Barry Blyth's Tall Bearded Iris HOSTESS ROYALE

This star performer 'Hostess Royale' was purchased many years ago from Mossburn Irises. It's one of those iron clad irises that has amazing garden presence and visitors to the garden all want to know its name. Excellent branching and with sound, vigorous plant habits. As you can see it's a self of a peach pink tone with a white patch in the center of the fall which highlights the big fat fuzzy deep tangerine orange beards.  All topped off with extravagant ruffles on standards and falls. A welcome late bloomer which is a bit like saving one of the best for last.

Tempo Two, Pearcedale, Victoria, Australia. Iris, Daylilies, Hosta Catalogue  1994-1995
HOSTESS ROYALE (Blyth 94 Aust.) M-ML 42" Gorgeous coral peach self with just a small white area around the apricot tangerine beards which are quite thick and lush. Good strong ramrod stems. Again huge flowers and stems, may be to large to get in show bottles. Huge plants, needs plenty of space, but so rewarding. Everyone loves it. Nice sweet fragrance. (Dance Man X Pink Swan) Sdlg.no. A61-2 

AIS Checklist 1999
HOSTESS ROYALE Barry Blyth, Reg. 1994 Sdlg. A61-2. TB, 42" (107 cm), ML Peach with creamy white area around apricot tangerine beards; pronounced sweet fragrance. Dance Man X Pink Swan. Tempo Two 1994/95.

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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Dave Hall writes on the development of Flamingo Pinks Irises.

New Pink Irises for your Garden
Courtesy Cooleys 1951 Catalog

The New Pink Iris

 Here's how this magnificent strain of Flamingo Pinks was developed - an entirely new color in iris.

By David F. Hall

 One morning in 1942 while inspecting our iris seedlings I was startled when I saw that one of the buds just opening was a deep pink, almost rose red. I had never seen a pure pink iris before, but it had been my dream for many years. Within a few days seven more pink flowers made their appearance among our seedlings, and these eight plants turned out to be the beginning of a new line of pink iris. Twenty-five years ago I realized a pure pink iris would add much to the beauty of flower gardens and made up my mind then to grow one. As most FLOWER GROWER readers know, the breeding of plants is not unlike the breeding of birds, animals or other living things - the same general laws of heredity apply.

Better animals, birds, vegetables and flowers are developed by carefully planned mating. Broadly speaking, "like gets like," but there is always variation in the offspring. To illustrate, let's consider breeding iris. If the objective is color, as it was in my case, a careful study should be made of all the varieties available to determine which two would most likely produce the desired color when crossed.

 The selection of this breeding stock is very important and is not based solely on the color of the flowers, but also on the characteristics of their ancestors for several generations. This is not as difficult as it counts for the checklist book of the American Iris Society lists over 19,000 named varieties of iris and, in most cases, their parentage. These carefully planned crosses, to be made the following summer when the iris are in bloom, are frequently worked out by the fireside during the long winter.

 In making a cross we take the pollen from the stamen of one selected parent and put it on the stigma of the other. The pollen fertilizes the eggs in the ovary and eventually a seed pod develops to the size and shape of a butternut. This may carry anywhere from a half dozen to 80 seeds. The seed is planted in late fall on open ground in the garden and germinates the following spring. When the young seedlings are about 3 inches high they are usually transplanted to another bed in rows about 18 inches apart and 10 inches apart in the row. Under favourable conditions most of them will bloom the following spring.

 All plants from a single seed pod are simply the children of the two selected parents; there will be a general family resemblance but no two plants will produce flowers exactly alike in color, form and texture. As in human families, there is always considerable variation.

Dave Hall Surveys His Pinks from a Vantage Point on His Terrace

Line Breeding

 From these plants, called seedlings, two or more parent plants that come nearest to the color or objective are again selected and crossbred. This process is repeated until the plants become weak from inbreeding. It is then important that there be one or more additional inbred strains or families of similar color, but not closely related, for an outcross with the first so that the resulting seedlings will regain their lost vigor and acquire what is called hybrid vigor. By this process, called line breeding, and careful selection, plus time, patience and faith, wonders can be accomplished in changing and improving any of the characteristics of iris or other plants.

The importance of not mating plants with common faults cannot be overemphasized. In such a case the offspring are almost sure to inherit the faults of both parents. If success did come in producing a new and sensational color in a flower, color alone would be of little value if the bloom lacked good form or substance, or the stem were weak and poorly branched, or the plants were shy-blooming or lacked vigor. So in working for color we must strive for many other desirable and important characteristics. To produce a plant with some of these desirable points is not difficult, but to combine most of them in a single plant is a real achievement.

 In time most careful breeders build up several strains or families of their own. By doing this they are able to breed out many of the weak or undesirable points, and at the same time strengthen the desirable characteristics until they become somewhat dominant. This gives the breeder good stock and an intimate knowledge of its good and bad points, representing quite an advantage over a beginner's efforts.

Discouraging Start

 When I started working for a pink iris I gave careful consideration to all of the best near-pink iris of that period finally selecting several varieties of orchid and lavender tones as parents. The offspring of these plants were discouraging. The orchid and lavender tones were dominant, the flowers smaller than I wanted and the substance thin.

In developing the first Flamingo Pink iris, the author had to grow some 12,000 seedlings in his trial hybridizing garden. 
Some seedlings are shown in the planting pictured above.

