Very early iris with no names

There are a number of very cute old old iris around, so old that their names are all forgotten.
However, they are the precursors of our modern ones, and some people still enjoy growing them in their gardens. I am putting a couple here...remember they really have no names that we know of but they are very hardy. although you cannot buy these iris as they do not have names, they can be found in many places, and are generally considered 'passalong iris'.
This little beauty is quite widespread, so the chances that it had a name once is quite likely. Some people call it the Gypsy Queen, but it is not that iris at all. The real Gypsy Queen is a different iris but it looks similar.
It is of a type of iris called variegata, because it has a yellowish standard and a reddish purple fall.
Here is another early iris, also in the same category.
Very widespread, but very old, and no one knows the name
anymore. This one is called an amoena, which indicates it has
a white standard and a purple/lavender/colored fall.
It seems to love colder climates.
Both these iris have slender foliage and small flowers.
They grow to about 18" more or less, and are quite hardy.
They are diploid iris, unlike modern iris which are tetraploid
meaning they have half the number of chromasomes that modern iris usually have.
Both these iris have delicate veinings on the falls (the lower petals). For a long time breeders tried to eliminate the veining when they developed new iris, but some people
who love the historic iris love the delicate markings.

Well, that's all for tonight kiddies.
See you soon again, and I promise another post in a quicker time frame.

June already!

And I had expected to be posting on a regular basis! Lazy me. I don't know why or what, but I am back now with a couple of interesting historic pictures for you all to tak a look at.
First for a really big gorgeous iris that will knock your socks off.
Anthem is an iris developed by Schreiner's and intro'd in 1956. It is big andbeautiful. It grows tall and has good substance.
You can't go wrong with this iris in your garden.



Another iris that bloomed this year is this one:
Copper Frills: This iris is very unlike Anthem, in that its shape is different. Its falls are narrow and the color is somewhat unusual.
Actually, I really like it. Its an iris intro'e by Agnes Whiting in 1941 and it appears to be sterile, so there are no offspring of Copper Frills around to admire.
You don't find Copper Frills that often, as most commercial
growers do not carry it, however if you like the unusual color and shape it is an interesting
one for the collection.

What do you have growing in your garden?

Many of us have older iris growing somewhere in the garden. And most have grown for years without any disturbance from humans.
But what are those iris?
Did you know that almost every bearded iris has a name? Its been hybridized and registered with the AIS. Wild iris, obviously they came from somewhere, are usually known by their species name such as I pallida . this means Iris Pallida and as far as is known, they grew in central Europe until humans (or bees) started crossing them with other wild iris.
We have two main iris ancestors (pure species) that are found in every modern iris today:
I Pallida, and I Variegata.
I Pallida is very very common. It is that tall blue/lavender iris that you see in clumps, in cemeteries, and along back fences of old gardens. It is usually solid light in color, with no fancy markings. Some pallida are darker, some pinker, but they all are clones of the pure pallida as found in Europe particularly Italy.
I variegata is a different kind of iris. Its short and yellow on the top, browninsh veined on the bottom.It is also kind of rare and fining a picture was tough. I am going to show you a picture of a very similar iris, Honorabile, but just remember it is not variegata, just something quite similar.
Unlike pallida it is short and does not like to multiply rapidly

Hey! Hi there everyone. Today its raining and its gonna rain for a week! Not good for the iris unfortunately. Will have to check for rot. But if it rains too much, checking for rot will not help much.
I do have some Oxydate, bought from a commercial agricultural supply house a few years ago.
Supposed to be good to ward off rot. I might have to use it.
But there are about 1500 iris out there! alot of work.
In any case I do have 2 babies in bloom today. Really cute, both historic.
On the right is Buttercup Charm (A. Brown 1969). Its quite rare, but really cute. The yellow is exceptional. Its supposed to be an MDB...its about 8 inches tall right now. Too tall for MDB?
Hmmmm.....
Another cutie is this little guy on the right, Dear Love (Warburton, 1961). The blue is a very delicate shade, with lots of darker texture veining thru the falls.
Warburton is well known for her SDB's.

Well, I guess that is about all for this evening.
See you soon.

Intro

Hello folks:
This is the first blog and I hope to add to it as time permits. I plan to talk about historic iris and post photos of them as time permits.
As you might have guessed, I have been growing a bunch of these beauties in my own backyard, but there are always more to be discovered and discussed.
Hope to see you here often.