An oddity?

I was asked if Iris can sport or revert. I've never had it happen in my own gardens, so I'm not sure if they ever do that or not.

A member sent me this photo of Bewilderbeast that has an odd bloom on it. She said she dug around and determined that the Bewilderbeast bloom and the odd one that she's dubbed Bewilderment are both attached to the same mother rhizome.

Bewilderbeast's parents are Tiger Honey http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/36794/ and Rustic Dance http://www.bluejiris.com/ and is doesn't appear that the odd bloom resembles either of them.

Any ideas?

Hi,
This is a broken color iris from Kasperek. Each bloom on a broken color iris will look different. See DG plant file for Bewilderbeast and you will notice how different each iris is. Brad Kasperek's Zebra Garden's speciality are Broken Color Iris. The broken color is genetic and is definied as "random streaking and splashing of assorted colors." You might send this photo to Zebra gardens and ask Brad what he thinks. http://www.zebrairis.com/ The Broken Color Iris sure are a wonderful addition to a garden!

Peg

The photo was sent to Brad, but so far there's been no reply.

I realize that the broken colors don't have a pattern that is the same for every bloom, but the odd bloom doesn't resemble Bewilderbeast at all.

I would mark the stalk--probably just the broken color as it is an erratic from plicata. If the plant is divided at the end of bloom, plant the odd one in a different place. If it is just Bilwildebeast it will act like it next bloom season--if a sport it will probably be the same. I'm sure you will hear from Brad--he is probably up to his ears in the outside work right now.

This is Baboon Bottom

Irisloverdee,

I would love if that Baboon Bottom would stay like the one that is half purple and pink!! What a beauty!!!

Dana

Bet it won't. broken color is so erratic.

It does not stay that way at all. Each bloom is different.

D

Batik does some weird things too as these two flowers in the center show.

Wow! My Batik doesn't vary that much! I hope it will in the future!

Thank you all for your help. Obviously they do that sometimes. I have never had it happen. Do they usually bloom characteristic of the cultivar the next year, or do they continue to bloom differently?

I have one called Unfurled Flag that when it blooms "deformed" was a flower that was the perfect iris specimen but when it is normal it has no standards, but six falls.

Also sometimes the plant may develop a seed pod with itself and it not be noticed until it's too late. This plant will form in, under, and through the parent plant and for all appearances look like it's attached to the mother rhizome but it's not. I think this is more the case here.

Otherwise, I'd blame it on the weather or round-up (haha).

Roni

That clump of Batik has bloomed three years now this is the first time the white has showed up like that so I'd say next time it will probably look like Bewilderbeast typically does but am I sure~nope.

I break off all spent blooms and cut off my spent stalks I don't use "Round up" or any herbicide, maybe a weather thing, could be but I think it's more of a broken color thing that happens every once in a while, its a first in my garden. The oddities that the weather usually bring are deformed or stunted blooms generally the first blooms on a stalk even deformed plant leaves.

I believe broken color flowers are permanently variable within certain color parameters. A red one will generally not turn blue. But a red and white one will vary from flower to flower each year. This is sort of the characteristic of broken color irises that makes them so interesting -- they have, as Brad Kasperek, has so humorously labeled on of his intros, an unstable gene. ( His is named after someone he knows, he told me.)
I love broken color iris and have quite a few of them. Can't seem to quit ordering them.

I think when dealing with the broken colors, you never know what they may throw....Ziggy did something like that and I think that is all in the genes........this is all Ziggy

Looking back at the photos posted here of Baboon Bottom, Batik and Ziggy, if you didn't know the blooms were growing from the same clump, you would never recognize them as the same cultivar.

Yeah, that is part of the fun with Broken Colors. They are different every time.

here is Age of innocence from a bloom this year, never did that before.... it really looks pretty I think

That is pretty neat! I wonder if there are certain conditions that cause this to happen more in a given year. Like some years there seems to be a lot more fasciation in Lilies and Daylilies than other years. Maybe this is how Iris rebel. LOL

maybe, LOL you never know what you might find out there!!!!!!!!! a little garden surprise.....

That is very cool looking!