Showing posts with label iris hybridizing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iris hybridizing. Show all posts

Monday, December 13, 2021

Season 2021 at Smokin Heights

By Mel and Bailey Schiller

This spring was long and drawn-out, for which we are very thankful. At the end of September we lost our son and brother to a tragic motorbike accident, and this affected our iris season dramatically. The situation made it difficult for us to focus, but we are doing our best with what we have been dealt. 

The late-blooming varieties are now in bloom, which for us is a month later than normal. It has been incredibly hard to focus on getting photos of the seedlings, let alone the remainder of the iris fields. Some days are easier than others. 

We had a lot of rain this year, probably triple what we normally would experience in October and November. Bailey informed me yesterday that for a couple of my pods that had set, the stem was rotting. This has never happened before. Normally it is dry and incredibly hot in October and November; but this week, in December, we are experiencing hot days, which would have been the norm  a month ago.

Last year Mel and Bailey planted around 8000 maiden bloom seedlings. Most of these came from Barry Blyth. We also have around 1000 2nd year seedlings which we needed to go through, as these were the last crosses we made during our visit to Oregon back in 2019. Add to those the many seedlings we have grown and need to evaluate for introduction.  

Bailey is hybridizing for novelties. Mel is hybridizing arils and working on blacks. These are our main goals -  the beautiful irises that pop up in the meantime are bonuses. 

F106-1: ('Inner Darkness' X 'Black Lipstick'). This has beautiful blocky falls and a spicy fragrance. The color holds up in our heat and it doesn't wilt quickly. The foliage is lovely and clean. 

This gorgeous arilbred seedling ('Soaring Falcon' x 'Onlooker') had four rhizomes and all four, unfortunately, bloomed. I fell in love with this seedling immediately on first sight. I left the rhizomes in the ground hoping and praying for new growth, but it does not look promising. 

H172-1: ('Lancer' x 'Eye On America') AB. Huge blooms on strong stems make this AB a standout. We love it! Heading for intro....

Bailey's novelties have really taken off this season. So many awesome color combinations on plants with variegated foliage. Then the drumroll: the six-falled TB varieties he has been diligently working on. Here is a small sample of what is happening at Smokin Heights:

H27-B: ('Chaos Theory' X 'Full Disclosure'). 'Full Disclosure' has been a very good parent for six-falled TBs, but unfortunately it doesn't give much variety color-wise. Although this seedling isn't the most interesting color, it does have exceptional form.

H17-D: ('Untamed Glory' X 'Full Disclosure'). A little boring color-wise but very consistent with nice branching. It should be good to use further in hybridizing.

H14-A: ('Chaos Theory' X 'Fiasco') This is one of very many seedlings selected from this cross. This one stood out because of the nice pattern and overall good plant habits. We really like the look of the "belly" stripe down the falls. 

F58-ZZ: (X150-A: 'Painted Caravans' sib X 'Bold Pattern').The favorite of the bunch just because of the pattern. You can see from the photo that this seedling has nice branching and bud placement. 

The seedlings have finished blooming and we are still labelling photos from this past season. We can now begin the task of digging rhizome orders while the seed pods ripen. Over Christmas time we will begin removing unfavourable seedlings. 

Bailey and I sincerely wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you enjoy your Christmas time with loved ones. Remember it's not the presents under the Christmas tree that count, it is having those who you value most with you. Warm wishes from Down Under. 


Monday, July 12, 2021

On the Iris Road Again: Diana Ford’s Garden

By Bryce Williamson

The pandemic had so messed up my thinking that it was at the end of the iris bloom season in Northern California that I realized that it was safe to make a day trip to see a garden. And the best day for the trip would fall on Mothers’ Day. With the far north of the state blooming a bit later and curious about the Diana Ford’s hybridizing efforts, I set out early on Sunday for Hopland.

'Centennial Celebration'

Hopland is one of those census designated areas located on the west bank of the Russian River 13 miles south-southeast of Ukiah in the Sanel Valley. It is a rustic farming community situated amongst oak covered coastal foothills. Most of the valley and many of the rolling hills are covered in vineyards.


