Okay, I know you have them hiding in your garden or your Grandmas--- I'm looking for the big old droopy iris that were bred in the 1920s to 1940s. Multicolor, speckled & magnificent! I have lots of modern ruffled iris & perennials to trade. I don't care if the name has been lost for 50 years--I just want the blooms! Like this...
Or this incredible old beauty. Come on, I love to trade!
Wanda,
Get back to me at the end of June. I'll be digging and dividing my "unknown" bed this summer, and it contains a number of old historics. Of course, I won't know what I'll end up with until I'm ready to dig, but you can have first dibs. :-)
Laurie
Laurief--Be sure to take photos! I've been doing some research & many of the old ones only show black & white pictures. I'd LOVE to see colors on these old beauties.
I already have! You can see photos of all of my unknowns (the ones that have bloomed over the last several years, anyway) on my website at:
http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/shadowood/irislist.html
Laurie
P.S. I do tend to lose a lot of irises in my climate, so please understand that many of the irises pictured on my site may no longer be viable in my garden. On a more optimistic note, the historics have generally proven themselves to be stronger survivors than the moderns.
I can't wait to see what you find! I'm awaiting the blooming of old Heritage irises that were sent to me from DG people all over the county last summer. It's like a treasure hunt for me...
I found a few heritage iris on ebay today. The one I looked at was very pretty... but can't remember the name. I think the year was around 1943. Is that old enough for you or are you looking for older iris?
I have an oldie that came to me with no name. I'm pretty sure it's 'Tiffany' since the colors are so distinctive. I don't know how it has come through the winter yet but If it made it okay I should be able to trade a piece.
Wow -- Laurie F -- some of those unknowns are breathtaking.
Poppysue -- you are right, that one has very distinctive markings and colors. So very pretty.
poppy thats awesome! BEAUTIFUL!
wow im going to have to find that one!
I don't know what this is. It could be "Indian Chief" or "Dauntless", both of which are from 1929.
Wanda, as soon as ours start to bloom I'll mark them and get some off to you. We have some that even Dr. Henderson of K.C., MO can't identify except to say that they probably have been around forever and likely came from France originally. He says they are very common in the K.C. area. I also have some that are supposed to have been planted by my DH's grandmother or greatgrandmother when the farm was purchased/homesteaded 2 years after the Civil War. The first on is a blue/purple bi-color, the other is a white with purple. Then there are the old yellow flag iris so commn here in the midwest.
poppy Sue---LOVE IT!!!! Your Tiffany is just what I'm looking for. If you want to trade, I have a whole list of named moderns & historicals with photos...
I really like the big ones with tall standards and droopy falls--most have speckles or streaking. Let me see some photos & we'll trade!
Laurie , I love that Raspberry Fudge iris and the .......
Serenity Prayer .. love the blue beards
Triple Whammy
Oyez .. oldie
Cinnamon Apples
Bayberry Candle
Unfortunately, scooterbug, TBs have a very difficult time in my garden. Each of the TBs you listed above are dead and gone, along with OYEZ. SERENITY PRAYER is struggling a bit after being divided and replanted last year, but CINNAMON APPLES is doing just fine under the same circumstances. By next year, both should have increased enough again to be tradeable.
Laurie
Irises love my garden & the full sun of my border beds. (The trees are generally in the center of the yard to shade my hammock & dogs. My soil has alot of heavy clay, but they don't mind. i can't wait to see all the old dog-eared & newer ruffled iris bloom this year. NEED MORE FILM!!! LOL
Belvi Queen
William A Setchell is from my Grandmothers garden & still one of my favorites. Heavily blooms & strong.
Mine are just starting to bloom. I think I have a William A. Setchell. I took some pictures today and will get them posted when I have time, probably next week or later. I'm glad to see this thread for the oldies. They are in a class by themselves.
Wanda,
You should probably check with the source of your BELVI QUEEN. I believe you may have gotten a mislabeled plant. If you check the Plants Database, you can see my pic of BQ, and if you check this URL:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/iris/hpgal092122501299.jpg
you can view a pic of BQ in another irisarian's garden in WA state.
