collection. returning from the Hips Annual Meeting in The dig date was set for Saturday, Sunday, Portland, Oregon, I met with Debora and we looked and Monday, July 11-12, 2015. On the Friday over the garden together. I identified and she tagged evening before the dig, Terry Bates and I met with a number of irises as reference points for orienting a Debora for a reconnaissance and to discuss the digging team in July. Debora and Justin decided ground rules for the dig: no random digging; they did not want to keep the collection—or most of permission required to divide or take cuttings from the garden—because it was too much for them as a anything other than irises; leave selected irises; working couple to maintain. They did, however, clean up and weed the beds we work in. mark specific irises they wanted to keep. My In three days of digging, we removed over primary motivation was to locate and capture ‘Zest’, 500 kinds of iris: historic TB (300+), historic MDB, and I had brought a detailed description of it from SDB, the entire bearded species collection, and the Siberian Comprehensive Check List. I marked selections from among the beardless varieties. an iris I thought might be it. Every day began with me arriving at about 8:00AM, Returning home, I set about trying to Terry shortly after, and we set up the work tables assemble a digging team, contacting HIPS, the and boxes for sorting the divisions, and clarified the day’s agenda. When the dig team arrived at 10:00, we organized ourselves into work groups to 1) locate and dig cultivars, 2) divide, process, and label fans and sort for distribution, and 3) clean up and weed ahead of and after the dig. We usually worked until about 5:00PM. Terry and I rarely left the site before 7:00. The core of the team over the three days was Terry Bates, John and Linda Vacchiery (all of KCIS), and me.
Day 1: HIPS members Mike Unser and Daniel Hershly came from Olympia and Patti Ensor traveled 300 miles from Spokane to join us. Mike was the most experienced iris historian among us. He was particularly helpful with The rescue team, on our knees to the goddess Iris identifying irises in overcrowded beds
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 28 Spring 2016 and, after reviewing the inventory, noted what were because they had grown into one another. most uncommon varieties. Occasionally an iris would be found growing between the rows as if randomly placed, and the Day 2: KCIS members Patrice Rossano, Caroline noids were dispersed among the historics, rather Zebroski, Mike Ewanciew, and the home owner than separating them to prevent any additional Debora Hurn joined the dig. confusion. Sometimes varieties with PBF were planted side by side rather than spacing them and Day 3: Patrice Rossano came to assist again in the using them as identifying features to maintain morning, and some neighbors, Janet Pinckney and orientation in the garden. her daughter Casey, spontaneously showed up and I knew the historic TBs had been divided in offered to help. 2010, as I had helped. I thought they had also been divided in 2013, but that was not apparent. By the A lot of thought and planning had gone into end of Day 1, Mike Unser had rightly commented preparing for this rescue: tools needed; how to that we should regard the identity of every iris as organize the team; streamlining the dig; organizing suspect. If not for the re-tagging that Jack Finney the distribution. The reality on the ground was and I had done in 2014 and those that Debora Hurn challenging. Every day involved a different group and I had marked in May, we would have had an of people with varying experience and different even more difficult situation. I remember com- skills and personalities, but gratefully always eager menting to Doug Paschall later that, while we had to help. Team members arrived at differing times, saved the collection, I was not confident we had so groups assigned to tasks had to be adjusted. saved their identities. We dug a number of irises After a year of neglect the gardens were in disarray, from the beardless beds whose identities are entirely heavily weeded, and covered in leaf debris from in question. I expect it will take years to sort them surrounding canopies of dense forest. A lot of tags out. were gone or misplaced, the collection was way For me, the crowning moment came the last overcrowded, and entire plants had been taken. And evening of the dig, just a couple of hours before since the time that Debora and Justin acquired the finishing. Terry and I, equipped with “maps,” went property, and even up until the week before the dig, people had continued to come onto the property and steal irises. The tagging system—home-manu- factured aluminum tags with indented names —was never user- friendly. These were small, difficult to locate and read, often wrinkled and twisted, and thus doubly hard to read—and the maps were no more than lists. Each row consisted of a series of columns with 3-4 varieties in each column. While the rows were easy to identify, the columns were planted too close Some of our hearty band: Front row - Patti Ensor, John & Linda Vacchiery; Back row - Mystery and often confused helper [Ed. note: I’m thinkin’ Charlie], Mike Unser, & Terri Bates. Daniel Hershly took the photo.
