Iris if the Day. "Sea Power". And Others. 5.21.19

Sea Power.  5.21.19

Sea Power.  5.21.19

 Today's iris of the day is "Sea Power", a modern, very ruffled blue tall bearded iris.  I've had it several years but this is the first bloom.  Mildly fragrant.  Nice color, big blue flowers.  Very nice.

I may have to re-label that previous "American Classic".  I think that wasn't from my own originals but rather a curbside pile of rhizomes with a "free" sign.  I didn't know I still had"American Classic" and bought a new one last summer from Schreiners.  That new one is about to bloom, with what appears to be richer color and more modern form.  That brings the question, what is is iris, and I don't know,  I will need to recaption when I'm on my computer.

The others are new photos of varieties that continue to bloom,  It's nice walking around looking at them and sniffing for scent.

Opening Flower, American Classic.  5.21.19

Immortality

Dark Blue Iris.  Blue Knight?  Before the Storm?  5.22119

Sunny Disposition.  5.21.19

Los Coyotes.  5.21.19

Peach Leaf Curl. 5.20.19

Peach Leaf Curl.  "Charlotte Peach".  5.20.19

This is typical for "Charlotte".  Most of the leaves are affected.  Each year, it develops curl, then recovers most of the way, during the summer.  As a result, the peaches are usually few, small, and not very good.  I keep the tree because it's mature and sometimes I do get a peach.

I wonder what would happen if I overgraft part of it with "Cowlitz" peach.  Hmmm.

Two More Rescued Iris Cultivars. 5.19.19

Bearded Iris "American Classic".  5.19.19

 These are two more rescues from the woodlot.  Now having bloomed, I can identify them.  It's a little like going through an o,d closet or attic and finding clothes that are useable and liked.

"American Classic" is modern, developed by Schreiners in 1996.  "Gay Parasol" is modern to my eyes, but also considered historic, developed by Schreiners in 1973.

Historic varieties are at least 30 years old.  This  one has nice color and form, and a little bit of ruffle, but is not as big and lavish as many of the 21st century developments.  Now that they are identified, I'll label them again and move them to big iris bed when they are dormant.

Today while delivering meals, I saw a large, obviously many-years ago established, border of Gay Parasol.  The house  is much older than the 1973 date, so it's possible that this iris was planted there 20 or more years ago.  There were others that I could not identify.  All very nice.

Bearded Iris "Gay Parasol".  5.19.19

Bearded Iris Test Garden. 5.19.19

 I'm pretty happy with how the irises have done this year.  Some are not done yet, but I can see the results.  Only two of the old, rescued clumps were not up to producing at least one flower.  Of the new cultivars, bought by mail order, only one ("Cheetah Cheese") produced flower at all.  I had 2 rhizomes of that variety, and unfortunately the one of those that did bloom was something else entirely.  I also had a new one, "Blatant", that I had bought locally and which was small, dried out, dead looking rhizomes, that I think I planted in October.  I didn't have a big expectation that they would survive, let alone bloom.  They did survive, are growing vigorously, so might bloom next year.   I expect that next year, these new ones may have more flowers, and the stems may be taller because the plants will be more established.

Next I will want to cull a few that are really not worth the space and effort.  In addition, I want to re-combine a few cultivars that are separated into more than one bunch, which will free up some spaces and look better.

I think I want the smaller cultivars together at one end of the bed.  I also want the re-bloomers together, because they benefit from extra care during the summer while others will be dormant.

The main thing now is I get to enjoy these beautiful flowers, and the bonus is most bloomed this year, a year sooner than I expected.

A Few More Irises In Bloom. 5.18.19

Padded Shoulders.  5.18.19

Pink Attraction.  5.18.19

Owyhee Desert.  5.18.19

A few more bearded iris varieties have bloomed in the test garden. "Padded Shoulders" is a newer modern type, very attractive.  Looking at photos of this cultivar, I had some buyers' remorse because I didn't think it would look that good.  Now that I've seen it in my garden, I like it much more.  The coloration and pattern are unusual, and it's a very nice flower.

I added another photo of "Owyhee Desert".  It's a smaller variety, should be at the front of a border.  Even though it's small, this coloration and pattern make it among the nicest.

"Pink Attraction" doesn't look like much.  Holding judgement.

"Immortality" was in my old yard, survived moving here, but suffered when I had a leaf spot epidemic.  I moved it to the woodlot edge and forgot it.  After moving it back to the test garden, it's doing very well. This is just the first bud, of many, to open.  "Immortality" was registered in 1982, developed by Zurbrigg, so at more than 30 years old counts as a "historic iris".  It has the late 20th century flower shape, and is considered a good re-bloomer.  The stems are not as tall as some modern cultivars, but that might be an advantage in a climate like this one where rains can tip over the heavy flowers.  That happened in my garden with the cultivar "Red Dirt Road".

Of these, all but "Immortality" were from Schreiner's Irises.  I've had "Immortality" for so long, I forgot where it came from.

Immortality.  5.18.19