Tall Bearded Iris CASCADE

A cross of two irises attributed to Fernand Denis the pod parent was the violet rose with a white ground claw heavily striated brown purple named 'J. B. DUMAS'  and this was crossed with the very rich coloured neglecta named 'AURELLE' with its light purplish blue standards, rich luminous purple falls with a a heavy gold beard. The result of this cross was the lavender purple self  named 'Cascade'.
'Cascade' was the first iris to be catalogued by Jean and the Iris was introduced in the 1930 A.H.Burgess Irises Catalogue "as a seedling of our own raising". It continued to be listed in the Stevens Bros. catalogues until 1942. It is a terrific iris of classic style and form, grows well with high plant health. Super large flowers that last well in both garden and the vase. Have no idea and can find no clues to why this iris never made the pages of a Checklist, but because it is not registered does not mean it does not exist.

CASCADE Emily Burgess sdlg. 1/C33 TB 44" (J B Dumas X Aurelle) 

Jean Emily Burgess Breeding Notes
1929 Blooming.
Seedling 1/C33 ;  3 ft 8"; Flower 6½" Soft light purple self. Haft white vented brown. Stands up well to weather. Scented.

A H Burgess and Son Iris Specialist Waikanae Wellington. Irises 1931
Cascade This is a seedling of our own raising that was much admired by visitors to our gardens last season. It is a huge flower, measuring over six inches from the tip of the standards to the bottom of the falls. Colour is an even tone of light lavender purple : a true self ; 3½ ft................12/6

The reason why I have been hesitant  in posting this iris is the deluge of nincompoops that will find an iris that looks something like this iris and then list it on that collective madness known as Trade Me. So if you see an iris listed on Trade Me as 'Cascade' you can bet it most likely is not.

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

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THE CALIFORNIAN SECTION- Californian Iris

Coloured forms of Iris innominata, 
Courtesy of the book, 'The Iris and its Culture' Jean Stevens.

Some Lesser Known Irises

  PART IV

THE CALIFORNIAN SECTION

By Miss J. Burgess, Waikanae.

THE NEW ZEALAND SMALLHOLDER, June 17th, 1935.

Many factors have mitigated against the garden distribution and consequent popularity of the Californian irises, but none more so than the confusion hitherto existing among collectors and botanists themselves. The close affinity between the various species of decision is so strong that cross-fertilisation is almost a certainty when two or more species grow together. This taken in conjunction with the fact that there are endless numbers of local and colour forms of the species, makes confusion almost inevitable. Another difficulty has been that the plants make rather sparse root growth, and that that growth is active in a short period in the year. This means that successful transplantation of fully grown plants can only be carried out during that season of growth. As the old roots are not sufficient to feed the plant, where no root growth takes place after transplantation, the plant will stave and die.This period of growth occurs between July and December in New Zealand, and as flowering season itself lies within this time, the season for transplanting is further limited.
All the members of the section seed and germinate freely, and seedlings will flower in the spring, following germination. From the gardener's point of view this is eminently satisfactory, and he is no longer troubled that the mature plant is so difficult a subject to transplant. But to the collector of species this is merely an alleviation. The difficulty is that pure seed, true to name, is so hard to obtain, and seed imported of tenax, or Douglasiana, is likely to turn out mere hybrids of those species.

Provide Lime-free Soil
Cultivation in a lime-free soil is not a difficult matter. All the Californians thrive in a light loamy soil under ordinary garden conditions. The addition of leaf mould or garden compost and sand is, however, a material help. Moisture is needed during the spring and early summer, when growth is active, but a thorough ripening in the late summer and early autumn does no harm to the plants, and they bloom all the more freely the following spring. Most of the species are extremely free flowering, and in the case of some, notably tenax, the plants may be so smothered with bloom that the foliage is entirely obscured. All are eminently desirable rock garden subjects, and in the rock garden the dainty charm has an ideal foil. They will not tolerate the presence in the soil of lime.

Two Main Groups
The Californians are divided into two main groups, the longipetala group, which occurs mainly along the Californian coast, and the Californian section proper, of which tenax is, perhaps, the best known. This latter group of species is distributed throughout the whole of North-western America, though they occur most freely and California and Oregon.
 Longipetala is the tallest of the section, throwing up flower stems two feet or more in height. Although there is only one inflorescence to each stem, it bears four to five flowers, which opened in succession. The large falls are conspicuously veined with deep purple on a white ground, while the standards are an even tone of pale purple or lavender.The deep green foliage is somewhat stiff, and is almost as tall as the flower stems. There is an alpine form of dwarfer growth called Missouriensis. Another species, Montana, sometimes catalogued as Tolmeiana, differs from longipetala and Missouriensis, chiefly in it's narrower standards, and in the colour of the falls, which have less veining, and bears a distinct yellow patch on the blade of the falls.
The Californian section proper contains a large number of authentic species, but it is here that it has been so difficult to decide where a form deserves, specific rank. All the species of the section have conspicuous red coloured bases to their leaf growth. Tenax from Oregon is so named because of the strength of the leaves, from the fibers of which the Indians used to weave a twine or cord of considerable strength. It grows to about a foot in height, and bears flowers in endless variations of colour from palest pearly lavender through mauve to a deep claret colour. In my own experience it has proved to be the easiest of all the Californians to transplant, and it is certainly the most free-flowering.
   
Some Good Varieties
Hartwegii has perhaps doubtful claims to specific rank, differing as it does from tenax only in colour and its dwarfer habit. It is pale creamy yellow with straw coloured veining.
Hartwegii as a native of the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, occurring at altitudes varying from 1500 feet to 7000 feet, and red volcanic debris. It is very difficult to transplant, and has not the same vigour as tenax. Somewhat similar in colouring, but stronger in growth and constitution, are Purdyi, from the Redwood regions of Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, and Bracteata from Oregon. Purdyi which is only from 4 to 6 inches in height, has pale straw yellow flowers, conspicuously veined with dark purple, and Bracteata the same height as Purdyi, has deeper yellow flowers, also conspicuously veined, and differs chiefly from Purdyi in having longer, broader, but sparser foliage. There are, however, several botanical differences.
 Douglasiana it is perhaps as well known as tenax, and as easily grown. It differs from all the other species of the section, and, indeed, from almost all other Irises, by the fact that it does not lie down during the winter, but retains its very dark green, extremely tough leaves all the year.Douglasiana it is very variable, both in colour and style of growth. The endless variety of colourful is truly amazing; from every shade of lavender toned yellow and apricot to deepest purple, with every possible variation of veining. The height of the flower stems varies from 9 to 18 inches. Douglasiana appears to be confined to the coastal regions of California. Macrosiphon is another variable species, but much dwarfer in habit, and not so robust. It is a native of California and Oregon. Although the stem is seldom more than 3 inches in height, the flowers are furnished with a very long perianth tube ( as the name macrosiphon, suggests), the flowers themselves being about a foot in height. There is every conceivable colour variation from sky blue to yellow and white. The colour of the foliage also varies from glaucous green to Emerald. As previously mentioned, intercrossing between the different species of this group is extremely easy, and gives endless variations in colour, height, and form but of added interest, is the fact that several Californians, among them tenax and Douglasiana, can be successfully crossed with the Chinese and Himalayan Sibiricas. Among these hybrids has been raised a beautiful flower of a crushed Strawberry colour with gold veining on the falls. This hybrid was obtained from chrysographes crossed with Douglasiana. This early result promises that continued work among these lines will be well worthwhile.