But just before Highway 101 narrows from four lanes to two and crosses the Russian River, I turned off to the east to find the Ford garden.

The Fords built a retirement home on property that had been owned by her grandfather. The 14 acres are surrounded by vineyards. Diana comes naturally into irises as both her grandmother and mother grew them. When she retired in 2012 as a computer programmer, she bought a few irises, went to the Santa Rosa Iris Society plant sale, and we all know what happened next.

Diana and Don Ford

These days she is growing around 4000 seedlings each year. The current focus of her hybridizing is on pinks, bicolors, olive toned flowers, and rebloomers. As she later wrote to me, “I love iris with the white standards and light within, so I’ll always look at those first. I love bright clean color. Try to work with iris that get me excited.”

178SBLB2

238SB6


167WCG1

323FS4

187RCI2

At the 2019 National’s blind competition of seedlings, her seedling, now named ‘Centennial Celebration’ won. Diana explained to me that she had not expected to introduce so soon, but winning the competition resulted in 'Centennial Celebration' being introduced in 2020.

I not only enjoyed my visit, but also brought home some canes of a wonderful single rose Altissimo. It was a long shot that I could root the cuttings, but 6 out of 9 are still alive and giving me hope that they will survive. It would be a wonderful addition to my yard. Not only were the irises of interest, but I also enjoyed the garden.



After I the visit, I took the grand tour of Hopland and then found a shady spot by the Russian River to eat my lunch. It made for a beautiful and peaceful day. It felt very good to be on the road again.


Images of Ford seedlings and 'Centennial Celebration' by Diana Ford. All other images by Bryce Williamson.


Monday, April 26, 2021

THE IRIS LADY OF ZHITOMIR: Nina Miroshnichenko

By Sylvain Ruaud

Today the countries which made up the Soviet empire have become, behind the United States, the largest suppliers of new varieties of irises. It was only after the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the "Iron Curtain" that this exceptional development took place. But this does not mean iridophilia didn't exist there before these events. Despite considerable difficulties in obtaining western varieties capable of providing the necessary elements for their work, passionate gardeners made crosses and obtained irises which, although they did not reach the level of evolution and the quality of western varieties, demonstrated that they had genius. Nina Miroshnichenko cannot be overlooked in this context. Indeed, long before the disappearance of totalitarian regimes and the opening towards the West of what was once the USSR and its satellites, she had devoted a large part of her life to iris hybridization.


Antonina Opanasievna Miroshnichenko was born in the Kiev region of Ukraine on November 13, 1914. She therefore only knew the communist regime in her country and in neighboring Russia. She became interested in horticulture during her university years as she studied at the Kiev College of Agriculture (now an entity of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine). As was fitting she subsequently worked as an agricultural engineer in Zhitomir (in Ukrainian: Житомир, in Russian: Житомир, in Polish: zytomierz), a large garrison town in western Ukraine a town that over the centuries experienced a complicated existence, passing from Poland to the Russian Empire, before becoming part of its current nation. She married an officer of the Red Army, but continued her work as an engineer nonetheless, especially in the city of Uzhgorod (in Ukrainian: Ужгород; in Russian: Ужгород; in Hungarian: Ungvár; in Romanian: Ujgorod, in Slovak: Užhorod), another city in western Ukraine, on the border with Slovakia, also very marked by Slovak, Austrian, Polish, Romanian and Hungarian influences. She lived there until 1956, before returning to Zhitomir where she remained until the end of her life, at age 95, in 2009.


