ABOUT IRIS, John Thorpe

Horticulture
An Illustrated Journal devoted to the Florist, Plantsman,
Landscape Gardener and Kindred Interests.
The Horticulture Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Vol. VIIII July 4 1908

About Iris

Iris means "Rainbow" and that means all the colors there are. Twenty years ago, in our Queens catalogue I prefaced our Iris section thus: "The orchids of open air gardens are the Irises. If there are any more beautifully illustrative of form, more cheaply obtainable, more easily cultivated, more continuous in flowering than is the Iris that family has not yet come under our observation." This 10th of June, 1908, I would not change a single line.
We know it takes time to start again old-fashioned things, peonies, and phlox's and delphiniums for instance, reference to which I hope to take up later, and now the Iris begins to shimmer in the limelight, so much so that it may be expected to be one of our next first numbers. This Iris family should have more told of it than there is time and space at my disposal today. Some good every day German Irises are Sapho, violet and deep purple, early, distinct : three or four kinds travel for Sapho; fifteen or twenty kinds carry this name. Augustina, yellow and maroon. Eugene Sue, white and purple. Gertrude, violet blue, new and distinct. Gracchus, yellow and brown crimson. Celeste, pale blue, sweet as a gardenia. Jaacquesiana, maroon, bronze and crimson. Sans Souci, gold and mahogany, a gem. Judith, purple, sulphur and violet. Duchesse de Gerolstein (Harlequin Milanais), white, flaked and reticulated, a fine old variety. Dalmatica, lavender, tall : this has about twenty names. Madame Chereau, a gem amongst gems : pure white, cerulean blue and Tyrian purple, so beautiful and yet not young: has many names, — twenty or more. Fairy (?), white with violet veining. Darius, yellow, purple shading to cream. Ulysee, bronze, purple and gold and drab. Speciosa (catalogue), lavender and dark purple, large grower. Sir Walter Scott, yellow, brown and rich crimson. King Henry, deeply colored, crimson, purple and yellow. Leopold 1st, amaranth, yellow and smoky bronze. Peterson Harlequin Milnais is the glorious old Duchesse de Gerolstein.

The Iris man, after he has become acquainted with the preceding varieties will be looking for more and more, providing always that there is accommodation for the same. Everybody should have Florentina, with all the grace, beauty and expression of everything charming: colors, are white, lavender, green, brown and yellow. I know that this old dear thing is carrying twenty names: some of them are Chameleon, Peacock, Iridescence, Multicolor. Western Glow, and the glorious old favorite has stood its ground since 1596 and it is the same Florentina. Chamoeris Olbiensis, purple, white and gold, dwarf, flowers in April. Guldenstadtiana, white and gold, tall, June. Iberica, purple and lilac and coffee color. May and June. Laevigata (Kaempferii), the Japan Iris: the 4th of July banner flower, one hundred distinct kinds. Pumila, dwarf, purple, blue and white. April. Siberica in various colors, tall and graceful, May and June.

Another class of Irises is the Xiphions, including alata, caucasica, filifolia, Histrio, juncea, persica. reticulata, tingitana, vulgare and xiphioides. This section of Xiphions have bulbous roots and they are rather more delicate than the ordinary above-ground rooters.

Somebody some day will write a popular Iris book.

John Thorpe. NY

I have published this article as it ticks a few boxes that are interests I am pursuing at the moment when I get time, like how was the the pecking order of Irises named in the first 1929-1939 checklists determined who got the priority of a name over another with the same name? Some Irises mentioned above did not even rate a mention in the Checklist, which is another consistent early check lists anomaly, and why is this so?  The article describes differently the iris 'San Souci' which is also an area of interest for me, and last but not least it has a description albeit brief of a very early American historic iris and a garden favourite of mine 'Gertrude', its one of those pallida hybrids of sorts that never fail to please.IH.

AIS Checklist 1929
GERTRUDE TB-M-B1M Peterson 1907 class IVb, ☐ slight faint fragrance. AAA

Iris 'Gertrude' in the garden at Home.