Eight years after commencing this line of breeding I threw the entire family on the compost pile and made a new start. This time I selected parent varieties that were not as pink but had better flowers in many respects. Two of them, Dauntless and Rameses, were Dykes medal winners (the highest award given to iris in this country.) Dauntless was one of the first good reds, and Rameses a pink and yellow blend. Other parents selected for the second try were W. R. Dykes, a large yellow from England; Dolly Madison, another pink and yellow blend, and Morocco Rose, also a pink and yellow blend with a tangerine colored beard. Morocco Rose, I believe, played a major role in the creation of a pure pink, as it undoubtedly carries the recessive gene of the tangerine colored beard that lights up most of these pinks.

First Pink Bloom

 It was nine years after making my second start when I came upon the first pink seedling. With this first bloom I assisted nature a little, and in a few hours had it opened sufficiently that I could see it was a pure pink self, all segments of the flower the same color with no veining on the haft. This so often occurs and is considered objectionable by most critics.

 This first pink to open was number 42-05. It was never named or introduced in commerce, but has been used quite extensively in breeding additional pinks. Of the seven others that opened that year, Overture and Dream Girl have been widely distributed. From these original eight pink seedlings much better pinks have been developed and are available, but because of the unbeatable law of supply and demand they are rather high priced. Other breeders have developed still better ones that will be offered for sale in a short time. These new varieties range in color from pale baby ribbon pinks with pink beards to deep toned pinks with geranium red beards. The tangerine and red beards give life to the flowers and add much beauty.

From this line of breeding another new and attractive color, golden apricot is as near as I can describe it, has come into being. It also carries the tangerine and red colored beards, lighting up the garden and attracting the eye from afar. I predict it will be very popular. These new pink and golden apricot colored iris compare favorably in size, form, texture and substance with the best varieties in any color class.

 A pure pink iris was only one of my objectives, for during the past 25 years 52 of our iris and hemerocallis originations have been named and widely distributed in this and several foreign countries. What started as a hobby many years ago has now grown into a very interesting small business which has furnished healthful and exciting employment since my retirement.

 Producing these original eight pure pink iris represented 17 years of effort and the growing of 12,000 seedlings. But it was a challenge that was worth while, not in dollars, but in satisfaction that comes from creating something that may add to the beauty and charm of thousands of gardens in many parts of the world.

Reprinted from Flower Grower magazine, August, 1950

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Tall Bearded Iris MT. COOK A'DAWNING

This is an Iris that has a quirky History+. Mr Stanley Foote (USA) the originator while on a visit to New Zealand stayed at the Hermitage Hotel, Mt. Cook, having seen the the rising sun's rosy rays on the snowy mountain he reportedly vowed that if he ever bred a pink iris it would be named for this unforgettable sight. A great garden Iris that performs well. Its one of the few Pinks that I grow.

Maryott’s Iris Gardens, San Jose, California, 1984 Catalog
MT. COOK A'DAWNING. (Foote '72) People love deep pinks and this has it...................................$5.00 value

Jean Collins Iris Garden, Cambridge Road, R.D.1 Tauranga.
MT. COOK A'DAWNING.  Deep pink self, tangerine beards. Mid Season.

AIS Checklist 1979
MT. COOK A'DAWNING  Stanley Foote, Reg. 1971 Sdlg. 66-2-3. TB, 30-34" (71-86 cm), M Deep pink self; tangerine-red beard. Remembered Melody X One Desire. Foote 1972.

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 Dykes Medal Winner SALUTE D'AMOUR

I purchased this Iris from Shirley Spicer when I visited her last summer at her home in Wanganui.
An all-round good garden variety, nice clean foliage with strong increase clumping up quickly 'Salute D'Amour' is a almond pink blend (RHS19D Pale Orangish Yellow) in the tradition of 'Mittagong' (Grosvenor, 1989)  but with much more clarity and strength of colour. Falls slightly darker than the standards gradually lighten in the centre just below the light yellowish pink beards (RHS27A). Good strong stalks of a average height with nice open branching that display well the frequently open multiple blooms, however the standards do concern me as they are very upright and tight and have a tendency to get stuck when trying to unfurl which is never a good look. Awarded the New Zealand Dykes Medal in 2003. Just a little bump in the road I cannot find someone who sells this iris in New Zealand today!

Waimate Iris Garden, Waimate, South Canterbury , 2006 Catalogue.
Salute D'Amour, Spicer 2003
A delightful mix of coral and light and warm pink. Beards coral. Sweet fragrance. L.

New Zealand Hybridisers Cumulative Checklist 2011
SALUTE D'AMOUR Shirley Spicer, Reg., 2001. Sdlg. SS/29.  TB, 33″, (84cm), L ;  S. light pink blush; style arms soft coral pink; F. warm pink blush, soft white haft marking; beards coral; sweet fragrance.  Elysian Fields x Flirtation Waltz. Waimate Iris Garden 2006. Dykes Medal 2003 NZ.

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

'As An Aside'
The New Zealand Iris Society Checklist 2007 notes 'Salute D'Amour' was awarded the Dykes Medal in 2003, the British Iris Society Year Book 2004 confirms this date on page 108, the NZIS bulletin 165, March 2005, page 10, is an in-depth report on 'Salute D'Amour' award and the headline reads 'The New Zealand Dykes Medal 2003', but on page 32 in the same bulletin under the heading 'For Sale- Dykes Trail Gardens Irises', it states "Rhizomes of 'Salute D'Amour' the 2004 Dykes Medal winner bred by Shirley Spicer, salmond pink can be purchased for $21.00 each". Finally there is the much vaunted for its accuracy 'Iris wiki encyclopedia thing' that has 'Salute D'Amour' listed as having been awarded 'New Zealand Dykes Medal 2005'. 
What can I say??? Ready for the advanced iris aptitude test??

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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!!!!

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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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