Was it the historical traces of the more western regions of Europe, or the inevitable contacts with the neighbouring states of Uzhgorod that led her to become interested in plants that were little known in her country of origin? In any case, as soon as she returned to Zhitomir, she began to hybridize gladioli and lilies, then irises. Circumstances, as one can imagine, did not allow her to come into contact with the few other iris lovers in the Soviet empire, so she remained a maverick of hybridization. She gradually acquired extensive knowledge of genetics and for many years pursued her little path as an enlightened amateur. Taking care to stay away from the events that marked the Stalinist and then Brezhnevian years, she hybridized only for her pleasure, without any idea of competition. As soon as it was possible, she occasionally sent some of her offspring to the West; it was more to find out if her work was worthwhile than to win medals! At some point she made a few dozen recordings of her crosses but  gave no indication of origin. Perhaps she had her own doubts about the varieties she used for hybridizing knowing the adventurous conditions under which American varieties were obtained at the time.

Her family, who religiously protected her work, counted nearly two hundred varieties preserved, even though only 41 were regularly registered. The greatest moment of glory for this production came when, in 2007, 'Soloviniyia Noc' won the FRANCIRIS © competition. I lived the moment when Milan Blazek, the great Czech irisarian, who speaks perfect Russian, called her on the phone to announce the victory of her iris, and I heard in the voice of this very old lady the joy and emotion of this remarkable consecration. Perhaps, indeed, it is Nina Miroshnichenko's masterpiece. It is an original iris, with light purple petals hemmed with white, and dark purple veined sepals. The plant is beautifully sized, healthy, robust, the flowers, well proportioned, numerous and long lasting. Everything you need to make a competitive iris. But a few other of her irises deserve to be mentioned. I think of 'Sladky Greh', of 'Novoye Vrema' - little cousin of 'Bride's Halo' -, also the spurred pink 'Anatoly Solovianenko', and of the very elegant inverted amoena 'Nebo Angelov'. And lastly of 'Doktor Gorbachev'. I also like 'Khmuroye Utro', an original smoked mauve, but now showing its vintage age.

All these irises, some of which have found their way in some western gardens, are still available in Ukraine, where hybridizers like Igor Khorosh have used them in their crosses (such as the mauve 'Rozpriahaite Khlotsi Konei' which comes from 'Pliaska Sniezhynok' , a majestic pure white iris). They are also well known to Russian and Polish collectors.



Our world of irises is filled with surprises that curiosity makes us discover with pleasure. Nina Miroshnichenko is one of them, and paying tribute to her is a duty but also a pleasure.


Monday, December 21, 2020

Winter Watch for Irises

 By Hooker Nichols

The Winter Watch season is about to begin for us particularly in the Southern states. You might ask yourselves what is he talking about? Many times people in our areas tend to continue replanting irises until near time for the first frosts.

Image by Jeanette Graham

Here in northern and eastern Texas we have an average first frost or freeze date of November 22. They usually even bloom the following spring. Keep a constant watch for any late plants heaving out of the ground due to constant freezing and thawing of the soil. If this happens, just gently step on the rhizomes and push them back into the ground.

Now is the time to plant your iris seeds. This will ensure that the young plants will not germinate prematurely and be killed by the freezing temperatures. Be sure to keep your seedbeds slightly moist through the winter.

For you who are hybridizers, this is the time we plan our future spring crosses. Be sure to use only irises which have the best growth and blooming characteristics in future endeavors. You should pay closest attention to bud count and branching.

Reblooming characteristics may be incorporated too. For those of you who are exhibition fans, remember that a Best of Show specimen begins the moment you plant that iris in your garden the previous year. Winter garden care is the key to wonderful spring bloom. Wishing all a safe holiday season and a better outlook for Spring 2021.

Monday, October 5, 2020

FRENCH IRIS FROM THE PAST NAMED AFTER LADIES

By Sylvain Reuad


To name an iris after a real person (I think it is the same for other flowers) one must follow special rules. As part of the process, it is necessary to attach to the registration request a signed consent of the named person when she or he is alive. It was less formal in the 1920s and 1930s, and hybridizers of the time did not hesitate to pay homage to some notable or some friend or acquaintance, in particular as a gallantry to a lady! Just in the list of varieties registered by Ferdinand Cayeux, I noted 22 names of varieties dedicated to one particular lady. His colleagues Denis and Millet followed the same policy and several of their varieties bear the name of a lady of their time; they are either a few members of their family, or the wives or daughters of notables to whom they wish to pay homage. The only exception was Philippe Vilmorin, perhaps to stand out from competitors!


