It's very rare to find a twenty first century New Zealand bred Iris growing in America yet here we have one. Photo taken of 'Irwell Gambler' growing in the garden of Betty Jacobs, Bakersfield, California. Betty writes "After the plant arrived in the States it took three years to bloom finally doing so in the Spring of 2011 -- and WOW! How I loved it!"
I have seen 'Irwell Gambler' growing in several New Zealand gardens and been impressed with it's strong growth, good branching, good bud count, and it's ability in the right growing conditions to quickly form a good clump. A brilliant and very flashy variegata with its bright lightly ruffled lemon standards with bold rich plum falls that are enhanced by the softer plum toned ruffled edge. The ring of white striations surrounding the lemon beards contributes to the very masculine look.
Waimate Iris Garden, Final Catalogue 2007
New Introductions
Irwell Gambler, Busch 2007 (NZ), Heather Pryor's choice. Lemon standards. Plum red falls with paler edge and white veining around the beards.
New Zealand Hybridisers Checklist 2011
IRWELL GAMBLER Ron Busch Reg., 2007. Sdgl.8888/1 TB, 38″, (97cm), M. S. and style arms lemon; F. plum red, ¼″ paler edge; 1″ area of white veining around lemon beard. Snow Spoon X Extravagant. Rossmore Gardens 2007. Waimate Iris Garden 2007.
Snow Spoon is the pod parent so there could be good breeding lines for space age irises if someone is interested in giving it a go.
Commercially grown in New Zealand by several growers and occasionally sold on Trade Me
Clicking the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Huge Hat tip to Betty Jacobs for the use of her photo and candid comments
Photo credit Betty Jacobs
Copyright Iris Hunter
It`s a very nice looking iris, I like the colour combination........
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