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter.  

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter. - See more at: http://historiciris.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/the-laevigata-section.html#sthash.gZbKF19o.dpuf

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter. - See more at: http://historiciris.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/the-laevigata-section.html#sthash.gZbKF19o.dpuf

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter. - See more at: http://historiciris.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/the-laevigata-section.html#sthash.gZbKF19o.dpuf

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter. - See more at: http://historiciris.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/the-laevigata-section.html#sthash.gZbKF19o.dpuf

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter. - See more at: http://historiciris.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/the-laevigata-section.html#sthash.gZbKF19o.dpuf

As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Credit and copyright Iris Hunter. - See more at: http://historiciris.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/the-laevigata-section.html#sthash.gZbKF19o.dpuf

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THE LAEVIGATA SECTION - Iris Laevigata

 Some Lesser Known Irises

  PART IV

THE LAEVIGATA SECTION

By Miss J. Burgess, Waikanae.

THE NEW ZEALAND SMALLHOLDER, May 16th, 1935.

The laevigata section of irises embraces the well known Japanese or Kaempferi hybrids. These hybrids have all been obtained from the single species Kaempferi, one of the four true species which comprise the group. Although essentially water lovers, the laevigatas, in common with all other irises, and with the sole exception of pseudacorus, dislike a badly drained soil.
Much confusion has existed between laevigata and Kaempferi, since they were first known to the European botanists a century ago. This is due to the fact that both species come from the same districts. They are found in swampy places near Lake Baikal, and along the banks of the River Amur. Thence, they occur eastwards through Manchuria, Northern China, to Korea and Japan. I wish to make it clear that where I write of Kaempferi, the reference is to the species Kaempferi, the source from which the Japanese have obtained their marvellous, but, I fear, rather monstrous, hybrids. By what means they have succeeded in modifying the wild type, and obtaining those huge double freak flowers, is a mystery. From the fact that they have obtained a double form of laevigata as well, we are forced to conclude that it was not merely a natural chance freak which gave them their first break, but a carefully guarded horticultural secret. And no part of the world, and in no section of the genus, has nature evolved for herself this form of freak flower. The double laevigata and the double Kaempferi of the Japanese are the only double irises in existence. In passing, it is interesting to note that the Japanese have done the same by the chrysanthemum and the cherry. But nature receipts the interference of these Oriental hybridists, and if their double hybrids are allowed to naturalise and seed, in a few generations the seedlings will throw back to the type of the wild species. Though first discovered to the Occident in 1837, the true laevigata is still uncommon in English gardens, and it is almost unknown here. This is no doubt due to the fact that until fairly recently it was taken to be synonymous with Kaempferi. Laevigata is chiefly distinguished from Kaempferi by the characteristic, which earned for it the name laevigata, which means "smoothed". The tall, sword shaped leaves are quite smooth, differing therein from Kaempferi, which carries down each leaf a distinct ribbing, or ridged veining. The colour of laevigata is a deep, rich blue, of a shade not seen in any other Iris. The standards are upright, and the falls tongue like, long and drooping. 

There is a garden form of the type under the name L. albopurpurea, having, as the name suggests, white and blue flowers. The standards and style arms are white, and the falls are white heavily mottled with blue. Strangely enough, this quasi-albino characteristic acts as a Mendellian recessive, and albopurpurea breeds quite true to colour. In recent years there has been on the market and Iris, which is called laevigata 'Rose Queen'. This is apparently a hybrid between laevigata and Kaempferi , as although the shape of the flower is like laevigata, the leaves posses the ridged veining of Kaempferi. The colour of Rose Queen is an even tone of Peach Blossom or rose pink. It is easily grown, and very effective when massed.
The cultivation of laevigata is quite simple. Like all the group, it dislikes lime, but can be grown successfully in any good garden soil, provided that it is not allowed to dry out during the summer months.

Kaempferi, as mentioned, comes from the same districts of Northern and Eastern Asia as does laevigata. It was first noted by a Western botanists as a species in 1858, but has been in cultivation in Japanese gardens for centuries. The shape of the flowers is somewhat similar to laevigata, but the standards are not so tall, and the falls are perhaps a little broader. The colour is a rich, deep purple, relieved on the half of the fall by a narrow stripe of Golden yellow. There is also a white form. Cultivation is the same as for laevigata, but the Japanese hybrids require more attention. These latter should be given plenty of manure, preferably well rotted garden compost or animal manure, which is best applied during winter when growth is inactive.

Pseudacorus, the English 'Water Flag' is botanically classed in the laevigata section. This act is surprising to the casual observer, but careful examination of the plants will discover many liberties with the species laevigata and Kaempferi. Pseudacorus, is too well known to come within the scope of  this series of articles, but, I might mention in passing, that it is well worth the attention of any Gardener with plenty of "background"  space, and it will grow anywhere, though it does best in a rich, moist soil. Its natural habitat is over the whole of Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. The flowers are bright yellow, varying considerably in colour, size, and height, as would be expected where distribution is over so wide an area.

There is an American representative of the section in versicolor (syn. Virginica). This is the American "Water Flag," and although quite different from Pseudacorus, it has much in common with that species. Versicolor grows wild from Hudson Bay in the North to the Gulf of Mexico in the South. The usual colour is a pale blue purple, though there is a natural red-purple form called kermesina. Both are very desirable waterside subjects, and at easy to grow. Culture is the same as for other members of the section - a damp, lime free soil, rich in humus.
Botanical affinities between the four species of the laevigata section suggests that inter-crossing should not be a difficult matter, but with the possible exception of Rose Queen, no hybrid is known. In inter-crossing it is necessary to de-antherise the seed bearer as soon as the flower opens, as the flowers of all the members of the section are so constructed that self fertilisation is naturally effected.

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Credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

 

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CRESTED IRISES OF EVANSIA SECTION

Some Lesser Known Irises 

  PART III

CRESTED IRISES OF EVANSIA SECTION

By Miss J. Burgess, Waikanae.

THE NEW ZEALAND SMALLHOLDER, April 16th, 1935.

 Although one or two of the crested irises are known to the New Zealand gardener, there are several species of this interesting section which are rarely if ever seen in this country. It is generally believed that the Iris genus is divided into two divisions, the bearded and the beardless irises. However, there is a group intermediate between these two divisions, a group that is distinguished by possessing a crest in place of a beard on the fall. All the members of this group are rhizomatous rooted, though the different species vary greatly in the shape and size of the flowers and the height to which the plant grows.

