know this one?

It is blooming now and so lovely. pics in next posting

Ok here we go

I can see that the Beard is light yellow..are the horns also light yellow. It looks short in height like an IB or SDB but it may be hard to tell as if it is a TB not in good health or in a good spot the scapes and bloom size could be stunted until it gets a couple years of TLC and good sunlight. when I first saw it 'Hazels pink' SDB came to mind 1978 but it has pink horns, but looks more historic after a closer view, and im guessing yours has yellow horns same color as the yellow beard. The more I look at it it Looks like an Stunted 'Easter Bonnet' or 'China Maid' with the lighter pink bluish patina on the falls typical of Both. Could also, if true to Height and Bloom size, be 'Eros' by Meid-Reidel 1934 http://wiki.irises.org/pub/TbAthruE/TbEros/Eros_by_JanLauritzen.jpg or Tokay by Nichols 1931. Im Leading toward a Stunted 'Easter Bonnet' or an 'Eros'. Respectfully, Themikesmom.

thank you so much. I looked at them all and Eros seemed to be pretty close to what I see in my garden.

I want to mention that this was given to me years ago as a rustled iris. I'm not sure why you say it is stunted or not growing to its full potential. could you be more specific? It looks fine to my ignorant about irises eyes, lol. but the color has always been that muted, grayish pink, with the yellow. It blooms in the spring and blooming now. and it is vigorous. I am fond of it b/c my area is not known for being good for irises, but every now and then, you'll hear of somebody who grows one successfully. I consider this one a success. Having said that, I have not fertilized--would that enrich the color? Pls tell me more.

The iris is in full sun, with well amended soil and gets protection from a large oak. Gets supplemental water from a sprinkler system. I don't remember exactly what year I planted it, but I do remember that if bloomed within a few months. So, if for ex. I planted in spring, it bloomed that following fall. I assumed it liked its location.

I see why You are Quite fond of it..as it is Quite Beautiful :-) We love the old pre 1960's pinks especially the rose and orchid color pinks. They are very rare here in the southeast and many are becoming extinct so trying to save as many of them as we can, so treasure this beauty. I had just assumed it was given to you recently or rescued recently from an older site, and alot of times when thats the case they have been neglected and shaded where they were abandoned and over grown. I rescued an Iris that I was quite certain was Mildred Presby as the bloom stalks were all about 32" tall at the abandoned home site about to be demolished, as were they the next year when they rebloomed, but then after 2 years of love and full sun and amended soil and fertilizer to my shock they were like 38" tall and so They were Shah Jehan. Also grow Mildred Presby now though too :-)

I see stunted growth and was wondering if you have fertilized or added bone meal, also are they mulched? Iris rhizomes need to be on top of the soil, like a duck floating on the water. As a rule mulching is not a good option for iris. Good luck with your quest for id.

Thank you so much about explanations, very interesting. The area is mulched, it's my best defende against weeds. Will it be enough to move away from the base?

Also pls recommend fertilizer. Four inches growth is quite significant so I will keep that in mind.

This message was edited Oct 21, 2014 6:26 AM

I add bone meal, Epsom salts, and a balanced fertilizer after blooming, to give an added boost to producing next year's blooms. I also remove all dried foliage and bag it up, not putting it into my compost pile. I try to keep next years bug eggs from hatching by eliminating as much of this years foliage as possible. I'm also a stickler for deadheading to keep my historics from cross pollinating.

Got all those so will add. Very helpful y'all

Oh I think I see what you mean by stunted. I will measure my plant today but I don't think it reaches 24". The more I see Eros, the more it seems like the pretty in my yard

Hmmm, who knew . Many straps are 28"

Still think it looks like Eros? I do. Here are two more pics and they are exactly as I see with my own eyes

The Whitish Areas with bluish cast on especially the falls, but also whitish area on the standards, as well as how, in semi shade, the horns appear yellow orange and then in full sunlight true yellow, your also has more yellow on the sides of the bloom between the standards and falls like Easter Bonnet, leads me to believe it's Easter Bonnet. Leave Eros as Your Second Pick as id and Easter-Bonnet Your first. I just got a nice large fan of Eros that I was on a 3 year waiting list behind several others to get at BlueBird Haven, and it actually came from via a women in Texas in her 90's named Mary that passed away and left a large part of her collection to Mary H. at Bluebird; and if it blooms this May ill post it on this thread to compare, but thinking You have Easter Bonnet by Maxwell-Norton of Yakima, Washington 1943. Check out Wanda in Iowa and Mountaineers pics of it in the same kind of light and spot like Yours are in; they look like textbook twins to me. the second link of Mountaineers even has the dull grey cast exactly like you describe yours as you had asked what fertilizers would brighten it, listen to Mittsy and put the Bone Meal and the 4-10-10 like epsoma bulbtone down in the Spring and Fall, You cant go wrong with it.. Respectfully, themikesmom.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/133293/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/43778/

I will go with what you recommend. I can get espoma easily so I will do that as well. I should have bone meal in my garden closet.

when I put my iphone pic next to the link-images you provided, they sure look alike.

thank you very much, your help is greatly appareciated.

vossner

Howdy. It is rainy today, good for taking pics, so my beautiful noid is blooming and I thought I'd post pics to see if it still looks like Easter Bonnet to you all. I am soooo delighted that these irises are blooming. I have a blue one that has a bud. Just when I had given up on the prospect of growing these type irises in Houston z9a, my babies are doing so fine.

My cemetery iris are in bloom too. LAs haven't started

Waiting for mine to bloom in 4 weeks and ill post pics of Both Cultivars for Comparison..worst case scenario it is Neither Eros or Easter Bonnet. and You will Have a Much Rarer Noid that few Else Have and quite possibly maybe only one left in Existence, so no bad scenario anyway You look at it.some of my most magical plants i look forward to are Noids Which dont need name to bring others joy either. If it is Eros it Should Start Out True Pink and Then after a Couple Days as Declining turn from the Drab Pink to a Salmon color.

I look forward to your comparison. I am so thrilled that one of these type irises is blooming in my area, I really don't care if named or not. However, this forum is active and very interested in historicals, so great resource.

I have gotten a little bold and placed an order on ebay from yodad50, I made it a point to get older ones, except for one.

kool..ive been looking at some of hers too..she is a nice person as is her husband Rafael..always very nice to my son on phone we got one from her that was her grandmothers in the 1920's called Betty's Pink and Yellow Noid thats one of Our Favorite Iris ..she was real sick about 2 years ago and most people would have given up hope but not only did Alicia keep Moving Forward but she went out there in unbearable pain and made sure all here customers got their orders on time. she didnt care if she had to go out in that intense heat in a wheel chair in pain she was determined to make people happy. She is Also really reasonable with shipping. She is Doing Just about All Better this year, good karma from all the hard work she does.

wowzers. Ill post here about my purchases.