Bride's Halo & Champagne Waltz

Does anyone have these in their garden? Would you have a photo to share? I found them one Argyle and loved them, then I saw them on another site and they looked very different.

I do have Brides Halo and it is lovely. Unfortunately I don't have a photo. Do you know Wandasflowers? she has this one also, and maybe the other one and regularly scans in photos on DG.

Thanks Linda, Is your a soft yellow? The one on Schreiner's is a much darker yellow then the one that was on Argyle's 2004 catalog.

Dear Hooked, this is the link to the dave's garden plant finder page that "Bride's Halo" is on. There are a lot of pictures there. We have had a lot of recent discussion about Iris looking differently depending on the timeof day, camera equipment, age of flower etc. You really can't miss with Bride's Halo though. It's a great rebloomer and is charming.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/34279/index.html

Now, to find Champagne Waltz, click the plant files at the top of the page. There will be a pull down menu on the left. Pull it down to Iris and tell it to search. Then click the alpha for the cultivar. You may need to fool around a little to figure out which page your cultivar is on, but it's not too bad. The other option is to google it (for eg. bearded iris "bride's halo") and you will get a link to a Dave's garden page. Don't use the newsletter link.

On the other hand here is the link to "Champagne Waltz" if you can't find it, but it's a great treat to begin wandering around the plant finder and seeing what people at DG have done with their Iris.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/34414/index.html

You will see the incredible difference in the color of two different plants of the same cultivar here - but not necessarily what it will do in your yard. Wandasflowers says that hers are never the same even from one part of her yard to another. Champagne Waltz is really beautiful too. You can't really go wrong with either one of these beauties.

Guess that it's just part of the excitement of gardening.

I have Champagne Waltz as a result of a mistake made by a nursery. I thought I was buying one of the other "Champagne ......" but when it bloomed I realized what I had, and was quite happy with the nursery error.

I have in my minds eye an upgraded "Champagne Waltz" type that I have a name for. Back in 1960 I registered a seedling along this line as "Cremona." The following year it was discarded for good reason, but I have a project running to work toward a stronger stemmed, richer colored, wider and more ruffled, and have an even more vivid red beard than CW to which the name "Cremona" will get transferred.

Cremona, by the way, is acity in northern Italy where the world famous Stradivari violins were crafted. I chose the name partly for that reason, and partly simply because I love the sound of the word. It suggested all sorts of good things.

A number of seedlings should bloom this coming spring that were bred toward the type--and I also bought some new ones the past couple of years I intend to use toward this goal.

I keep Champagne Waltz in a prominant place as it is different from any other iris on the place. I do love the type. So do many of those who have visited.

Mine are a bit different from either Margie's or Puttytat's, but no one would doubt it is the same iris. It is amazing how varied one variety can be depending on light, temperatures, soil, watering (or rain), or just plain care by the grower. It sure can show on the showbench when the judges come to decide where the ribbons go. Quality conditions and superior care really do show.

Sorry I don't have a good photo of my own. I keep copies of photos I find that are of iris I have--or would very much like to have. Once in a while I have to weed some of them out as I find ones that look more like the iris as I grow it (or look better!)--which makes me try harder.

Neil Mogensen

doss and Neil,
Thanks, I'm learning!
It's so great we have so many wonderful gardeners here to help us!

Thanks Niel, I don't think that we've had someone who has shown iris here - at least in the year I've been here. So could you educate us?

What do you feed and when? How acid do you keep your soil?

You're in NC so you get a lot more summer rain than I do. How often do you think a gardener should water in an arid climate? We get about zero summer water here. I do have to say that Iris here even do well next to the lawn. Can't change the temperatures although this is a pretty good climate for Iris. It gets cold at night in the summer - even if it's hot in the day. Harvest of Memories is blooming right now - blooms most of the year except the middle of the summer. It's so fun to see it's shining face at this time of year.

Your new cultivar sounds fabulous. How long have you been working on it?

I can't wait to learn everything you have to share!

I have shown an iris only a few times, but as a judge--back a number of years ago--I was one for about 15 to 17 years, I forget how many, I saw a very wide variation in quality of specimens. From garden visits made, I saw where the good exhibits come from. In general--if you grow tomatoes and know what care, conditons and watering practices will make for the best tomatoes, do the same for irises.

If you overfeed on Nitrogen, you have troubles with both--the tomatoes overgrow and fail to ripen properly, often misshapen and cracked. The irises overgrow, are too lush, and prone to soft-rot. The difference in "enough" and too much is a fine line. A fertilizer of about 5-10-10 fed before bloom in early spring, then again just after bloom--applied with a light hand!--is about optimum. Easy does it!

As to soil pH, bearded irises are happiest if the available calcium is ample, and the pH between 7.0 to 7.5. They tolerate a wide range, however.

Beardless, on the other hand are happiest in mildly acid conditons--usually. Pseudacorus will grow under almost any conditons if wet enough. Spurias are about like beardeds in their requirements. JI's and Siberians respond best to plentiful moisture--with JI's tolerating more water than Siberians. JI's must NEVER be fed lime. They will die.

LA's like it hot and wet, but some varieties grow well in just plain garden conditions. I can't keep Sino-Siberians alive, and would probably waste my time if I tried PCI/PCN types. They are very narrow in what they will tolerate. If you live on coastal Oregon, N. Cal, Washington or BC, have at it. Otherwise, a few locations in the southern Appalachins are in a climate zone not unlike the west coast and probably could grow them. We MIGHT be able here.

One further word on showing iris--it pays to have, and have studied, the current edition of the AIS's *Handbook for Judges and Show Officials." If you know what the criteria the judges look for are, you have a far better chance of selecting specimens worth showing.

Neil Mogensen

Niel, have you ever heard of Cycloglossa Iris? I have a lot of them and they are wonderful but I can't find anything on them and don't even know what family they are from except that they are bulbous. They are very happy here. I'm planning on starting some Pacific Coast Iris next winter when they are available. There is some lovely woodland here I think that they will brighten up.

Here's a photo of the Cycloglossa Iris:

I share my iris & daylilies in gardens in different parts of town. On the same day, I can break off blooms & none of them match although they all originated in my yard.

Tazzy was telling me that as an iris judge, she could tell where an iris was grown by it's color tones. She could judge 6 of a cultivar & have 6 differnt colors in fron ot her from the same area in Oklahoma!

So we can't fool mother nature? Is that it Wanda? I'm not surprised. It means that every Iris is like opening a treasure - you don't know what's in it until it reveals what's inside.

Yes--each day is a day to treasure the blooms of my garden...

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their help! I decided to get them both and another eight from Arglye's.