The name Evansia was given to the section in 1812, in honour of a Mr Thomas Evans, of the India House, who had introduced Japonica into England a year or two previously. Japonica, which has two synonyms, fimbriata and chinensis, is the best known member of the crested section. It is a native of China and Japan. In England, Japonica can only be grown and flowered successfully in a greenhouse, but in many parts of New Zealand it has proved almost hardy. It will stand quite a heavy frost as far as the foliage is concerned, but I frost of six or more degrees may catch the flower spike before it emerges from the foliage, so that in most districts some slight protection is advisable towards the end of winter when the buds are forming. A lover of lime and a sunny aspect, this species is by no means difficult of culture. The flowers are a delicate and delightful shade of lavender blue, lightened by a light freckling of gold at the throat. They are borne on gracefully branched stems about two feet in height. Each stem carries a large number of buds, which give a succession of bloom over several weeks. There is an entirely hardy form called Ledger's variety which has slightly larger flowers of nearly the same shade of lavender blue. Both Japonica and this hardy form flower in the early spring.

From the Himalayas comes Millesii, named after Mr Frank Miles, who introduced it into cultivation about 1880. It is a distinctly handsome Iris, and the tallest of this section. Perfectly hardy and easily grown, it requires like Japonica, lime and a sunny position. The flowers, which appear at the end of October, are borne on 3ft. well branched stems, which continue to develop flower after flower over a period of eight or ten weeks, a surprising long period for a single species. The flowers themselves are about 3 inches across, and are a delicate lilac, spotted on the fall with a deeper shade of the same colour. The foliage which is extremely ornamental, is a clear light green which shows up as a distinct contrast among most other plants.

Better known, perhaps, is tectorum, from China and Japan. The Chinese grow this Iris on the roofs of their houses, whence the name tectorum and the popular name of "roof garden Iris". It was introduced in 1874 by Mr William Bull. The flowers which are flattened, as in Iris Kaempferi, are from 3 to 5 inches across, and are borne on 12 inch stems, each of which carries from two to three flowers. The colour is a deep lavender blue, with a conspicuous white crest on the fall.
There is also a really charming white form of tectorum whose purity is enhanced by a soft yellow signal patch. This white form sets seed readily and comes to colour. Both the blue and white tectorum are perfectly hardy, and the culture is the same as for japonica and milesii.
A dainty little Iris of less easy culture is gracilipes, from Northern Japan, where it grows on wooded slopes with a cool aspect, and in loose vegetable soil, in much the same conditions in which primroses thrive. This and speculatrix, about which later little is yet known, are the only grassy leaved species of the section. They are delicately fringed flowers of gracilipes, which are borne on 6 inch stems, are a pale lilac pink, lightly touched with orange on the fall.

There are two American representatives of the Evansia section, cristata and its Canadian form, lacustris. These are dainty little miniatures, cristata being 4 inches, and lacustris two inches in height. The flowers are lilac, and in cristata about one and a half inches across, in lacustris one inch. Culture for both is the same as for gracilipes. Cristata, comes from the Southern States of North America.

(Update Notes;  The only evasia that has no crest I.tenuis was transferred into the genus Evansia, Lenz, 1959, originally classed as a Pacific coast iris, its closely related to cristata and lacustris and also needs to be included in this American group. Also I. speculatrix has been removed from the evansia section. TJ.)

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Credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

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IRIS SPURIA

 Some Lesser Known Irises
  PART II

IRIS SPURIA
By Miss J. Burgess, Waikanae.
THE NEW ZEALAND SMALLHOLDER, March 16th, 1935.

The Spuria group of irises is for the most part tall growing, and prefers a moist, loamy soil. With but one or two exceptions they object to the presence of lime. However, in common with most other irises, they are really adaptable, and will do quite well and flower freely and good guard soil, provided they can be supplied with water during the main growing season, which is from the blooming in November and December until April. Moving and dividing is best carried out immediately after flowering.
The tall species of this group have long, sword shaped leaves, and are very handsome and exotic in effect when clumps are grown in their correct setting. They look at their best growing by the waterside or an a low lying swampy area. To get the best effect they should be grown in spacious surroundings, where one may stand away from them and view them in combination with other waterside growth. The colour range is through many shades of blue and purple to white, primrose, sulphur, and golden yellow. The flowers are produced on tall, stiffly upright stems, usually bearing several lateral branches, which are, however, held erect close to the main stem, thereby giving the appearance of a single head of bloom. In shape the flowers themselves bear are really strong resemblance to the Xipion (English/ Dutch) or Spanish Iris group.
There is no one form to which the name Spuria can be specially applied. Many differing forms collected from Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and through Asia to the Kashmir district have been given the specific name during the last 400 years. The section has been for many years and cultivation, and the botanist, Clusius, mentions in his horticultural work, published in the 16th century, that he had found the form to which he had given the name Spuria growing wild near Oppenheim on the Rhine in 1563.
It is very difficult to distinguish between the various forms, though many have been given varietal rank. They all agree in having blue or purple flowers of varying depth of colour, relieved more less by white or creamy yellow markings at the base of the falls. The European forms are fairly dwarf, 1 foot to 2 feet in height, but the form usually catalogue by nurseryman as Spuria was collected at Sringar, in Kashmir,and grows to a height of 3 to 4 feet.
Sintenisii, a species belonging to the Spuria group, is distributed through southern Italy, the Balkans, and Turkey. It is a dainty little thing of rich, royal purple, with decided white veining on the blade of the falls.
Sintenisii is sometimes confused with Graminea, a species from central Europe. Graminea is a fascinating little Iris some 15 inches in height. Standards and falls are a bright China blue, with the style arms dealing a decided contrast of red-purple. This species is distinguished by its sweet scent, which resembles strongly the centre of a ripe peach or apricots.
One of the tallest irises of the group, and the easiest to grow in a section notably easy, is Ochroleuca, which grows to a height of 5 feet, and bears large stiff white flowers, very pure in effect, with a gold signal patch on the fall. It has been sent out by nurseryman even so recently as 15 years ago, under its old synonyms of Gigantea and Orientalis. It is a native of Asia Minor.
Monnieri is the same height as Ochroleuca,but is somewhat larger in the flower and the colour is a bright yellow. The habit of Monnieri is not known. It was found in the garden of Mons. Lemonnier, of Versailles, where it was believed to have come from Rhodes or Crete. It has not however, been collected since by botanists in those islands. Dykes, in 'The Genus Iris', doubts whether it is entitled to specific rank, rather inclining to the belief that it, with Ochroleuca, is merely a natural colour variety of some form of Spuria.
Aurea is a native of Kashmir, and has flowers of a slightly different shape from the foregoing. The colour is richest golden yellow, and the flowers are borne on 3 foot stems. It is one of the last of the group to flower.
There are some very fine hybrids of these tall spurias, outstanding varieties being 'Shelford Giant', 'Monspur', and 'Monaurea'. They were raised by Sir Michael Foster in his garden at Shelford.

Footnote
It is interesting to note that the author Miss J. Burgess [Jean Stevens] refers above to Orientalis as a synonym for Ochroleuca which at the time of publication (1935) was most likely correct but today because the name I.ochroleuca unfortunately came later than I.orientalis the reverse applies and under the International Rules of Nomenclature it is now referenced as, I.orientalis Miller (Syn. I.ochroleuca).
Also generally the practice of dividing is done nowadays at the start of the Autumn Rain.