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 29 Spring 2016 to the Siberian beds. We oriented ourselves from I owe a special thanks to Terry Bates, who Siberian iris ‘Sugi Iri’ (Wood, circa 1980), which I was there every day of our two different digging had identified in May, and the iris I had tentatively sessions, who brought her familiarity with the marked as possibly being ‘Zest’ seemed to be garden, her good humor, patience, and unflinching correctly positioned. I am hopeful that I have work ethic. It is hard to imagine that the rescue rescued it. I returned home with a whole truckload could have proceeded as successfully as it did of plants. It took most of a week to process them without her. We hope to return to the Lankow further, pack and ship them all over the county, fill garden this spring and attempt to identify what little last minute requests, and pot those gathered for my remains. I want to extend additional thanks to the own collection. durable and dependable John and Linda Vacchiery Before Terry and I departed, we made for their 3 long days of spirited labor. This was an arrangements to return in September to dig the inter-iris society venture: GG, HIPS, King County Siberians and spend more time in the beardless Iris Society, and AIS National Collections, all beds. There were not many historics, but we working to the same end, a co-operative spirit we thought we would salvage everything we could, need to foster in our rescue efforts. look for the Iris cristata collection and some Rescuing the Lankow garden was a big miscellaneous beardless species, and honor our learning experience. The obstacles we confronted, agreement with Debora and Justin to remove the though frustrating, compelled me to consider further collection. The beardless beds were even more how to organize collections to protect the identities confusing than the historic TBs. We spent all of of the cultivars. I had begun organizing my that beautiful fall day trying to sort the collection collection by hybridizer and have continued that, out and digging everything of interest, weeding and and where possible have geographically separated grading as we progressed. the beds so there would be no confusion about the identity of who bred an introduction. This will assist in the event of misplacement or deterioration of a plant marker. My own beds had become crowded, because in an effort to collect as many irises as possible, I had planted them closely. I am now providing more space in the event they aren’t divided as often as they should be. I have separated noids entirely, and irises with PBF are separated as well, so they can provide additional identity information. I plan to invest in plant markers that are more durable and do not fade. Though more expensive, these will reduce the labor of making tags and maintaining the tagging system I currently use. To that end, I am researching the various commercials brands and styles available to compare durability and cost- effectiveness. Mapping, of course, is simply indispensable as an identification aid, and should be regarded as requisite. Preservation of the irises themselves is not sufficient. Just as significantly, we must preserve identity, because once a cultivar’s identity is lost, it is not so easily recovered. In fact, most likely that identity will not be recovered, and for all practical purposes the iris suffers the “extinction” of anonymity. There are thousands of irises that have suffered this fate; the sheer number of noids is Siberian ‘Polly Dodge’ (McEwen, 1972) Don McQueen photo evidence of that. a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 30 Spring 2016 Display Garden Report Ozark Iris Gardens & Their Roots by Tammy Skahan
It began in 1997: I caught it. I was infatuated became our newest collection. We were hooked, we and mesmerized, that feeling you get when you catch had contracted Iris Fever, and would never again be what I lovingly call Iris Fever. My husband Tom and the same. I moved to northwest Arkansas in 1992. By 1996, My husband landscaped a large portion of our we were tired of renting, so we began hunting for a yard with long rows of raised iris beds, and we soon house. We found a charming older home in the filled them all. We built more in every place retirement community of Bella Vista, Arkansas. We possible. As members of HIPS, we became devoted immediately knew it was the place for our family, at to the historic varieties and wanted to grow as many the end of a circle cul-de-sac with lots of trees and as we could in our garden. One day, Tom was only one neighbor across the circle. Best of all, passing a construction site and noticed a stand of when spring came, I found the most enchanting iris that was going to get bulldozed over. He historic irises blooming in the yard. They were stopped and asked the construction crew if he could gorgeous. Their blooms were sparse, though, because dig them up. the trees had grown over the years and they were He brought them home to our garden. This getting pretty shaded. Wanting a bigger yard for our began our quest to save as many abandoned irises as growing family, we began buying empty lots next to