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

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Iris Germanica

AMATUEURS COLUMN

THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE 

July 14th 1894

IRIS GERMANICA.-- It is now nearly thirty years since I began to collect some of the varieties of Iris germanica, many of which are still the most beautiful, though I have added to their numbers of late years. This year a disease has appeared and killed several of my most thriving plants. One large clump of Aurea, full of bloom, just showing the colour, was struck, as it were, in a night, it having the appearance as though scorched, and so with a few others. I tried several methods to save them, but none availed, and they are dead, or very nearly so. I have not seen the disease before, and I hope and trust that I may never do so again. With these exceptions, I have never had such wonderful flowers, both in size, form, and colour. In some instances they consisted of four standards, and four falls. In another there were seven standards and four falls. While one, the old ‘Rose Queen’, now called ‘Queen of the May’, a lovely bright light pink "beauty," produced one flower with five standards, five falls, and five petaloids, and yet in all these respects was well proportioned. This form being new to me, I made a drawing for the Gardeners' Chronicle, thinking possibly it might prove of interest to some of its readers.

While on the subject, I wish to remark that I know of but few florists’ flowers where so many different names are given to apparently the same flower. I commenced the culture of Iris by buying about fifty sorts or varieties of Mr. Salter, of Hammersmith, years ago, and I now find several of these have another name, and some more than one, newly bestowed on them.
What I have grown as the Duchess of Buccleuch, a fine purple and white blotched variety, is now called Victorine ; the old Abou Hassan is Louis Van Houtte, et ceterarum, and Goldfinch is Prince of Orange; yet I intend to call them by the names I have known them by, and were given to them by their skilful raiser, Mr. Salter.

As I have had a long experience, perhaps I should not be considered trespassing too much on your space if I give the names of a few of the most distinct. Among the dark purples, I have thought subbiflora, nepalense, Crimson King, and germanica major the best; Of whites, ‘Mrs. H. Darwin’ is the most beautiful, then the ‘Princess of Wales,’ ‘Innocenza, and ‘Florentina,’ the last has been grand this year.
Of white with blue and lilac edgings, Celestine is delicate in form and colour, but both Madame Cherian (Mme. Chereau) and Saladin are excellent - in fact, it is difficult to decide which is the best.
Othello is more than a good dark one, the standards being a bright blue, and the falls nearly black. In this way is the Emperor of Morocco, but lighter. Of the white striped with blue, Zebra is the most singular, the standards, falls, and petaloids all being striped ; next is Salter's Zebrina, the standards being soft lilac, spotted at the base, and the falls striped ; the last variety of this is a seedling, with the standards white, and the falls striped with deep blue- purple - this is very telling, and is named J. Jenner Weir.
Of the yellows, flavescens as a light colour still holds its own, while ‘Aurea’ is unsurpassable as a bright yellow. A new one of mine, named ‘Gold Crest’, is very good, the standards and falls being chromey-white, edged with deep yellow, with a few light purple blotches on the latter.
Salter's Gipsy Queen is peculiar, the standards being a yellowish- grey, the falls deep blue-purple, reticulated, white. His Jacquiana’ is lovely, the standards are of a light orange, shaded with carmine, and the falls a deep carmine- purple, the beard cream. I raised a seedling from this about fifteen years ago, the standards being light crimson-sulphur suffused with blue, the falls a deep bluish-purple, reticulated with white at the base, with orange beard ; the flower is large and fine in form, and is called Harrison Weir by Mr. Barr. I have two very beautiful veined varieties, raised by Mr. Salter, of the squalens type; one is Venus, the other Venosa. I have raised a third; this is a soft fawn colour, the falls being slightly suffused with pink, named Fallow Deer. Goldfinch is lovely, standards and falls deep yellow, the latter reticulated with bright red. Lady Jane is a reddish-pink, well worth growing, as is Miralbs, of a similar colour. Cordelia is one of the most beautiful, and is remarkably rich in colouring of the red-purple type, with reddish-lavender standards. Darius is fine, as is De Bergii. Iris pallida is a large light blue, while pallida dalmatica is grand in size, colour and form, being one of if not the largest of all; it is also sweet-scented. All these are good, and will well repay the grower for any time or trouble he may take or expense he may incur, and not only be a delight to himself but to his friends also.

Harrison Weir, Sevenoaks, June 23 1894.

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