AIS Checklist 1929
SHELFORD GIANT. Spur.Y (Foster 1913) ; Wallace, 1914 ; Hubbard 1928 ; AM. R.H.S. (ochroleuca X SPURIA AUREA)

Photo credits and copyright Iris Hunter

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Jean Stevens on the raising of tangerine bearded pink amoenas Irises

Pictured above are Mrs. Jean Stevens, President of the New Zealand Iris Society and Marion Walker, President of the American Iris Society visiting the Schreiners display gardens, Salem, Oregon, May, 1956. Photo courtesy of Schreiners.


LETTERS FROM NOTED HYBRIDIZERS, Region 14 Northern California Nevada Bulletin, Fall 1959.
The Banquet at Region 14 convention in Porterville last spring was highlighted by the reading of letters from a number of nationally prominent hybridisers, all written in response to a request from W.B. Schortmann.

............During the last 10 years I have been concentrating my main breeding efforts to wards the raising of tangerine bearded pink amoenas. In the primary crosses I used yellow amoenas of the Pinnacle series lines with Pink Cameo and a pink bud break I obtain very many years ago from variegata breeding. Although I have had quite a large number of pink amoenas for several years, no single seedling has yet appealed to me as carrying all the vitues I am seeking. Those with large flowers of perfect form do not have dead white standards, and those with dead white standards and pink falls either are small or lack the tangerine beard I consider essential to make such a delicate contrast truly effective.
In 1957 a number of seedlings came so close to my ideal, however, that I feel confident that the crossing of the unrelated best cannot fail to bring the desired results. In the meantime, the 1958 crop of seedlings has flowered- from crosses made previous to the 1957 seedlings. These one generation back from the 1957 crop, surprised me with an expected progress. One seedling in particular happily opening during Harold Knowlton's visit here has dead white standards and very clear,smooth, apricot falls. On a seedling plant the flowers were not larger than the medium-sized and may not prove large enough to be worthy of naming. Two other distinctly related seedlings gave pink amoenas of large size and pleasing flared form, but were too dwarf. So the medium-size apricot amoena was crossed to these as well as to the best of the 1957 selections. Amongst other pink amoena crosses- which comprise about two thirds of my 1958 seedling crop-occurred about 20 other pink or apricots amoenas, but though I use these for further breeding they all lack at least one of the many virtues we now ask of a new Iris.

Unusual By-Products
I think it is safe to say that long continued line breeding one colour and particularly for one colour combination, produces some unusual byproducts. This has been very noticeable in my line breeding for pink amoenas. It was natural to expect an apricot amoena as a by-product, but several most unusual colours and colour combinations are emerging from pink bud amoena breeding. Possibly this is due to the fact that the yellow amoenas and the pink used in the primary crosses are most recess of characters, and the study care I have taken to avoid introducing any other bloodlines was bound to develop distinctive results other than amoenas.

Amongst my seedlings have shown up white and pastel  blue amoenas with red beards, but other unexpected developments have been strangely will Lucent pearly grey with a pinky blue cast, almost white, but shimmering with ice dust, denoting a texture as well as colour development. These all have self coloured beards.

A number development is rich clear pink standards and soft violet falls. This is lovely where the fall is clear and the colour defined. The standards are always a clear rich pink and the beard is usually tangerine or red. A strangely different pink which has a warm brown cast, making it a cocoa pink, has also appeared- sometimes as a self, and sometimes with a cream standard. Of course if these colours are to be gained in flowers of large size, Heavy substance, and perfect form, much concentrated breeding work will need to be undertaken. But the interesting point is that it is obvious that there are still a long way to go before we can say we have exhausted the possibilities of new colours, and new colour combinations, which are based within the tangerine bearded pink complex.

Must Line Breed
I should emphasise that the development of these new recessive combinations and colours have a one almighty "must" attach to them. Whoever develops any one of these new colours which are emerging must attack the problem by means of line breeding. In no other way can I see these, until recently hidden, recessives being given the attributes of first-class garden irises. There will be no shortcuts via the introduction of other irises of dominant colours- and don't forget that any orthodox colour is dominant in relation to a recessive combination.
Outside the pink amoena breeding, and amongst my brown amoena crosses, has shown up another development which should not entailed much further breeding to give a perfect flower and a new colour combination. This is an Iris with pale blue standards and rich walnut brown falls- a sort of brown neglecta. The only faults one of the seedlings has which prevents me from naming it is rather close branching and flowers which are hardly large enough. However, with a nearly related brown amoena of good size and excellent branching available for use to correct these faults it should not be too difficult to get results.
Mrs W.R.Stevens, Bastia Hill, Wanganui New Zealand.

The above insightful letter from Jean Stevens was written to be read at the Region 14 convention in Porterville, Spring 1959. Letters from noted breeders were selected by Bill Schortman. The above extract was published in the Region 14 Fall 1959 regional bulletin.

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Tall Bearded Iris AURORA LIGHTS

'Aurora Lights' a great looking plicata that you see a lot growing in the more established gardens in the Wairarapa. Key point in identification is the purple base foliage inherited from the pod parent. Nice clean foliage and robust growth. This plant has often been mislabelled  as 'Harlequin' which it does not even remotely look like but the most telling fact that eliminates it as 'Harlequin' is that it does not have the PBF trait referred to above.

Stevens Bros, Bastia Hill, Wanganui.  Irises 1949-1950 catalogue
Novelties 1949-50
AURORA LIGHTS  (Stevens)
Even those of us who are nor enamoured of the new plicatas find this one lovely. The broad and beautiful textured falls have a slight flare and ruffling, cinnamon dotted on cream velvet. The standards are a rosy bronze flushed over cream. Falls are crimson dotted on cream velvet, broad and beautifully textured and have a slight flare and ruffling. A deep gold beard enriches the whole combination. Large flowers excellent branching and good height places this in the top rank. 4ft. ....................................................................42 shillings

New Zealand Iris Hybridisers Cumulative Checklist 2011
AURORA LIGHTS  Mrs J. Stevens, Reg., 1948.  Sdlg. 7/T147. TB, 48″, M, Y8M.S. rosy bronze over cream. F. cream and rosy bronze, good form, deep gold beard. 4ft.; Description J. Stevens Studbook notes,‘1946 flowering’; Plicata.  Manchuria X Tiffany. Stevens Bros 1949-50

 This photo was taken last year in a country garden I visited.
As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter

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New Zealand Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris FOREST GLADE

'Forest Glade' has been blooming its socks off at home and shows no signs of stopping just yet. It produces beautiful two buds per stalk with consistency no matter what the weather conditions throw at it. Strong vigorous growth with hearty clean foliage, all of the great plant habits that we have come to expect from a Jean Stevens introduction.
As an aside, the pollen parent of 'Forest Glade's' is an iris named 'Sulina' and has its own interesting history. It's a 3 inch deep violet seedling pumila, one of two (Carpathia was the other) grown and selected from a collection of seeds Robert Schreiner obtained from the University of Cluj in the Provence of Transylvania. Considered by Robert Schreiner to be a lower Danubian form of the pumila species, 'Sulina' and 'Carpathia' are named after one of the three channels that carry the river Danube to the Black Sea. Another of Robert Schreiners famous dwarf breeding irises was named 'Nana' this variety is a collected form of pumila, grown from seed sent from the Crimea. All three of these irises were never registered but were introduced by Schreiners and all were used extensively by many hybridisers and are noted in the parentage of more than just a few MDB, SDB, and Intermediate Irises.