possible. We drove around country roads and us and doing a lot of landscaping. traded irises with folks to get a sample of something During the landscaping, my husband and I new to our collection. Our number of varieties decided to dig up the irises and put them in the new increased to hundreds. We went to Oregon on landscaped beds to give them more sun. It took two vacation in 2004 and visited Schreiner’s, Cooley’s, years, but we were rewarded with the most beautiful and Mid-America Gardens, and were positively stand of iris blooms. There were 5 different awed by the size and beauty of their farms. varieties. We decided to separate them and make a We went to the Oklahoma City Iris bed of each variety. Little did we know, we were Convention and met many great folks with the same already catching Iris Fever. love of irises. Tom met Tony Willott, who took the We began looking for different varieties and time to talk to him about how to hybridize. What a buying more. I got very curious about the names of knowledgeable and nice man. We were very the varieties we already had, and one day found the saddened to hear of his death a few years later. We HIPS website. I was able to name three, ‘Alcazar’ then met Jim Hedgecock at Commanche Acres. He (Vilmorin, 1910), ‘Frank Adams’ (Lapham, 1937), became another significant mentor on growing and and ‘Zantha’ (Fay, 1947). I also have pictured my hybridizing irises. These mentors took us to the next favorite noid. I am still on the quest for the name of level of our passion and we began to hybridize. We this majestic maroon iris with a red sheen. This now have a few of our own varieties, nothing sparked the collectors in us, and historic irises introduced yet, and many more seeds to plant. We decided that we wanted to sell irises and become commercial growers. We started very small and sold only a few varieties. We built our company, Ozark Iris Gardens, in 2006. Our garden had gotten so large, with hundreds of varieties, that we decided to Left & Right: Original landscaped beds. ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 31 Spring 2016 marking the irises. As we grew, fertilizer became a problem for us. Buying the right formula for the number of square feet we had to fertilize was expensive. We began mixing our own this year to save on expenses. It is a mixture of 5-38-24 and seems to be become a HIPS Display Garden. We have hosted working well. Another new addition to our garden local visitors each year and local garden clubs. is a greenhouse. A section of the greenhouse will Although we had three or four acres, we be devoted to seedlings. We are hoping to shorten were running out of places for new beds. Four years the time from seed to bloom by using a temperature- ago, we purchased 100 acres across the border in and water-controlled environment. More to come southwest Missouri. It was primitive property with on this experiment in my next article. no utilities. A well was a necessity, and electric. We are calling the dirt road through our With that done, we were able to plant a significant place Iris Ridge Road, and we are halfway through amount of irises there. This year we made 15 new lining the 2,200 feet of road with iris beds on both raised beds, each 70-90 feet long, and they are sides. Our last year has been one of exciting already full! progress! We can’t wait for spring. We hope to see you in the garden!
Tom & Tammy Skahan, Ozark Iris Gardens, LLC Web
We added over 300 varieties this last year. One reason for raised beds is the rocky terrain, but also the beds drain better, so the irises do not stand in water during the heavy rain storms. We make plots of our beds on paper so we know where each iris variety is located, but we like to mark the beds as Seedling bed at Ozark Iris Gardens well for visitors. Over the years we have tried many ways to Right: Tammy’s pretty mark the beds and none have stood the weather and noid. She will try to get the test of time. This year we bought a small laser some higher resolution engraver and tried our hand at engraving metal photos this year for markers. It worked perfectly and we hope this is possible identification. our final permanent solution to the issue of
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 32 Spring 2016 Display Garden Report SHOWING OFF by Arlyn Madsen
“Don’t be a show-off !” I heard that many times while I was growing up, usually after one of those “Look, Ma! No hands!” things, that ended up with me nursing a skinned knee...and a sore rump for ruining a pair of jeans. Now, much older, and a little wiser, I still want to show off—and, thankfully, I don’t have to worry about skinned knees while doing it. What I’m showing this time is a garden full of irises. Our iris beds lie along the edge of the street, and run the full length of the block, so anyone driving by can get an eyeful and, if they spy me out in the yard (my usual haunt during bloom season) they usually have some comments: “Nice Flowers!” and “Boy, those are pretty!” or some such. That’s when I yell back that they can stop, get out, and walk around, if they want—and most do. Visitors come in all sexes and sizes, from little girls on