A large number of these varieties can still be found in specialized gardens and in the collections of a few individuals who are passionate about historic irises.


Starting with the selections of Jean-Nicolas Lémon, otherwise known as Lémon fils (son). One of the very first dedicated varieties is 'Julia Grisy', an indigo plicata on a bluish white background which is described as follows in the Annals of the Société Royale d'Horticulture de Paris in 1842: "Narrow foliage, medium flowers, petals exterior (1) wide, streaked with purplish blue, largely bordered with white ”. 

Neither the person to whom it owes its name nor this flower has survived the wear of time. This is fortunately not the case of 'Madame Chéreau' (1844) which is one of the selections of JN Lémon still present in many gardens and considered the most important iris of his lines. The Bulletin of the General Circle of Horticulture of 1845 gives a delightful and time-bound description of it: “Your Commission noticed in the seedlings of Mr. Lemon charming gains; she examined them with scrupulous care; and, wishing to describe some of them to make them known to you, she found herself embarrassed over the choice to be made since all the varieties were remarkable; nevertheless forced to rule, it opted in favor of six of them, to which a serial number was applied.

The number one was a beautiful white background, bordered with blue streaks; the outer petals roughly the same color, but the streaks do not extend to the edge; it is thus trimmed with a beautiful white ribbon which gives this flower a cheerful appearance. She is worthy of a distinguished patronage, so we called her 'Madame Chéreau'... ” Lady Chéreau was none other than the wife of the director of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Among the many selections of JN Lémon there are several varieties with ladies' names, which are now forgotten: for example,' Duchesse de Nemours' (1848),' Madame 'Rousselon' (1842), 'Amélie Mairet' (1845 ) or another celebrity, 'Victoire Lemon' (ca 1845), also called 'Madame Lémon'.


A little later, around 1860 and until the end of the century, it was the Verdier family who took up the torch for the cultivation of irises. The custom of giving a variety the name of a lady is still respected, and among the dedications of the Verdier family there is a curiosity, 'Sister Superior Albert.' There also was (one iris that we only know the name and variety, that survived to the present day), called 'Madame Louesse' (1860).

There was also one of Ferdinand Cayeux's first varieties called 'Madame Blanche Pion' (1906); it is an amber yellow variety on a purple base, perhaps extinct. But other varieties less known are:

'Jacqueline Guillot' (1924), lavender blue:



'Charlotte Millet' (1927), purple:



'Geneviève Serouge' (1932), pale blue, infused with primrose yellow:



'Madame Ulman' (1936), lilac and purple:



'Anne-Marie Berthier' (1939), white:



'Marie-Rose Martin' (1939), yellow centered in pale lilac:



There is also a rather mysterious plant, which is known only by its offspring: 'Clémentine Croutel' (ca 1925) (2).

The colleagues of Ferdinand Cayeux did not stay behind on this subject. The Millet family, such as Armand, Alexandre then Lionel, were active in the interwar period. They were the creators of:

'Mady Carrière' (1905), two tones of light mauve:



'Yvonne Pelletier' (1916), light orchid pink marked with yellow on the shoulders;

'Simone Vaissière' (1921), lavender blue neglecta:



'Madame Cécile Bouscant' (1923), pink orchid; 'Germaine Perthuis' (1924), luscious purple:



but their greatest achievement is certainly the famous purplish blue 'Souvenir de Mme Gaudichau' (1914).


As for Fernand Denis, missing in 1935, the SNHF bulletin of 1935 said in his obituary chronicle about him: "In a long series of years, he tried to improve the irises of the gardens by using for his hybridizations the I. Ricardi of Palestine. “ He therefore introduced tetraploid irises to France. In the area that concerns us today, we owe him, among other things:


'Mademoiselle Schwartz' (1916), lavender blue:



'Madame Chobaut' (1916), pink plicata:



'Edith Cavell' (1921), white strongly marked with yellow on the shoulders:



'Andrée Autissier' (1921), sky blue.