Waterson Iris Garden, Wanganui, Irises 1960-61
FOREST GLADE
One of the new class of irises called "Lilliputs", raised by the crossing of the tiny pumilas with the Tall Bearded Irises. This little iris is very exotic in colouring, charming in effect. The standards are palest citron yellow - almost cream - while the falls are a clean soft olive brown with green overlay and with a wide margin around them of the same citron yellow as the standards. Free flowering and vigorous. 9 inches..........................17/6

THE IRIS (Australia) 1962, 'Comments from Tasmania', Page 70, Marion Calvert.
Forest Glade. One of the lilliputs (raised by Stevens of N.Z.). Standards palest citron yellow, while the falls are a clean olive brown with a wide margin of the same citron cream as the standards. It is very attractive in the garden and much admired by all who have seen it. 

A.I.S. Bulletin #184, January,1967, 'Varietal Comments, Region 3', Page 61,Charlotte Ganz.
A very striking flower with lemon standards and olive reddish falls edged lemon. It achieved more height here than it had "Down Under" but still was not in proportion, a failing of which Mrs Stevens is aware. It is a pity because the colors are so lovely.

New Zealand Hybridisers Checklist 2011
FOREST GLADE Mrs J. Stevens, Reg., 1960. Sdlg.1/f361. SDB 10″, E, Y3. S. pale citron yellow; F. green-toned olive-brown, edged citron yellow; yellow-cream beard. D127 X Sulina. Waterson Iris Garden 1960-61

Waterson Iris Gardens were the first to introduce 'Forest Glade' in 1960 the same year of its registration not Sunnyside Gardens, 1969/70, as shown in the official AIS Checklist description .
I think 'Forest Glade' is still commercially grown in New Zealand somewhere, but I purchased mine on Trade Me from hctnz (Lyn Nell) a Mid-Canterbury gardener who sends generous plants that have great plant health and who I have no hesitation to recommend highly.


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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Jean Stevens and Keith Keppel on BREEDING BEARDED IRISES

BREEDING BEARDED IRISES

By Jean Stevens
Bastia Hill, Wanganui, New Zealand.

One of the prime urges of the gardener is the instinct to create, when his garden is gay with flowers he will show you around with an air that says 'look at what I have achieved by my on labour, and my own planing!" This instinct to create reaches its highest fulfilment in the raising of new flowers. Then may he justly claim, "Look at what I have created!!"

I should like to make an appeal to every iris grower to raise a few seedlings of his or her own every year. Our chosen flower is one of the simplest and most-rewarding to raise from seed. The Tall Bearded Iris in particular lends itself to the amateur hybridist, be he novice or experienced gardener. We who raise new Bearded Irises have almost everything in our favour. We do not need to cover our flowers after pollinating to prevent pollen carrying insects from upsetting our planned crosses. We have large blooms which do not require expert fingers and fine handling to do the pollinating. We can, and in fact should, raise our seedlings in the open ground. If we use modern varieties we are certain of good results. And lastly we do not need much space to raise and flower a nice batch of seedlings, which, under ordinary garden culture, will flower in 15 months from date of germination. And here is a lure! The finest irises raised in the world have been bred by amateurs. Are you interested? Let me go back and enlarge on the statements above.

First, as to my claim that pollinated blooms do not require covering from bees and insects. In the evolution of the flower through the work of past hybridists the tunnel like entrance between the style arm of the flower and it's fall petals has become almost closed to bees, which if they do persist in trying to extract the honey, almost invariably push in sideways at the base of the flower, thereby they do not go near the pollen or the stigma at all. Insect's smaller than bees do not carry the large pollen grains, and even if they did so have no cause to visit the unusually placed stigma. A glance at the tracing will show the uninitiated where these vital parts of the flower are placed, and convey my meaning clearly. Occasionally by chance and Iris flower may become fertilised but this is the exception and does not worry the hybridist, who in any case chooses a freshly opened flower upon which to make his cross.

The flower of the Bearded Iris is large in all its parts, and personally I use neither camel hair brush nor tweezers when pollinating my blooms. Certainly a brush is superfluous. The job may be done more easily, more certainly, and without any risk of damaging the stigma, by extracting an anther from the pollen parent, and holding it by the tip, brush the pollen grains directly on the stigma. If any difficulty is experienced in grasping the anther to remove it, tweezers may be used, but very little practice will make it easier to use fingers than tweezers.

Irises do not like the confined air of the glasshouse, though some breeders do raise their Iris seed successfully in a house, transplanting to the open ground shortly after germinating takes place. Others find raising the seed in pots or seed boxes outside makes for easy weeding. When I first raised Iris seed I used this method, but have long since discarded it for sowing in the open ground. Top dressing the position with sand to the depth of half an inch where the seed has been sown overcomes the weeding problem, and open ground seed sowing has the important advantage of making it easy to keep the seedbed evenly moist during that five or six months that the seed has to germinate. To get good germination it is necessary to sow the seed as soon as it is ripe, that is about February or March, but except for an odd seedling, germination does not take place until the following spring. Needless to say, it is necessary to keep the seedbed free from weeds. If weeds are allowed to grow over the seabed they will bring up the seed when pulled out. If allowed to grow amongst the germinating seed in the spring they will draw up the young seedlings which will then suffer badly on transplanting. Sow the seed quite thickly, about ¾ of an inch in depth, in a well-prepared soil. We are the soil is at all heavy it is advisable to place sand both below and above the seed when sowing. This allows good soil aeration which is necessary to germination. Only a proportion of the seed will germinate the first spring, and if the cross is a good one the seed bed should be sanded over again and kept weeded for a second germination the following spring. When the seedlings are about two or three inches in height, which is about the second week in October with me here in New Zealand, they should be carefully lifted and immediately planted out in rows. About seven or eight inches is sufficient space to give them between seedlings, with the space between the rows just great enough to allow cultivation and weeding. In dry climates, or very light or sandy soils, the young seedlings should be well watered following their shift to the open ground. Thereafter the hose should be kept going to ensure quick growth. The growth made before Christmas will determine whether or not the plants will flower the following spring. Here I should like to give a warning. If the young plants are not transplanted before the end of November they are very unlikely to flower the first spring, and would then need to be grown another 12 months before they do flower.

Good garden varieties are sure to be found amongst any batch of seedlings if only the good modern Iris is used as parents, particularly if the parents are chosen with some discrimination. By good modern Irises, I do not mean the most expensive, for there are many varieties amongst the two and six penny class, which will give excellent seedlings. Naturally if we have set our hearts on raising the new pinks with tangerine beards, or some of the brilliant new tan and copper shades we must work with these expensive parents. But the would-be hybridist, making his first crosses, should not attempt to run before he can walk, and content himself was doing some less ambitious crosses which will be certain to give an appreciable modicum of success. Never put through indiscriminate crosses. It cost neither time nor effort to decide what colours you want your seedlings to be, in fact this is part of the pleasure of raising seedlings. Do you want to raise a real blue Iris? The perfect blue Iris is yet to be raised, and you choose your Iris parents carefully you may become the raiser of this long desired and worked for flower. Do you fancy a tall rich red without haft markings, or a rich golden yellow? Or perhaps an exquisitely formed and frilled tan blends.