bikes to octogenarians in the bus from the nursing home, but they all like to look at flowers. Since the main thrust of my interest are the historic irises, we are a HIPS Display Garden. Those are the ones I like best to show off. There are some new ones, some small ones, and a LOT of tall ones, as well. I guess I could say, “We like ’em all, but like the old ones the best.” Showing off is a good start to many nice chances to “talk iris” with folks (and make a pitch for HIPS and AIS memberships), to spend some pleasant time out of doors, and maybe start someone on the road to a great hobby. From the little girl who wants to “grow a pretty flower for mommy” to the oldster who remembers growing ‘Wabash’ when it was a NEW iris, it’s really fun talking to them, making new friends, teaching a little, and learning a lot. Best of all, you don’t need an iris bed that’s 400 feet long and home to a thousand Arlyn’s noid different cultivars to be a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 33 Spring 2016 help spread the word about our favorite flower, the iris, and our FAVORITE irises, the historic ones. So please DO be a show-off! It’s fun, you’ll be helping to spread interest, and just maybe that little girl on the bike will grow up to hybridize a Dyke’s Winner...because YOU were a “show off.” And I promise...no skinned knees. a
show-off. A few dozen cultivars, grown in mixed beds, with some other perennials, and a few annuals, can be YOUR reason to be a show-off, and
In our next issue, we'll explore the Display Garden of Breezeway Iris Garden. In the meantime, check out their website,
From the July 1949 AIS Bulletin, page 87: “We followed the directions of commercial growers who said absolutely, “No manure—manure will make rot.” ... Having sung the blues for ten years, we decided other plants in our garden responded to manure, so why wouldn’t iris? There wasn’t much to lose. We raised our beds, used the same amount of bone meal and added something new—guess what. COW MANURE—lots of it! With fear and trembling we awaited the next season. Behold—the next spring nearly everything had prolific increase and plenty of lovely luscious bloom stalks. ... Now even ‘Fair Elaine’ has lots of increase.” a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 34 Spring 2016 Society Business by Cathy Egerer
We bid goodbye to several board members working to give our bylaws a much-needed update. this issue. International Chair Darlene Cook has The last major revision was over 10 years ago. resigned after eight years in the position. Darlene, Amendments to our bylaws must be approved by we thank you for your hard work on behalf of HIPS! the membership, so look for more information in In the coming months, we will revamp the the months ahead. International Chair position and look at establishing The HIPS Board approved the 2016 budget, an International Committee of representatives who which has been posted online. The Board met via can act as HIPS liaisons around the world. teleconference on March 10, 2016, and the minutes We also bid farewell to Susan Boyce, who is of that meeting are also posted online. The Board stepping down as Publications Chair. Susan will will meet again in early May. There will not be a continue as our HIPS Archives Chair. Susan, we HIPS board meeting at the AIS Convention. a appreciate your hard work and thank you. Taking over as Publications Chair is Susan Flow, a HIPS member from Colorado who has been In Memoriam working on our Bylaws revision committee. Welcome, Susan! Mike Butler has left us. His wife Rita says, Janice Thompson has handed over the reins of “Mike was officially CW4 Harold F. Butler, the HIPS Rhizome Sale to Judy Schneider. Janice, retired US Army. A great hole digger and support we thank you for taking on the challenge of last to what ever I aimed to try—even drive for hours year’s rhizome sale! You did a great job under and miles to view irises, pay for convention going difficult conditions and we are grateful. The with very little complaining—perfect companion.” rhizome sale has been revamped, and you’ll find complete details in this issue. George Lankow, Charlie Carver writes, “was a gentleman, thoughtful, considerate, generous, Board Nominations essential elements for kindness. He had a simple, The Board terms of Winona Stevenson straightforward approach to what was immediately (Southwest Director) and Rita Butler (Northwest in front of him and did not seem tempted by Director) expire this year. Winona and Rita are not unpleasant characterizations of others. Some people running for re-election, so we bid them farewell would suggest that with his departure one more with thanks for their service to HIPS. The small light in the world was extinguished. I would Nominating Committee submits the following disagree and point to the warm bright glow in his names for these positions: wake. The world, despite its horrors Denise Stewart – NW Director and cruelties, is held together by Linda Baumgartner – SW Director small simple gestures. George Elections for these positions will remains part of that elegant and take place at the HIPS annual meeting indispensable stitching.” on Wednesday, May 25th at 1:00pm. The meeting will be held at the Verona Mae Wiekhorst served Liberty Marriott Hotel in Newark, HIPS Treasurer for ten years, from New Jersey in conjunction with the the very beginning until 1998. She 2016 AIS Convention. All HIPS and her husband, Warren, who died in members are invited to attend. 2004, were deeply involved in all things iris and all things HIPS. They Other Business are sorely missed. See ROOTS, Fall Winter might be our “indoor 2004, p. 22, for Warren’s obituary. a season,” but HIPS hasn’t taken a break. The Bylaws Committee is ‘Cottage Maid’ (Barr 1906)
