Iris miscellany

The 2nd form of I. sari has a much smaller, much darker flower. The flower
is about half the size of the earlier form, much more densely overlaid with
dark purple netting, and the falls are lurid yellow overlaid with purple. In
the photo, one can see the earlier flowering, semi-collapsed bloom of the
much larger-flowered form of I. sari growing adjacent. The smaller dark form
is on the right:

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

A nice European dwarf bearded Iris appears with I. lutescens. The image
shows both a yellowish form and a purple form, grown from Mike Salmon seed,
originally collected in France and Italy. The pale yellow form is still in
bloom now. It grows about 6-7" tall (15-17.5 cm).

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

I visited Darrell Probst's nursery know as Garden Vision (of world renowned
Epimedium fame) this past sunday (about 35 minutes from where I am), the last
day of his 2-weekend "open nursery". Of course, the Epimediums are amazing
and spectacular, but that's off topic for this list. But in his travels to
China, he has also collected a number of interesting bulbs, with a focus on
the better Iris. One of the most exciting new introductions is Iris
odaesanensis. It's like a vigorous I. cristata, but with snowy white flowers
with bold yellow signals finely edged in brown. Darrell sells this plant for
$18 for a small division, rather dear, but worth the price I think.

Iris odaesanensis:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

In the following photo, notice a flower in the lower right that has two
flowers fused together as one; a unique aberration:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

Here's a closup of the flowers:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

Iris koreana, from Korea, is akin to the former species, dwarf and spreading,
much like Iris cristata and suitable for similar woodsy conditions although
taking sun too, except with bright lemon yellow flowers. Another of
Darrell's great introductions. Here's two pictures:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

Iris cristata hardly needs an introduction, but this eastern American Iris is
a great favorite for woodland conditions. It's available in many named
forms; all are lovely. I grow mine in full blazing sun, and I find I get
better flowering in full sun, to no adverse effect. What I grow is the
regular I. cristata... here are two photos:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

The last three Iris, many select forms of cristata, and other species, are
available from Garden Vision, at: http://home.earthlink.net/~darrellpro/

A late Juno Iris is in bud... it's one of the very last junos to bloom,
namely Iris cycoglossa, and it's a beauty that looks very different than most
junos. It's an "easy doer" grown in sandy soil, and blooms in June instead
of April-May like most junos. The flowers are outlandishly large and
luxuriantly floppy for the size of the plant.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

I grow about a dozen different Juno Iris, and find them easy, reliable, and
good multipliers when grown in nearly pure sand. One of the first to bloom
and one of my very favorites is Iris wilmottiana alba, with pristine white
flowers over densely tufted "corn-stalk-like" dark green foliage, the leaf
margins with a fine whitish ciliate edge.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/…

For more Juno Irises, check out my small Juno Iris photo gallery at:
http://plantbuzz.com/RockGard/Bulbs/…

For lots more images on Juno Iris, check out John Lonsdale's photo galleries
at:
http://edgewoodgardens.net/Plant%20Galleries/…

Subgen_Scorpiris

Note: the above URL is long and might wrap onto a second line. Be sure and
copy the whole thing into your browser. Regarding PBS wiki pages, I have
uploaded all of the Iris pix cited here in this message, but I haven't yet
added links to the PBS wiki Iris page, but will do so soon. So use the links
in this message.

Cheers and good growing,

Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
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