For blues one has to choose either two blue parents, or one blue and one white parent, if one is to be certain of producing blue seedlings. Reds can be produced in several ways, by crossing two red varieties, or a red and a yellow, a wine and a yellow, or a copper and a yellow. Whites may come from white, blue, or cream parents. Tans are raised from copper and yellow, pale blue and bronzes, or gold and wine crosses.

Since this article is written primarily for the novice breeder, perhaps I should describe the actual mechanics of crossing, or pollinating. The vital parts of most flowers are obvious to the casual glance. We learnt at school where to look for the pistil which carries the stigma at its extremity and for the pollen bearing anthers. We know the stigma receives the pollen and carries the new germinating cells to the female organ where the seed is developed. But the vital parts of an Iris flower are not so obvious. The flower is divided into three distinct parts, each carrying a separate stigma and pollen anther. Take an Iris flower preferably one which is past its fresh beauty, and carefully and separately pull off the standards or upright petals. Now as carefully detached the fall or hanging petals. You will find that you will hold a stiff three pronged flower centre. At the outer of each prong will be seen two small upright points which are called crests. Directly below these crests is a little lip, and this lip-the upper surface-is the stigma. Now look under the prong, which is called the style arm, and you will see the anther closely hugging the under curve. This anther carries the powdery pollen which is easily brushed off. To make a cross it is not necessary to pull the flower to pieces. The pollen bearing anther can easily be pulled out from under the style arm of the flower chosen as pollen parent, and carried to the flower which is to be the seed parent. Lift the crest on the style arm, and very lightly brush the pollen grains on to the upper surface of each of the three stigmas. A tag should be tied to the stem noting both the seed and the pollen parents. Not all pollinated flowers will set seed, and to ensure you have some seed to sow, several flowers should be pollinated on each stem, and several crosses made. To get the greatest interest from your crosses every cross should be separately labelled when sowing the seed. When the seedlings come to flowering you will have a thrilling experience watching them open from day to day, and great will be your joy in your own creations. But, and this is a very important "but", keep only a very few, perhaps only one or two of the best, and ruthlessly discarded the lesser lights. If you do not discard the greater part you will find you will soon have no room for next season's crosses, which will probably be much better than your first efforts.

First published New Gardener 1946

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TIPS FOR PLANING YOUR HYBRIDISING
Keith Keppel
Salem, Oregon

First of all, one thing in Jeans article I would stress is...that if planting direct in the ground, you can have delayed germination for years, so to keep from contaminating your later crosses you need to move to a different area or fumigate the seed bed to kill any un-germinated iris seed. That is why I always plant the seed in pots filled with fresh soil.

Program 1) Set a goal, something "different", and try to work out a plan of action to get there, then make the beginning crosses as per plan.

Program 2) Also cross a few pretties...same color group.
When the seedlings from program one bloom and are god-awful, the pretty things blooming from the conventional crosses will help keep your interest going.

From the program one seedlings, let THEM tell you what way to go. Tangents are often far more fun than the original project.

Only do as many as you can handle without undue stress, do not expect fame or fortune, but enjoy each and every new seedling in its own way, as each will be....somehow....different from all others, and you are the first one to see them.

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The above photo is of a Keith Keppel seedling that he has described as "a good example of something unique......like combining a plicata with one of Jean Stevens yellow amoenas!"

Huge hat tip of course to Keith Keppel and the Late Jean Stevens.

Photo copyright Keith Keppel; Copyright Iris Hunter

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Tall Bearded Heirloom Iris "NEW DAWN"

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!
I thought this an appropriately named heirloom iris to celebrate the New Year.

NEW DAWN' is an Iris with star quality in both parentage and colouration. In 1928 Emily Jean Burgess (later Jean Stevens) somehow crossed the early flowering William Rickatson Dykes-bred, pearly white coloured 'Moonlight' with Sir Arthur Horts' late flowering purple bi-colour iris ‘Hermione’.  The resultant seedling with no description of colour or form was only ever labelled  'E97' and in 1931 Jean  crossed it with Arthur Bliss’s 'Mrs Valerie West' to produce the clean and finely textured primrose yellow cultivar. On its release in England, 'New Dawn' was often compared with 'Helios' which in the early 1930s, along with W .R. Dykes were the standard-bearers for yellow irises.  These had clean yellow standards with yellow falls that were reticulated, generally in a tone of light purple brown.'New Dawn' was a triumph in light yellow breeding because of its clean colouration on the standards and falls and was without doubt at least the equal to the introductions of the late 1930s in the same colour range, such as 'Happy Days', 'Golden Bear','Lady Paramount', and 'Primrose'. Jean had a firm opinion on striation or reticulation and often noted that it was a fault in Irises, as its presence almost invariably detracted from the purity of the colour tone.  She also used the term 'rough' in reference to veining.
'New Dawn' is an Iris with vigour, large numbers of bloom and has excellent increase, outperforming most of the more modern Irises. The large buds of intense primrose are a feature in themselves. Found growing in a garden in Carterton, my plants were given to me by the garden owner who had surplus plants established over the fence, growing alongside the railway line. Vigour is as good as 'Magnolia". Its the pollen parent to the New Zealand heirloom white iris 'Wychnor' featured on the blog last November.
Last years bloom season (2011) it was no match for the 140 km an hour winds that attacked our gardens in October, the blooms stalks just fell over, but all I had to do was stake the very numerous stalks and  'New Dawn' just continued flowering through the season for another four weeks  -  it was just like nothing had happened. The above photo was taken after the storms

The Iris Yearbook 1937 (BIS)
Seedlings Seen, R.E.S.Spender writes
New Dawn (Stevens)-- A seedling raised in New Zealand. It is a splendid grower, and is much improved Helios in colour,a pale lemon-yellow without streaks, and a fine shapely flower of real merit. It is I am told a Moonlight -Valerie West derivative.

The Iris Yearbook 1940 (BIS)
Some promising New Zealand Irises, Mr G P Baker writes
New Dawn, a straw coloured white, was particularly strong with three very massive flowering stems. The others were not quite of the same substance

The Iris Yearbook 1942 (BIS)
Discursions of an Iris Breeder, R. E. S.Spender writes; [Ref 1]
"The truth is Golden Hind (and its numerous descendants) has now given me all the yellows I could want or even find room for and I for one shall not attempt any further crosses with what is nevertheless the best parent for yellows I have yet come across, so just why it should be so, in view of its distinctly plebeian parentage, is one of those mysteries of  hereditary which is impossible to fathom.
About the same time that I started on these crosses I received the big yellowish-cream New Zealander, New Dawn from its raiser Mrs W. R. Stevens. New Dawn is (Moonlight x Hermione) X Mrs Valerie West, and is therefore, I should judge-assuming Moonlight to have had a good deal to do with the production of W.R. Dykes-not wholly unconnected with Golden Hind. No two yellows could be much more dissimilar, however, in build, and I should certainly not have used it except for lack of other material. It too proved an easy as well as valuable seed parent, though, unlike Golden Hind, it is not apt to produce the shapeliest of seedlings. But they have substance, they are always large and stout growers, and now and then one may get a perfect seedling from it. Crossed with Purple Dusk, it produced a really superb white, spangled with a gold dust, which is different from any other I know. I should think it may prove one of the best seed-parents now available although a good many of the seedlings from it may be inferior in form. But Mr Long, who has used Valerie West far more than I have may very likely have a good reason to challenge that."

