Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris CHERRY GARDEN

Every spring the iris growers in New Zealand await the opening of the first iris flowers in their gardens. Sometimes, even when the last snow is still on the Mountain Range the little miniatures poke their little heads through and shout out with joy. From the minute that the first flowers appear you know that in just a few short weeks you will be in the middle of peak bloom. Hallelujah!!!

Bennett C Jones, Portland, Oregon. Introductions for 1967.
CHERRY GARDEN-Sdlg. #M134-1 (CAPTAIN GALLANT X pumila Y9C Randolph). Red from purple side, velvet smooth. HC 1966.........$5.00

Richmond Iris Garden, Hill Street, Richmond, Nelson. Bearded Irises 1971-1972
CHERRY GARDEN- Completely a red self, smooth and glowing. A wonderful Iris.

Bulletin of the American Iris Society, October 1971, Number 203.
Median Varietal Comment, Bee Warburton.
When our editor asked me to write some varietal comment, he sent me an example of the sort he wanted, which was in line with the popular motto, "Be Kind." This emphasizes the delicate balance involved in such published description since giving praise where it is not due is anything but kindness in the end. The ancient gambit is to name the good points of the iris, and then follow with the damning BUT. Or one may praise with abandon one quality which is truly good, and damn the mediocre with silence or the classic faint praise. This requires more tact than even the best judges can always muster............
CHERRY GARDEN. (Jones). Registered as pansy purple, but seems more on the red side; a superb glowing color with beard an exact match. Flowers tend to grow a bit large.

Bulletin of the American Iris Society, January 1972, Number 204.
Flightlines ; Varietal Comment, Leda Christlieb, Kansas.
CHERRY GARDEN, SDB, again lovely red velvet, with the terminal bloom too large; later ones in proportion.

Mission Bell Gardens, Melba and Jim Hamblen,  South Roy, Utah. Iris for 1973.
CHERRY GARDEN (B. Jones 1967) M, 15in..
Rich red from the purple side with velvet plush texture. Fine form and vigorous plant. Sensational!! (Capt. Gallant X Randolph pumila 9C) Cook-Douglas Medal 1972.

Riverdale Iris Gardens, Minneapolis,Minnesota. 1980 Price List.
Showy purple red. Cook-Douglas 1974.

4~ Square Iris Gardens, Eau Claire,Wisconsin, Cold Climate Iris, 1982.
CHERRY GARDEN (Jones 1967) Pansy purple self. (more to the red side)
(The reason I have include these short and to the point listings is that the catalogue states 'plants are grown in a very harsh climate. Temperatures from -40°F in winter and up to 100°F in the summer. Coupled with the harsh climate is a short growing season, all of which strongly indicates 'Cherry Garden' is a very hardy iris.)

AIS Checklist 1969
CHERRY GARDEN (Bennett Jones, Reg. 1966) Sdlg. M134-1. SDB, 15" (38 cm), M
Pansy purple (Wilson 928/3) self. Captain Gallant x pumila Y9C (Randolph). Jones 1967. HC 1966, HM 1968, JC 1968, 1969, AM 1970, Cook-Douglas 1972.


Reproduction in whole or in part of this post, its opinions or its images without the expressed written permission of Terry Johnson is strictly prohibited.
Photo credit and copyright Terry Johnson and Heritage Irises ©.

Read More

Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris KNOTTY PINE

Widely regarded as significant parent 'Knotty Pine' is in the parentage of hundreds of irises. (Used in breeding SDB Plicatas to give 'better form believe', it or not) Knotty Pine is what I describe as a progressive iris because the longer the bloom season gets going, the blooms get to grow taller and grow out from the foliage from where the earlier blooms seem play peak a bloom. Nice increase with great plant health. Standards are a nice citrus honey when first open, that becomes a more than pleasant honey tone with age. Falls are multi coloured browns with striations on the hafts which the above photo does not do justice to. Style arms a glowing amethyst colour. Extremely floriferous, just covers itself in blooms, coupled with a long bloom season and just seems to get better every year. An absolute must have median!!

John E. Goett, Monroe, Connecticut. Irises 1961.
MEDIANS FOR BREEDING
KNOTTY PINE. SDB, 13". (Minnie Colquitt X Denni~ D551) Tan brown bicolor with very perky form. May have plicata factor from Cretica. Color controversial. $5.00

The Iris Yearbook (BIS), 1964,"Lilliputs and All That", page 72, H. Senior Fothergill.
Varietal comments on tall bearded irises are common place, but the smaller bearded hybrids get far less attention, so let us, on this occasion, review some of those wit h I.pumila blod in them , to the joys of which the iris world awakened when Paul Cook produced GREEN SPOT.
Brown;
 KNOTTY PINE (1959) Here we have a brown, of general cafe-au-lait or lion skin effect. The standards are a smoky, creamy yellow ; the falls are tawny buff with a smoky maroon flush ; the orange tipped beards varies between blue and white below. Those who only like unsophisticated colours are not attracted, but I find it a very  satisfying variety in it's on right, and a most useful foil to show up the hues of nicely selected neighbours. 10 inches.

