Bloom Season 2012
Iris bloom started early in 2012, with Iris danfordiae bursting into bloom in a warm nook by the front door on January 25, following a week or two of mild weather and snow cover during December and much of January. By the second week of February, purple reticulata irises in the same bed were going strong.

Iris danfordiae
Iris danfordiae

reticulata irises

reticulata irises
reticulata irises
'Katherine Hodgkin'

Bearded iris season began on March 24, with the first Iris pumila opening. Iris pumila "clausii" followed a few days later.

Iris pumila aequiloba
Iris pumila aequiloba

Iris pumila "clausii"
Iris pumila "clausii"
Iris pumila
Iris pumila
The first MDB (pumilas excluded) to bloom, as it was last year, was 'Cradle Blue' (A. Brown 1960), opening March 30. 'Alpine Lake' and the arilpum 'Aladdin's Gem' both opened April 8. On April 9, 'Baby Blessed' opened, along with Hildebrandt's seedling (from SIGNA seed 05B011) of the Vardar Gorge iris. A lovely yellow Iris pumila taurica from Wrightman Alpines opened the following day.

'Cradle Blue' (A. Brown 1960)
MDB
Hildebrandt seedling (SIGNA 05B011)
Iris sp. aff. reichenbachii ex Vardar Gorge

'Alpine Lake' (Willott 1981)
MDB
'Aladdin's Gem' (Thoolen 2002)
arilbred dwarf
Iris pumila taurica
Iris pumila taurica
SDB season extended throughout April, with 'Rain Dance', 'Michael Paul', and 'Sea Monster' joining 'Baby Blessed' and putting on a lovely show. 'Loudmouth' was the star during mid-April, with an enormous quantity of bloom.

'Sea Monster' (L. Miller 1993)
SDB
'Rain Dance' (B. Jones 1979)
SDB

'Michael Paul' (W. Jones 1979)
SDB
'Baby Blessed' (Zurbrigg 1979)
SDB
'Loudmouth' (Rich 1970)
arilbred dwarf
Iris suaveolens rubromarginata
During the third week of April, the IBs came on strong ('Rare Edition' having already started), as well as the bearded species Iris aphylla and Iris schachtii. An unusual form of Iris stolonifera also opened at this time, followed by 'Werckmeister's Beauty' early in the following week.

'Rare Edition' (Gatty 1980)
IB
'Obligato' (Stahly 1989)
IB

'Hot Fudge' (Hager 1983)
IB
'Shampoo' (Messick 1977)
IB
Iris stolonifera ?
'Werckmeister's Beauty'
(McAllister for Werckmeister 1992)
tetraploid aril
Iris aphylla
Iris aphylla
Iris schachtii
'Zwanenburg' (Denis 1912)
arilbred dwarf
"Mohric Mystery' (McAllister 2007)
arilbred
'Enigmatic Elf' (Jensen 2007)
arilbred median
The last week of April saw the large arilbreds come out in force as the SDBs faded. Tetraploid arils 'Dunshanbe' and 'Bronze Beauty Van Tubergen' also bloomed.

Iris aphylla
'Stars Over Chicago' (H. Danielson 1972)
AB

'Loud and Rowdy' (McAllister 2010)
AB
'Buddha Song' (Dunbar 1970)
MDB from 'Rhages' x I. suaveolens
'Honey Not Tonight' (McAllister 2007)
AB
a smaller form of Iris aphylla
'Noble Warrior' (Tasco 2006)
AB
'Dunshanbe' (Wilkes 1977)
tetraploid aril
'Bronze Beauty Van Tubergen'
tetraploid aril
'Navajo Velvet' (McAllister 2009)
AB
"Oyez' (C. G. White 1938)
AB
'Catchy Name' (Seligmann 1983)
TB
During the first two weeks of May, new arilbreds continued to open, as well as tetraploid medians and a TB or two.

'Vera-Marina' (Ransom 1998)
arilbred median
'Say Red' (Craig 2008)
tetraploid MTB

'Saucy' (Craig 1998)
tetraploid IB
'Satan's Mistress' (Seligmann 1983)

apparently a triploid TB
'Go Big Red' (McAllister 2006)
AB
'Summit Angel' (Jorgensen 1994)
TB
'Maidenhood' (Craig 2008)
tetraploid MTB
'Rare Breed' (Tasco 2011)
AB
'Suspect' (Johnson 2006)
AB
'Aztec Prince' (Tasco 2009)
AB
'Brash and Bold' (Black 2009)
AB
'Raiding Fort Knox' (Chacon 2008)
arilbred median
In the last two weeks of May, most of the bloom was on TBs, BBs, and MTBs, although arilbreds 'Tien Shan' and 'Egyptian Queen' were still blooming, and the historic arilbreds 'Elmohr' and 'Butterfly Wings' also bloomed in the latter half of the month.

'Dividing Line' (Bunnell 2005)
MTB
'Egyptian Queen' (Johson 2007)
arilbred median

'Tien Shan' (Jensen 2005)
AB
'Enchanted Mesa' (Magee 1999)

TB
'Crow's Feer' (Black 2006)
BB
'Swerti'
diploid TB
'Butterfly Wings' (White 1946)
AB
'Points West' (MacKendrick 2011)
TB
'Elmohr' (Loomis 1942)
AB
'Conjuration' (Byers 1989)
TB
'Redrock Princess' (Witt 2006)
MTB
'Gypsy Lord' (Keppel 2006)
TB
Last in bloom were 'Lady of the Night', and a rather stunted-looking 'Beverly Sills' that closed on June 8, ending the season here.

 Tom Waters

January 2012

Updated June 2012

 

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Unless otherwise noted, all text and illustrations copyright Tom Waters and all photographs copyright Tom or Karen Waters. Please do not reproduce without permission.