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 35 Spring 2016 The HIPS Website: Have You Visited Us Yet? by Laetitia Munro
encourage you to send us your iris photos, particularly if we do not have any of a particular cultivar. Two new search features in the Gallery have been added. First, we have a quick name search on the Gallery Front Page, so there’s no need to scroll through pages and pages to find the iris you seek. Second, an index page, with links to our Gallery listings, is available to help you find that iris when you are not sure of the name or spelling. The HIPS Website also proudly features our Guardian Gardens Program. We are losing not only many commercial sources, but also established private collections. We firmly believe that an BB ‘Red Zinger’ (Black, 1985) Don McQueen photo organized effort such as the Guardian Gardens (GG) program is the answer to protect endangered Our new website was launched last October, historics. Therefore, we have dedicated a section of around the time you got your last ROOTS journal. our website to provide you information on GG, how While HIPS has had a website for many years, the you can join, and what you can do. The website new site was created to take advantage of the latest now even displays a list of irises protected in the web technology in a secure program. Check it out and environment. Today, six consider being a part of the months later, we continue solution. to enhance our new site to In the spirit of our bring you even more nonprofit mission to educate information and features. and inform the public, all Reach our new the above is free and section on Iris Basics from unrestricted on the internet. our home page to learn However, we have enhanced about how to grow irises, our Members Area as well. deal with common pests, Today you may download recognize color patterns, copies of the latest ROOTS, and more. our Master Commercial Our Gallery Source list, and our HIPS displays almost 1,600 Databank list. cultivars, including at least If you have not been 125 new listings. We to the website lately, we continue to add to it from encourage you to visit at the photos you have sent us
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 36 Spring 2016 HISTORIC IRIS PRESERVATION SOCIETY REPORT OF THE TREASURER - JUDY KEISLING JANUARY 1, 2015 - DECEMBER 31, 2015
Profit and Loss Statement
Income Dues - Regular 5,786.00 Dues - Life Membership 400.00 Publication Sales 103.00 Rhizome Sale 8,068.38 Donations 1,172.89 Interest - Checking & Savings 19.53 Interest - Unrestricted Fund CD 20.35 Total Income $15, 570.15
Expense ROOTS - Spring 2015 4,170.00 ROOTS - Fall 2015 4,393.20 Award 85.73 Banking 14.10 Membership Brochure 308.01 Membership Chair Expenses 521.46 PayPal Fees 214.04 Phytosanitary Certificate 107.41 Postage 417.19 Preservation Project 210.40 Rhizome Sale 955.35 Rhizome Sale Refunds 2,419.43 Shipping - Archives & Slides 621.64 State of Oregon - Annual Report 10.00 Public Relations 121.13 Website 1,427.95 Total Expense $15,997.04
Net Profit $ (426.89)
Balance Sheet
Total assets at December 1, 2014 $26,461.63 Net profit for calendar year ended December 31, 2015 (426.89) Total assets at December 31, 2015 $26,034.74
Total assets at December 31, 2015 Checking account - Roundout Bank 6,680.79 Checking account - Bank Midwest 632.47 Life Membership Fund - Roundout Bank 7,078.68 Certificate of Deposite “Unrestricted Funds” 6,764.30 PayPal Balance 4,878.50 Total Assets $26,034.74
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 37 Spring 2016 What Do You See? Purple Basal Foliage: PBF by Dave Prichard
A trait found in some irises is loosely called Some purple shows up well above the base: pbf, purple-based foliage. Some exhibit purple tones or smears in places other than the base of the foliage: higher on the foliage, on the spathes, or on the rhizome. Some purple shows up early in the season, some later. Some lasts for a long time throughout the growth period and some even persists late in the season around frost time. Some is light, some darker. There are lists of irises with pbf, but the lists don’t indicate if the irises show purple only on the base of the foliage or elsewhere. When attempting to identify an iris, this trait can be used to reduce the list of possibilities, as fewer than 20 percent of cultivars exhibit purple on the foliage. Here are some examples of where purple can appear other than on flowers: ‘Lucky Doris’ (Lutz, 1981) has purple in many areas: In early April here in south-central Pennsylvania, no purple can be found on this iris, ‘Lucky Doris’ has purple spathes covering the buds: but by the end of April we see the beginnings:
