Garden Status in Spring

I walked through my garden, not to pull weeds or pursue other tasks, just to see what was happening. A routine status check can be useful in establishing priorities for the next stretch of sunny days.

Roses

These plants are coming into bloom rather late, compared to roses in warmer areas. The Monterey Bay Rose Society held their annual Rose Show May 4th when my roses were definitely not ready for display. They seem to be coming along just fine, however.

I always anticipate the display of one rose in my garden, a very vigorous rambler (R. mulligani) that blooms in the summer, after other roses, or that I learnt reading online in different blogs such as the andersfogh site that have information about this or many subjects. As described by Christine Allen of Great Plant Picks, “Although its individual flowers are small and single, they appear in such huge, pendent trusses that they cover the entire plant and cast their fruity fragrance far across the garden.”  

Irises

The irises also seem to be a bit later than usual. The American Rose Society’s annual convention (San Ramon, late April) included a tour of Jim & Irene Cummins’ exceptional iris garden in Scotts Valley, which are taken care of with the use of gardening tools from https://www.trimmeradviser.com/. The garden was dazzling as always and the tour was successful, but not all the plants had reached their bloom peak. In my garden, I’ve developed a swath of a prize-winning bright yellow iris, That’s All Folks, with a complementary swath of blue irises. I had to learn how to use a battery leaf blower and turns out is very practical. The idea worked only half-way because the blue irises didn’t bloom at the same time. Maybe next year.

IIris and Geranium Blossoms
Hybrid Tall Bearded Iris ‘That’s All Folks’, with Geranium maderense in background

The Monterey Bay Iris Society had its annual show on May 4th (same day as the rose show), so my yellow irises at least were blooming on schedule. Iris expert Joe Ghio reported an exceptional year for irises, with peak blooms around May 10th.  He provided these culture tips for this time:

“Snap out or cut out spent stalks and dig pesky weeds. If you want to give your irises a bit of a boost, sprinkle a LIGHT, emphasis light, application of a balanced fertilizer. You can give a regular watering up to late June.”

I will do that!

Lavender

My Mediterranean Basin garden has numerous lavenders, which are iconic plants for that part of the world. Happily, they were cut back at the right time and are now setting a proliferation of buds that will provide color and fragrance during the coming weeks. Lavenders perform reliably and well when they are treated well. The recommended treatment includes full sun, minimal irrigation, and timely pruning, twice each year. The first pruning is promptly after the first flowering, and the second is in late August after the last flush has faded. Cut back about two-thirds of the plant’s height and do not cut into the woody part of the stems.

Salvias

I wrote recently about a seasonal hard pruning of the many salvias in my garden. I did not prune some selected plants for various reasons, but the pruned plants now are already generating new growth. When they bloom, I will resume my project to identify and map the plants that I don’t already recognize.

Meanwhile, I have been learning about the pruning requirements for four kinds of salvias:

  • Deciduous or semi-evergreen types with soft stems, e.g., Mexican Bush Sage (S. leucantha);
  • Deciduous, woody-stem varieties, e.g., Autumn Sage (S. greggii);
  • Evergreen, woody species (the largest category in my garden), e.g., Karwinski’s Sage (S. karwinskii); and
  • Rosette-growing, herbaceous perennials, e.g., Hummingbird Sage (S. spathacea).

For more on this topic, visit the Flowers of the Sea website. Very helpful!

Some time ago, for my South African garden, I planted a Beach Salvia (S. Africana-lutea), one of the evergreen and woody kind. It grew enormously wide among other plants, so I decided to cut it back severely and control its re-growth. After some serious pruning, we discovered that some of the plant’s lower branches had rooted and established new plants, so that its several offspring created the overall width. I now need to reduce my Beach Salvia grove to create room for other plants.

I have another South African salvia, Blue African Sage (S. Africana caerulea), which doesn’t grow quite as large as the Beach Salvia. One can control the size and form of both of these South African species at any time of the year by cutting back the oldest wood.