Stevens Bros Catalogue, Bulls New Zealand 1937-38
NEW DAWN (Stevens)
Another outstanding seedling of our own raising which already has been highly commented upon in England. Of particularly heavy substance and finest texture, this Iris will stand up to a adverse weather conditions better than any variety we know. It has a vigorous constitution and a long flowering period. The large well formed flowers are a clear lemon entirely unveined. One leading English Iris critic has described New Dawn as "Superb in every respect" 3ft.

The New Zealand Iris Hybridiser's Checklist 2011
NEW DAWN  Miss E.J. Burgess, Reg., 1936. Sdlg.1/H2 TB, 38″, EML, Y4L. Standards and Falls clearest creamy yellow. S.2¾″ X 2½" . F. 2⅝" X 2½"  Beard sulphur yellow. Very good substance and shape. Lightly veined olive green at haft of the fall. Well branched, and stands up well to the weather. 38″  Description E.J.Burgess Studbook notes,‘1935 flowering’; (Moonlight x Hermione) X Mrs Valerie West. 'Introduced'  Stevens Bros Catalogue 1937-38.


[Ref 1] Dis`cur´sion;  a noun; The act of discoursing or reasoning; range, as from thought to thought

Photo Credit and Copyright Iris Hunter

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New Zealand Heirloom Tall Bearded Iris "WYCHNOR"

It may be interesting to some perhaps that the New Zealand heirloom iris 'Wychnor' was thought to be registered for decades, but when researching New Zealand iris history I found this to be not the case. A couple of days ago I dug out the file on 'Wychnor' and included were the toing and froing of correspondence by emails to John Vickers advising him of this oversight prior to John thoughtfully registering the iris in 2006.

A white garden Iris which displays a lot of the colourations of 'Purissima'. Strong grower with flax green foliage, buds display a bluish tinge before opening. Flowers are large and well proportioned, standards are white, falls white with a cream centre and soft light green veining with olive gold striations on the hafts. The underside of the falls shows an olive green midline. A cross of the Morh-Mitchell White 'Purrissima' with Jean Stevens creamy yellow 'New Dawn'.
 
The hybridiser Pattie Levett lived with her sister Olga at the Levett family homestead "Beccles" in a small town called Bulls, in the North Island of New Zealand. Daughters of Mrs E Levett (Nina), the sisters never married. 'Beccles' was one of the earliest New Zealand gardens to grow Irises that Mrs Levett imported mainly from Germany at the turn of the twentieth century creating a unique collection of irises. Bulls is also where Jean and Wally Stevens started out growing Irises together just after their marriage in 1935. The Steven's Bros. Nursery introduced Miss Levett Irises.
This iris is a piece of 'New Zealand history plus' was kindly sent to me by John Vickers and is sourced from the Levett garden. I have grown on some additional Rhizomes which will be sent to Massey University for planting in their grounds early next year.
 
Steven's Bros. catalogue for 1946-47
 WYCHNOR (Levett)
An Excellent pure white of clean cut rounded form and remarkable substance. Of largest size, the flowers have that new quality of clean even texture we are coming to associate with the newest irises. Very free flowering and an excellent doer. 3½ ft.

New Zealand Hybridisers Checklist
WYCHNOR Pattie F. Levett deceased, by John Vickers, Reg., 2006.TB, 41″, (103cm) L. Pure white self, cream around beard, soft grey-green veining on hafts; beards white at end cream in middle, gold in throat; slight fragrance. Purissima X New Dawn. Stevens Bros. Wanganui 1946-47

Photo Credit and Copyright Iris Hunter

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" YOUR IRIS GARDEN", "Plan it When the Irises are in Bloom"

Your Iris Garden, Plan it When the Irises are in Bloom
By Jean Stevens


The right time to plan the rearrangement of a bed of Bearded Irises is not when one goes to purchase new varieties in December, or when one starts to lift and divide up an old-established bed. To leave the choice of new varieties and new colour schemes until planting time is to rely on a memory of colours. Even when one has a keen colour sense and a good memory, it is next to impossible to avoid at least some mistake, and a single mistake in placing different colours, even if it does not jar badly, will bring a feeling of regret.
Very often one hears the remark, "I wish I hadn't planted THAT variety against THIS variety," or "I wish I had placed a yellow or cream among that group. It would have lightened the whole planting." Such repining and regrets are easily avoided if one plans a little while the irises are in flower in November. If the bed is to be altered in its colour scheme, plan the alterations while you have the blooms to guide you. The modern Bearded Iris has such endless variations of both colour and tone. It is not enough to plan, for instance, to put a blue next to that pink.
Decide while you can, WHICH blue will give the best effect. Done at flowering time the work of planning the new planting is not a task but an enjoyment.
Even when it is not intended to lift and replant the whole bed, one often sees, if one takes the thought to look and compare, just how the planting may be made more attractive, by adding one variety to this corner, planting another lighter tone in the background, or removing one variety to another position. After all, colour is a very comparative commodity. We designate a flower "blue" or "pink." Place the blue against a white and it looks very blue; place it against another blue and it may appear lavender or purple. Again the pink may appear a true pink against a warm cream or a blue, but lavender against a salmon or pink and gold blend. Still again, in the matter of contrasts, a great deal of the ultimate colour effect depends on the TONE of the contrasting colours. Depth or lightness of colour tone is all important in producing colour symphonies.
There are, of course, general rules to guide us, but these rules are far from infallible, and even if they do not lead us into pitfalls, it is just a matter of luck if we avoid that impersonal, characterless grouping one too often sees in garden colour colourful contrast, one must also keep in mind that 'Joanna' on the one side, and 'Golden Hind' on the other, will be in conjunction with other varieties. That is, perhaps, not so hard, but remember also, what is going behind, and what, if any, are going into the foreground.
Tall varieties, as a matter of course, will go into background, where I have found it useful to remember to plant a good quantity of light or pale shades. 'Magnolia' (cream), 'Pink Advance', 'California Gold', 'Cedar' (pinky bronze), 'Golden Treasure' (light gold and cream), 'Pink Opal' (lilac), 'Miss California' (pink), 'Pale Moonlight' (silvery blue), and 'Winter Carnival' (giant flaring white) make ideal background varieties. Rich colours, such as 'Sierra Blue', 'The Red Douglas' (wine red), 'Richmond' (rosy carmine), 'Milson' (brown and crimson), 'Crimson Banner' (crimson), 'Dark Knight' (mahogany) and 'Destiny' (black-purple and bronze), being tall, must also go into the background, but should not be grouped together, but planted with the lighter tones to brighten and enhance their colours.
The middle background gives the gardener the greatest scope, and the planning and selection here will give the main character and colour effect. This is the situation for the bright colours, and here one may let himself go with pleasing contrasts. Trial will confirm some surprisingly good effects. Not having thought of it, I was surprised to find Rangitikei and Inspiration very pleasing planted with 'California Gold', also 'Rangitikei' and 'Golden Hind'. Dark rich tones, such as 'Joanna', 'The Black Douglas', 'Destiny', 'Sable', require very rich gold’s to adequately lighten and display them, while light pinks, lilacs, light blues, and blends, look infinitely better if their foils are also light toned. In other words, in contrasts, light tones require light tones, and deep tones require deep tones in their contrasting neighbours. 'New Dawn', 'Mountain Lake', 'California Gold', 'Capri', and 'King Russet' are useful for lightening effects in the middle background. In planting blues and yellows in contrast, use pure yellows, the depth of tone of the yellow depending on the depth of tone of the blue. 'Brunhilde', 'The Black Douglas', and 'Joanna', for instance, require the deep gold tones of 'Golden Hind' and 'Coromandel', while 'Exclusive' (silver blue) looks very lovely with 'Magnolia' (cream), and 'Shining Waters' and 'Aline' (clear light blues) with 'California Gold'.
In pastel groupings two or three medium-toned blues and pinks will give character to, without destroying the delicacy of the colour effect. 'Harebell' and 'Sandia' are excellent for this purpose.
As varieties, even in the same colour class, differ greatly in their garden colour value, I will give here a list of varieties I have found most suitable for their respective purposes. They are good bases about which to build a planting plan.