‘Eleanor Roosevelt’ (H. P. Sass, 1933) has no purple anywhere on the foliage except in the spathe/bud area, so it is not usually found in the pbf lists, but even this knowledge could aid in identifying this variety (top of next page):
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 38 Spring 2016 PBF Lists on the Internet
On the HIPS website, go to Resources, then References, then scroll down to nearly the bottom of the page, where you’ll find an article about PBF by Phil Edinger, and a second one by Phil Edinger and Karen Puffer. You may also find a list online at
LAUNCHING THE HIPS PBF STUDY
Here is a challenge for all HIPS members and any other iris gardener who would like to participate. Select several iris cultivars that you believe are correctly identified. Throughout the growing season, record the date and the progress or regress of any purple found anywhere on the foliage. How high is it above the rhizome? How high does ‘Navy Strut’ in January in Pennsylvania the color extend and how does the depth of color vary through the season? Where else does the purple show up? By the time you read this, many of you will be far into iris season, but you don’t need to start in the spring; start anytime and record your findings for one year. A complete lack of pbf is also valuable information and should be recorded. With enough data, we may be able to estimate the variations in pbf in different climate zones and different soil types. The “odd” places where purple shows up can be documented. Seasonal changes will become known. Our thanks to Laetitia Munro for spear- heading this study. A PBF Record Form may be downloaded from the HIPS website or obtained for ‘Coppélia’ in January a stamped, self-addressed envelope mailed to the editor (see Contacts inside the back cover). a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 39 Spring 2016 VENDOR LIST Dave Prichard, Commercial Source Chair
The number following the business name indicates Chuck Chapman Iris [Ontario] 127 how many known historic irises they sell as of this (519) 856-0956 writing. DG means this is a HIPS Display Garden. Email: [email protected] Website: [email protected] A Beautiful Flower 225 DG Historics & other irises. Email: [email protected] Internet: Facebook presence Country Delight 144 Website: countrydelightiris.com Argyle Acres / Willow Creek 560 Tall and border beardeds. (920) 229-0225 Email: [email protected] Cynthia’s Iris Garden 68 Website: argyleacres.com Website: cynthiasirisgarden.com Now offers a large selection of bearded historics. Mostly TBs; some smaller. Nice selection.
Bluebird Haven Iris Gardens 2,759 DG Damon Gardens 56 (530) 620-5017 Website: damongardens.com Email: [email protected] Mostly TBs; nice sortable website. Website: bluebirdhavenirisgarden.com Huge selection, many hard to find; website under Diversity Acres 10 reconstruction; email your request list to Mary. Website: diversityacres.net Brand new iris farm run by Ross Eagles. He loves BlueJ Iris 1,013 historics & promises to increase his historic stock. (308) 762-4420 Email: [email protected] Dowis Ranch 78? Website: bluejiris.com Website: dowisranch.yolasite.com Large selection of beardeds. Good prices & service. As we go to press, still updating site for 2016.
Black Ridge 499 Echo Iris 106 Email: [email protected] Website: echoiris.com Sometimes sell irises on Etsy. Moderns and historics.
Breezeway Iris Garden 77 DG Exline Iris Garden 537 (608) 334-4594 (304) 258-3735 Website: breezewayiris.com/ Email: [email protected] Small selection of bearded, aril, species, Siberian. Website: exlineirisgarden.com Some rare but later bearded historics. C and T Iris Patch 619 (970) 454-0236 Fieldstone Gardens 42 Email: [email protected] Website: fieldstonegardens.com Website: candtirispatch.com Historic Siberians, some bred by Currier McEwen. Good selection modern & historic beardeds. Greenwood Garden 22 Cascadia Iris Gardens Website: greenwoodgarden.com Website: cascadiairisgardens.com Beardeds. Breeder, year, and class not listed. Exciting selection of Japanese, Siberian, species, spuria, versicolor.
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 40 Spring 2016 Horton Iris Garden 212 Napa Country Iris Garden 15 (916) 652-4351 Website: napairis.com Website: hortonirisgarden.com Has small historic bearded section. Mainly TBs. Nola’s Iris Garden/Prevost Ranch & Garden 394 Iris City Gardens 106 DG Email: [email protected] Primm Springs TN 38476 Website: walking-p-bar.com (800) 934-4747 Some historics & also modern. Email: [email protected] Website: iriscitygardens.com Ogden Station Daylilies 65 Large choice bearded & beardless; some nice LAs. (517) 443-5530 Website: ogdenstationdaylilies.com Iris Gal 49 A selection of recent historic irises as well. Website: irisgal.com Nice mix of historics; class not listed, mostly TBs. Old House Gardens 24 (734) 995-1486 Iris Hills Farm 20 Email: [email protected] (540) 868-2123 Website: oldhousegardens.com/ Website: irishillsfarm.com Some classic older irises & many other antique Tall & median beardeds. bulbs. Wonderful service. Ship irises in spring.