Laurie
WOW---what a beauty! Iris are my favorites. My mom had them in her garden and when my husband and I bought our land 25 years ago I noticed that there was an old garden on the property on the corner of our driveway...from what we have learned there was a homestead there about 80-100 years ago and the house was destroyed in a fire (you can still find the ruins)....but the garden is still there. Roses, Sweet Williams, Lilacs and Yellow Iris. Here's the really funny thing:
A few years ago I transplanted a few Iris up to where we built our house. And the ones that came up are these amazing big, PURPLE Iris.....Isn't that strange? But true.
Wanda , Would you trade for a fan of the first picture you posted here ? I keep going back for another look. Drop Dead Gorgeous Iris. Will trade my first born .........lol
I don't know if these are old or not, but here are some more of my unknowns.
I call this one the purple iris.
I call this one the light purple iris.
I call this one (ta-da!) the yellow iris.
And here is (drum roll, please!) the very light blue iris.
I love "purple iris", Kelli! After looking at Prospero, which you had mentioned in a past thread www.davesgarden.com/t/424226 I ordered it from Argyle Acres. Can't wait to see the blooms in person. Are you thinking "purple iris" is Prospero?
Claire
Prospero is the best match I've found for the purple iris, but I am no iris expert.
Kelli: How ironic -- I have both teh purple and light purple in my garden here on the other coast in NY. I transplanted them from my mother's garden in Wisconsin. :) So glad you put on a drum roll for those names. LOL
It's so hard to match names to flowers. I sometimes find 3 distinct different flowers on 3 different sites with one name.
Who do we believe? Even the Iris books disagree. Anyway, it's the colors we love, right?
There are a number of houses in the neighborhood that have the "purple iris". It must have been immensely popular or else someone was very generous with his/her surplus rhizomes. The "purple iris", "yellow iris", and the "very light blue iris" all came with the house. There is also a "light yellow iris" of which I don't have a picture.
I think I got the "light purple iris" from a trade with someone in Iowa.
My "purple iris" smells kind of like grape. Does anyone else's?
Wanda,
You are absolutely right. It IS extremely difficult, if not impossible, it accurately ID irises by photos alone - particularly digital photos that can be so easily altered. And names certainly don't do anything to enhance an iris's inherent beauty. Some of my favorites reside in my "unknown" bed.
I do think it's very important, though, to verify the identities of any irises added to the PDB as named varieties. A resource such as the PDB is likely to be considered authoritative to the millions of people worldwide who can access it through the internet, and it's up to us photo contributors to make sure we provide accurate information. When one acquires plants through reputable commercial iris nurseries that guarantee the registered identities of their stock, one can be reasonably assured that an iris is what it's supposed to be (though even the best of the commercial growers do occasionally make mistakes).
Just my two cents worth.
Laurie
the iris that are blue or violet or white ,that smell like grape soda are ,,species Iris Pallida .some are cross with these.its been lost in moderen Iris sone new one smell like old tom cat
Wow tazzy i don't want tom cat around .. i want the grape soda ?? happy Mothers day.. so glad you thought of me...
I call this one the Owego iris. It came from an abandoned town called Owego between Salix and Sloan Iowa. Nothing left to the town except a few foundations overgrown with lilacs and honeysuckle. I salvaged this Iris, a peony and a gas plant. Might have to go back to see what else can be salvaged.
Anahi--beautiful color on the iris & I'm enjoying your companion plantings too!
Got some oldies with big buds--just waiting for the blooms to hit!
These are from my Mom's garden in Wisconsin -- transplanted here 1 1/2 years ago:
This one came along with my Mom's batch. It bloomed for the first time yesterday and it looks like it might be the same as Poppysue's 'Tiffany'. Nice surprise!
Wanda -- I gave you this oldie last year . . . the person who I got it from can't figure out the name, so you can call it whatever you want. :)
The one from your moms garden is Gorgeous! Well, they all are, but that one in particular. :-)
Allsum,
The "mystery" pink & yellow one you gave me last year bloomed this week. I LOVE it! Thanks for donating it to my garden. I love the one you showed with the tan standards & violet falls. Any chance of a trade? I have LOTS of goodies blooming...