On a future occasion, I will survey the status of several other plants that grow in quantity in my garden. All gardeners should consider an occasional unhurried survey of their gardens to gain familiarity with what is going on and planning for future maintenance and improvement. A well-known principal of workplace supervision is “management by walking around.” The same idea applies to the garden. The good news is that the gardener can conduct this supervisory function while carrying a beverage of your choice.

Navigating a Garden Exchange

Tomorrow, the Santa Cruz Garden Exchange will have its last session for the season. The Exchange convened monthly during this year, providing opportunities for gardeners to share lots of surplus plants, plus some fruits, vegetables and garden pots.

Garden exchanges are a fine tradition for gardeners who find they have more plants than they want or need, don’t want to open a mini-nursery business, and can’t bear to discard healthy specimens.

The reciprocal benefit flows to other gardeners who enjoy receiving free plants that thrive in the local climate, and broadening their gardening experience with varieties they might not have encountered previously.

Some participants fill both roles, and can’t decide whether it’s better to give than to receive, or the other way around.

In this column, we explore the botanical context of the traditional garden exchange, where one might encounter many different plants.

Rarities

There are around 400,000 species of flowering plants (angiosperms), according to a team of botanists from around the world, including leaders from the Royal Botanic Gardens herbarium at Kew in London, and the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. A good number of these plants are considered rare, but that’s a subjectively defined category, and there are almost as many lists as gardeners. To check out the range of nominees, search the Internet for “rare plants.”

Plants are considered rare for various reasons: not yet discovered in the wild; discovered but not distributed by commercial nurseries; not garden-worthy (according to some arbitrary definitions); difficult to grow (this depends a lot on location); endangered as a result of human action, e.g., habitat loss.

Some gardeners seek rare plants for bragging rights or cultivation challenges.

Unfamiliar or Unusual

This category relates to the individual gardeners: what is unusual to one might be a favorite to another. This past week, I attended an expert presentation on Ariocarpus, which is a small genus of succulent, subtropical plants in the cactus family (Cactaceae). They grow in limestone hills in the south of Texas and the north of Mexico. These plants were certainly new to me, but a longstanding interest to the speaker and a few other members of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society. We all learned these unusual plants are actually easy to grow when given acidic water.

The challenge of cultivating other unusual plants generally involves providing their native conditions. For example, I have been fascinated by Brazil’s giant rhubarb (Gunnera manicata), which has enormous leaves, and wanted to include it in my garden, but this is a plant that requires a lot of water. A local friend is growing it successfully, but he has an on-site water source.

Some mail-order nurseries offer unusual varieties, either as seeds or small plants, so adventurous gardeners will have little difficulty in finding something different. They might be pricey, but that’s part of the enterprise.

Familiar

We find this category of plants in local garden centers and most mail-order catalogs. We need not dwell on this category here, except to acknowledge that it represents the mainstay of residential gardens.

Pass-along Plants

These are the desirable plants often found in traditional garden exchanges. They are garden-worthy and typically very easily grown.

We could include a long list of plants in this category. Here is a typical list of pass-along plants:

  • Daffodil
  • Spider lily
  • Canna
  • Daylily
  • Crinum
  • Iris
  • Camellia
  • Gardenia
  • Ginger Lily
A tall bearded variety of iris, a popular pass-along plants, especially in the fall,
when gardeners dig and divide their iris rhizomes.

Invasives

Our last category to consider consists of the overly zealous propagators. They are sometimes called “vigorous spreaders,” a polite term for plants that will take over your garden, when given a chance.  Many plants belong in this category, and they might show up in a garden exchange, so be on your guard. I once brought home an attractive succulent plant identified as a Bryophyllum. Something new! When I searched for it on the Internet, however, I discovered that its common name is “Mother of Thousands,” and a closely related plant is called “Mother of Millions.” I did not add that plant to my garden.