Iris Warehouse 106 On Russell [Ontario] 14 (517) 655-9222 Website: onrussell.com Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: iriswarehouse.com TB, median, & beardless, plus daylilies. Ozark Iris Gardens 21 DG (479) 685-5004 or (479) 685-4323 Iris Whisperer [formerly Snowpeak Iris] 73? Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: ozarkirisgardens.com 541-619-3646 See article on page 31 of this issue. Email for site address; it’s still under construction. Pickle Barrel House Iris Garden 1,155 DG Joyful Irises Email: [email protected] Internet: Facebook presence. Early & later historics, some rare. Email for list.
Joy Creek Nursery Pleasants Valley Iris Farm (503) 543-7474 (707) 451-3367 Email: [email protected] Website: irisfarmer.com Website: joycreek.com A few recent historics. No hybridizer or year given. SIB, LA, JI. Hybridizer & intro year not listed. Plantation Point Nursery Long’s Gardens 85 10325 Caddo Lake Road (303) 442-2353 or (866) 442-2353 Mooringsport LA 71060 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: longsgardens.com LA irises, modern & historic; no website or catalog. Since 1905! Historic beardeds of all sizes. Rainbow Iris Farm 149 Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm 28 (712) 523-2807 Website: mtpleasantiris.com Email: [email protected] Site of National Display Garden of Japanese Iris. Website: rainbowfarms.net Some recent historics. Nice collection of MTBs.
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 41 Spring 2016 Ross Road Iris 213 Wildwood Gardens 30 Email: [email protected] (503) 829-3102 Website: rossroadiris.com Email: [email protected] New & old varieties—many hard to find. Website: wildwoodgardens.net Will Plottner has a nice selection of older historics. Schreiner’s Iris Gardens 83 800-525-2367 Williamson Farm Flowers 602 Website: schreinersgardens.com (931) 363-7762 Email: [email protected] South Jersey Iris, LLC 76 Website: williamsonfarmflowers.com Email: [email protected] Nice selection of beardeds, plus pottery. Website: southjerseyiris.com Large variety of mostly later irises. Willowbend Iris Farm 69 (970) 263-4138 Stoney Creek Iris Garden 77 Website: willowbendirisfarm.com Website: stoneycreekiris.com List available June 14, 2016. Winterberry Gardens 184 (540) 888-4447 Superstition Iris 104 Email [email protected] (209) 966-6277 Website: winterberryirises.com Email: [email protected] Wide selection modern & historic beardeds. a Internet: Facebook presence Stellar reputation. Nice selection of rare & older From Rainbow Fragments: A Garden Book of the historics. Accurate IDs. Iris, by J. Marion Shull, Doubleday, 1931, in his chapter “On Catalogs, Prices, Etcetera”: Tara Perennial Farm [Ontario, Canada] 104 (519) 934-3447 “As compared with our forbears of just a Website: taraperennialfarm.com few generations ago we may all live like kings. The average income, meager as it may seem at times, is The Shady Spot 650+ DG nevertheless capable of procuring for the average Judy Schneider, (940) 594-5557 individual many things that were luxuries of a high Email: [email protected] order less than a hundred years ago, enjoyments Website: theshadyspotiris.com only to be indulged in by the very wealthy of that Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theshadyspot/ time. To-day they are the everyday possession of Mostly TBs; some medians, LAs, novelties. the average householder. And so to-day gardens of distinction are no longer the exclusive possession of Trails End Iris Gardens [Ontario, Canada] 21 the very rich, though it still remains for each of us to (519) 647-9746 cut our coats according to our cloth. Website: trailsendiris.com “Fortunately, when we contemplate an Iris garden, it is quite possible to formulate our plans on Van Gilders Iris 82 any financial basis that the exigencies of life and (530) 353-9680 living make desirable. One may spend much or Website: vangildersirisgarden.com little and yet acquire some of the best that the Iris Mostly TBs. world has to offer. This being the case, no further apology need be offered for a chapter under the Voss Iris Farm 596 above heading. Email: [email protected] “Catalogs! The very word is redolent of Facebook presence. Has some rare bearded irises. youth and spring and green things growing! But in NOT SELLING IN 2016. those earlier days catalogs were but few in number where now they are legion....” a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 42 Spring 2016 HIPS CONTACTS