Background varieties:
'Magnolia' (the best all round background variety I know), 'Pink Advance', 'Dark Knight', 'Sierra Blue', 'Golden Treasure', 'California Gold', and 'Destiny'.

Foreground varieties:
'Aline', 'Cardinal Wolsey', 'Golden Hind', 'Winston Churchill', 'Firelight', 'Lake Alice', 'Kapiti', 'Surprise', and 'Moonglo'.

Varieties to add Brightness:
'Inspiration', 'Richmond', 'Golden Hind', 'California Gold', 'Firelight', 'Naranja', 'Radiant', and 'City of Lincoln'.

Varieties to add Depth of Colour:
Brunhilde, Cardinal Wolsey, Rangitikei, Joanna, Golden Hind, Wellington, The Black Douglas, The Red Douglas, Red Dawn, Mrs. J. L. Gibson, Crimson Banner, and Beowulf.

Varieties to Lighten the Effect:
'Magnolia', 'California Gold', 'Pink Advance', 'New Dawn', 'Angelus', 'Exclusive', 'Golden Treasure', 'Fair Elaine', 'Lagos', 'Los Angeles’,’Mountain Lake', 'Pale Moonlight', and 'Seduction'.
It will be noticed that many varieties have double utility value. In conclusion, I should strongly advise the planting of a fair proportion of blues and yellows in any planting. Even if one does not care for yellow or blue as a colour, the omission of those colours from a planting of Bearded Irises will deprive the whole planting of its essential character, and the colour scheme will prove to have a sense of something lacking.

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Lake Alice, Richmond, Kapiti, Mountain Lake, and Red Dawn, all mentioned in the above article were hybridised by Jean Stevems and introduced by Stevens Bros in their various catalogues in the early 1940s when their nursery was located in the Rangitikei township of "Bulls". None of these cultivars appear in any checklists meaning they were not registered, perhaps the result of correspondence lost during the war years. When colouration is a consideration, this article is just as relevant today as when it was first published and is courtesy of the New Zealand Gardener, October 1945.

Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter

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New Zealand Tall Bearded Historic Iris "NINA LEVETT"

The very late blooming 'Nina Levett' is often confused with a earlier blooming iris which grows at about the same height named, 'Pink Advance". 'Nina Levett' is the pod parent of 'Pink Advance'. Photo above is from the plant gifted to me by the late Shirley Spicer, of Wanganui.

Stevens Bros, Bulls, Catalogue of Irises, 1937-38.
NINA LEVETT
A lovely tall pink of regal carriage.The large flowers are an even shade of lilac pink, and are carried on well-branched 4 1/2 foot stems. Exceptionally vigorous.

The Iris Society Year Book (BIS) 1942.
Awards by the Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley, 1942.
NINA LEVETT (Raised by Miss.P.Levett,NZ) A.M. 20th June 1941.
Vigorous and of rapid increase with erect, glacous-green foliage, 24 inches tall.Flower stems 48 inches tall erect, somewhat zigzagged,8-flowered.
Flowers extra large, stiff and well proportioned.Standards domed approaching Imperial Purple (33/2) Falls pinched, a tone of Imperial
Purple between (33/1 and 33/2) Veins distinct, brownish on haft.Beard Orange. Flowering for ten days from 18th June. (J.B.Dumas X Aurelle.)
(All Reports for Iris trial's at Wisley tend to be very descriptive and accurate)

Jean Stevens in 1950 writes in regards to the Levett's.
'As the years went by the quality of their seedlings kept improving, and the flowering season became even more exciting than hitherto. About 1935 they flowered a large new seedling of a bright lilac pink which they named Nina Levett after their mother. This was introduced in England by Orpington Nurseries who sent plants to the Wisley Trial Grounds. In 1941 Nina Levett was given an Award of Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society'.

The Royal Horticultural Society colour descriptions,Standards Imperial Purple (33/2) and Falls Purple between (33/1 and 33/2) show how completely inadequate the 1939 Check List colour chart was in it's time and also make the 1939 and 1949 Check List colour descriptions for 'Nina Levett' irrelevant. In the 1934 BIS Year Book (in an article by a Dr. Sansome who quotes Marc Simonet), he states that one of Nina Levetts parents, J. B. Dumas is a triploid with 37 chromosomes. Triploids usually aren't the most fertile of parents, so that makes Nina even more interesting!! It should also be noted that The Royal Horticultural Society state that Nina Levett parentage is (J.B.Dumas X Aurelle.) yet the 1939 AIS checklist entry is (...) X (J.B. Dumas x Aurelle) which the later implies that another Iris was in the mix. My opinion is that 'The Royal Horticultural Society' in its colour descriptions and parentage 'trumps all'.

AIS Checklist 1939
NINA LEVETT (Miss P. Levett, R. 1939). TB, VL, B1L; (...) X (J.B. Dumas x Aurelle). Orpington. 1939.

It would not be unrealistic to state that the few irises growing in New Zealand as 'Nina Levett' are wrongly labelled and I am somewhat reluctant to post New Zealand bred Irises on this blog as it leads to a deluge of 'look-a-like' irises, and some not even remotely 'look-a-like' irises, listed for sale on the internet as the real deal, and it it is not in anybody's interest to add to the existing large pile of very expensive miss-named irises that live in the cyberspace known as 'Trade Me'!!!! New Zealander's interested in heirloom irises need to have a confidence in their ability to Identify Irises and not merely accept that because an Iris was received or purchased with the name given it is true to label, after all these are New Zealand raised Irises, surely we should have some idea of our Iris heritage!!!!

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

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Photo credit and copyright Terry Johnson and Heritage Irises ©. 

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