Bulletin of the American Iris Society, July 1964, Number 174. Flight Lines, Plic Tricks, Keith Keppel.
Back in Monroe, Connecticut, Median Iris Society President Jack Goett is working hard with the standard dwarf plicatas. Most stem from his KNOTTY PINE, a tan bitone standard dwarf. CIRCLETTE, violet on white, is from DALE DENNIS X KNOTTY PINE. Others are from KNOTTY PINE X PAT'S PAL, a Rundlett dwarf plic out of PATRICE X CRETICA. Included in Jack's progeny from KNOTTY PINE and PAT'S PAL are some TIFFANJA-patterned and colored plics.

Region 14 Northern California, Nevada, Regional Bulletin, Spring 1964.
'Carol Says', Carol Walters
.......here are notes of some of the median Iris which bloomed in the Western Median Test garden Rio Linda as they appeared to me. The descriptions of each median class given are taken from the material on exhibition judging of median irises complied by Crescent Deru for the Median Section of the American Iris Society.
Knotty Pine : The garden effect of this one is non-existent, but it is charming to view close, especially looking down into the flower. The standards are open and frilly, pale honey in color, showing off the glowing style arms and the intricately patterned falls of party brown velvet.

4~ Square Iris Gardens, Eau Claire,Wisconsin, Cold Climate Iris, 1982.
KNOTTY PINE (Goett 1961) Standards Tan, Falls Brown.
(The reason I have include these short and to the point listings is that the catalogue states 'plants are grown in a very harsh climate. Temperatures from -40°F in winter and up to 100°F in the summer. Coupled with the harsh climate is a short growing season' strongly indicates 'Knotty Pine' is a very hardy iris.)

AIS Checklist 1959
KNOTTY PINE  John Goett, Reg. 1959. Sdlg. 91-Al. SDB, 13" (33 cm), E. Color Class-YO5D, S. tan; F. brown. Minnie Colquitt x Dennis D 551. Goett 1961. Honorable Mention 1962, Award of Merit 1967, Cook-Douglas Medal 1970.

Once again I have to say that there maybe a slight outside chance 'Knotty Pine' is still commercially grown in New Zealand somewhere (can't say I had any success with this avenue), fortunately I was able to purchase this plant on Trade Me from hctnz (Lyn Nell) a Mid-Canterbury gardener who sends generous plants that have great plant health and I have never had the slightest hesitation to highly recommend to visitors to this blog. 

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.

Reproduction in whole or in part of this photo without the expressed written permission of Terry Johnson is strictly prohibited.
Photo credit and copyright Terry Johnson and Heritage Irises ©.

Read More

Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris SERENITY PRAYER

It is floriferous, first rate grower and well deserves a place in the Garden.
I do not need to extrapolate the brilliance of this iris and why would I need to when Perry Dyer (The Hybridiser and Iris writer) has summed it up nicely himself.

Contemporary Views, 1988, Perry Dyer– Standard Dwarf Beardeds.
SERENITY PRAYER (Dyer 1989) will be the last Dyer introduction for several years probably, as my own hybridizing endeavors are currently taking a vacation for a few years! From some extensive work for blue-bearded whites, it is actually a glowing cream with undertones of soft butter yellow and a mother-of-pearl sheen. Then, an intense, quite clean azure blue to indigo beard produces a nice contrast. A very stately, elegant median.

Contemporary Views, 1991, Perry Dyer– Standard Dwarf Beardeds.
The early success of SERENITY PRAYER (me, 1989) has been most gratifying. I’m getting great reports from all over the country, and we’re now hearing that it’s a reliable repeat bloomer and rebloomer. One of Paul Black’s releases from the same year is similar in background but distinctive enough from ‘Serenity Prayer’ that they really shouldn’t be compared:SIGH (1989) is a magnificent work of art, with cool icy white flowers blessed with elegant soft blue beards. Needless to say, we’re trying to mate the two! ‘Sigh’ has excellent form and substance supreme, with no other coloration to distract from the glacial effect.

AIS Checklist 1989
SERENITY PRAYER,  Perry Dyer, Reg 1987. Sdlg. L-4. SDB, 13" (33 cm), EM-L. S. creamy white, flushed warm light yellow on midrib; F. mother-of-pearl cream, flushed yellow on hafts; deep blue beard tipped powder blue; light to moderately waved. Hamblen M73-12A: (((Sunny Heart x Blue Canary sib) x Canary Isle) x Tumwater) X Sapphire Jewel. Contemporary Gardens 1989. Honorable Mention 1991; Award of Merit 1993; Cook-Douglas Medal 1995.

Major Hat Tips and to Julie May of 'The Iris Garden' fame for her amazing photo.
As usual, clicking the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.

Reproduction in whole or in part of this photo without the expressed written permission of Julie May is strictly prohibited.
Photo credit and copyright Julie May © .

Read More