OFFICERS (2-year terms, limit 2) Commercial Sources: Dave Prichard, see Vice President President: Cathy Egerer, PO Box 456, Grand Marais MI 49839; 906-494-2570; [email protected] Cultivar Preservation: W. Douglass Paschall, 87 E Stewart Ave, Lansdowne PA 19050; Vice President: Dave Prichard, 140 Spring Meadows [email protected] Rd, Manchester PA 17345-9488; [email protected] Guardian Garden inquiries: [email protected] Secretary: Linda Bell, 608 Beckwood, Little Rock AR Databank: Brett Barney, 320 Lincoln St, Sterling NE 72205; 501-580-0183; [email protected] 68443; 402-866-5571; [email protected]
Treasurer: Judy Keisling, 12119 Missouri Route A, Display Gardens: Kate Brewitt, 120 Glass Drive, Liberty MO 64068; 816-792-1848; [email protected] Aurora ON L4G 2E8 Canada; 905-841-9676; [email protected] Immediate Past President: Gary White, 701 Old Cheney Rd, Lincoln NE 68512; 402-421-6394; Editor: Nancy McDonald, PO Box 221, Grand Marais [email protected] MI 49839-0221; 906-494-2697 [email protected]
REGIONAL DIRECTORS International: Open (AIS Regions in parentheses after name) Honoraries & Awards: Paul Gossett, 1502 S Boulder Northeast: Dorothy Stiefel (AIS 1, 2, 3, 19), 360 Ave, Apt. 12-B, Tulsa OK 74119; 918-853-6204; Michigan Hollow Rd, Spencer NY 14883; 607-589-7465 [email protected]
North Central: Delane H. Langton (AIS 6, 8, 9, 11, Membership: Judy Eckhoff, 7911 S Yoder Rd, Haven 16, 21), 1008 Eagle Ridge Drive, Billings MT 59101; KS 67543-8114; 620-931-5114; [email protected] 406-698-3567; [email protected] Publication Sales: Susan Flow, 16550 Cavanaugh Rd, Northwest: Rita Butler (AIS 13, 14), 7919 64th St Ct, Keenesburg CO 80643; H: 720-685-9132; W University Place WA 98467-3905; 253-565-0485; [email protected] [email protected] Public Relations: Cathy Egerer, see President Southeast: Shaub Dunkley (AIS 4, 5, 7, 24), 91 Boones Farm Rd, Candler NC 28715; 828-670-0071; Rhizome Sale US: Judy Schneider, see South Central [email protected] Rhizome Sale Canada: Barb Jackson, South Central: Judy Schneider (AIS 10,17,18, 22), 430 Lloyd Crescent, Brandon MB R7A 2G2 Canada; 1778 CR 107,Whitesboro TX 76273; 940-594-5557; [email protected] [email protected] Variety Identification: Charlie Carver, 360-376-6109; Southwest: Winona Stevenson (AIS 12, 15, 20, 23), [email protected] 8280 Entrada Blvd, Lake Isabella CA 93240-9371; 760-378-3841; [email protected] Webmaster: Laetitia Munro, 49 Hilltop Rd, Newfoundland NJ 07435; 973-208-8490; CHAIRPEOPLE [email protected] a
Ad Hoc Slide Preservationist & ROOTS Photo Note from the editor about our Back Cover: Many of Editor: Janet Smith, PO Box 1585, Coarsegold CA my favorite irises are Tall Beardeds, and I would do 93614-1585; [email protected] nothing to disparage them. But many other favorites, equally entrancing, are from the other classes of iris, Archives: Susan Boyce, 5123 S 3500 W, Roy UT beardless as well as bearded, and it is those classes that 84067; 801-644-7172; [email protected] our Back Cover will celebrate for as long as I am editor. Let the celebration begin! a
ROOTS, Volume 29, Issue 1 43 Spring 2016 Border Bearded ‘Butterfly Baby’ (Herd, 1966) P.Del Negro photo Aril ‘Dardanus’ (Van Tubergen, pre-1960) P. Del Negro
Miniature Dwarf ‘Grandma’s Hat’ (Mahood, 1957) P. Del Negro Miniature Tall ‘Fakir’s Fire’ (Guild, 1980) N. McDonald