Many other varieties could be mentioned bearing the name of ladies recorded during those years when French irises had the reputation of being among the most beautiful in the world. If the misfortunes of the Second World War interrupted their glory, they gradually reclaimed it from the 1960s. And the tradition of giving ladies' names has continued unabated, and has spread throughout the world.

(1) The sepals of the flower are thus designated.

(2) Two descendants of 'Clémentine Croutel' are advantageously known: 'Nêne' (1928) and 'Hélios'


Monday, September 21, 2020

Spring is in the air in New Zealand

by Maggie Asplet

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly it comes around to my turn to write.  Just about got caught short when I suddenly remembered I need this for Monday morning. Just as well we are a day ahead of my American friends.

I must say, it has been a very troubling time for us here in New Zealand, worrying about our friends and the horrific fires you have had in some areas.  Thank goodness for being above to make phone call to check you are all OK.

I certainly hope that the fires are more under control now than they were a week ago.

As you now head towards you colder month, we are moving through Spring and towards our Summer.  Yay.

My excitement is building as this will be the first flowering of my seedlings.  This is from crosses I did mainly at Thomas Johnsons, Mid America Iris Garden in 2018.  Sadly, all the seed that Thomas sent from 2019 was destroyed by our MPI people, an error they said, so I will not have any from that work, and with COVID19 who knows when I can return.

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Seedlings are putting on good growth, just in the process of putting out the watering system now.  It is starting to get very dry and our overhead water had iron in it and marks the plants badly.

These first few sets of images I will show you are Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB's) irises, that have been successful, and I am now waiting with baited breath for the outcome.  I will post images of the outcomes in the next article for you all to see how well (or not so well) I did.

Alaia by Thomas Johnson'18

Kerpow by Thomas Johnson '18

From this cross I had only 1 seed from 22 germinate but I'm very happy to say it is growing well and hopefully will be flowering soon.

My second successful cross with the SDB's was Slightly Tipsy X Kerpow.  This cross I have done both ways and was successful with both.  It will be interesting to see the differences with the new cultivars.

Slightly Tipsy by Paul Black '18

It is fair to say, that I did many crosses that did not set any seed at all, which is probably just as well, as it would have been a daunting task planting more than what I had.

Another successful cross has been Color X Kerpow.  Interesting to note there were 71 seeds but only 2 germinated.  Two is just fine by me.

Color by Paul Black '18

I would like to point out that I spell colour differently, and have to think twice when I type the name of this cultivar.  I automatically want to correct it.  Sorry Paul.

The next successful SDB cross was Love Spell X Peppito.  58 seeds arrived and 13 germinated.
Love Spell by Paul Black '10

Peppito by Paul Black '16

Another cross using Peppito was with Stylish Miss.  This was done both ways but with success only in the Stylish Miss X Peppito.  Not a lot of seed, just 12 and 7 germinated.

Stylish Miss by Thomas Johnson '17

I then crossed Stylish Miss with Lovable Pink, again a very successful cross producing 64 seeds of which 45 germinated.  So one would hope there is something great from all of those.

Lovable Pink by Paul Black '13

The last of the SDB's that I will showcase now is a cross between Carrot Flash X Eye of the Tiger.  26 seeds, 13 germinated.

Carrot Flash by Paul Black '17

Eye of the Tiger by Paul Black '08

So, if I don't have anything of much interest from these, then I will be very surprised.  By the time comes for me to write again, hopefully it will be to show you the outcome of some of these crosses.

A very big thank you to both Thomas Johnson and Paul Black for allowing me to annoy them so much and so look forward to when it is possible to return.  I so miss seeing all my 
American friends.

Please take care at such uncertain times, stay well and stay safe.