Tall Bearded Iris 'BRILLIANT SUNRISE'

Another Jean Stevens Iris I have in my collection which is a top performer. Good branching, increase, and high health.The gold/yellow standards are clear and bright and the flaring red brown falls has a fine gold margin and highlighted by a brilliant gold beard this iris can brighten even the darkest corner of a garden. Brilliant Sunrise is the Pod parent of 'Alison Penney' another stand out variegata introduced by Jean Collins (NZ) in 1979. 

I have no doubt that when this iris has increased enough I will have no trouble in finding new homes to have it flowering in. . This obviously is the best way for the survivability of all her cultivars. To grow a collection of any Irises of historic value in just one place is not good risk management it could only be considered just plain stupidity!!

Wanganui Irises catalogue 1965-66:

We have at last a brilliant clear coloured variegata, broad petaled and smooth hafted, combining colour, height and size, to take the place of the smaller flowered old favorite Staten Island. Broad standards of a rich clear gold and falls of an even, deep brownish red make a clump of this variety stand out vividly in any collection. A strong grower and excellent branching. Easily the finest variegata we have ever seen. 3½ ft.

1969 AIS Checklist
BRILLIANT SUNRISE (J. Stevens, R. 1963). Sdlg. 1/f89. TB 42" M. Y4R. Standards clear gold; Falls red-brown; margined gold. From long line of variegatas and yellow amoenas., Wanganui Iris 1965.

A must read page on plant collections is at The Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture web site, 'Nationally networked plant collections are a necessity'http://www.rnzih.org.nz/RNZIH_Journal/Pages_15-18_from_2006_Vol9_No1.pdf



Both photos taken in the garden of the late Wanda Williams, Wanganui
Pictures are for identification purposes only and were taken long before I decided to start a blog. Visitors to the blog can rest assured that I will be taking a lot more display photos this iris bloom season which is now only 14 weeks away

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