The Santa Cruz Garden Exchange will occur at 8:00 a.m., Saturday, October 27, 2018, at the Live Oak Grange Hall, 1900 17th Ave. Santa Cruz. The available plants (all free) will include a good supply of high-quality iris rhizomes, to be planted soon so they could establish roots during the coming rainy season. This is the last opportunity this season to participate in this great tradition for home gardeners. Arrive early!

Gorgeous Irises on Show

A photo of a new iris caught my eye. I learned it is the recent accomplishment of a local iris hybridizer, Jim Cummins, who is a stalwart of the Monterey Bay Iris Society and long-time friend.

Cummins’ Iris Seedling

The iris is so new it doesn’t even have a name; it’s referred to only as “Seedling 14-21-C, TB”, indicating that it is a Tall Bearded Iris. The numbers suggest that this is one of a large number of seedlings.

Hybridizing irises involves a process that is essentially the same in hybridizing other plants. First, the hybridizer selects two plants that have desirable characteristics that would be good to combine in one plant. Characteristics might relate to flower form, height, plant vigor, color, beards, ruffles, or ability to re-bloom, i.e., produce a second flush of bloom.

The hybridizer then transfers pollen from the three anthers of one plant, the pollen parent, to the three stigmas of the other plant, the pod parent. These can be called the ”father” and “mother” plants if preferred. Some hybridizers will transfer pollen with a cotton swab, paintbrush, pencil or knife; others will use tweezers to actually remove the anther and bring it to the stigma. This simple process can be seen on YouTube demonstrations.

Detailed record keeping is important so that the parents of an exceptional new plant will be known.

Then, assuming fertilization is successful, the pod parent produces a seedpod. When it matures, the hybridizer harvests and plants the seeds, and waits to see what results.

Even a little familiarity with genetics suggests that this process is chancy. The progeny might be exactly what the hybridizer intended, or any of a wide range of other outcomes that are more or less successful. The hybridizer might propagate the best results, register a name with the American Iris Society, and introduce the plant into the commercial market.

The Cummins seedling 14-21-C, TB has noteworthy parents, ’Luxuriant Lothario’ and ‘That’s All Folks’.

Barry Blyth registered ‘Luxuriant Lothario’ in 2008. His description includes these comments: “Bright and showy for sure. Standards are buff apricot with a slight violet flush at midrib. Falls are bright lilac with a well-defined 3/8″ edge of tan to tan violet. Beards are muted burnt tangerine. Ruffled and waved petals.”

In 2005, William Maryott registered ‘That’s All Folks’, his last introduction before retiring. This plant has been described as follows: “Midseason bloom. Standards brilliant gold; falls white with gold blending to a wide muted gold band; beards gold. Honorable Mention 2007; Award of Merit 2009; Wister Medal 2011; American Dykes Medal 2013.” Local hybridizer Joe Ghio reportedly bred this plant and registered a sibling named ‘Pure and Simple’ in 2005.

‘That’s All Folks’ is a favorite of mine; I am developing a swath of its brilliantly colored blossoms, and planning a companion planting of an appropriate blossom color.

A large group of gardeners is hybridizing irises, and gorgeous cultivars by the thousands are available. A fine time to see some of the newest and best is at the annual Iris Show presented by the Monterey Bay Iris Society. This year’s Show will be at the Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz, on April 28th and 29th. The public is invited to attend the show from 1:00 –6:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10:00 – 5:00 on Sunday.

The Show offers an ideal occasion to see some of the finest flowers grown by local gardeners, and to make notes on plants to add to your own garden. Opportunities to purchase your favored plants will be at the Society’s annual sale of iris rhizomes on August 4th at August 4 at Deer Park Shopping Center in Aptos and on August 11 at the Cabrillo Farmers Market.

Choose your favorite irises now, shop in August, and plant in September.

Alternatives to Trendy Plants

When thinking about irises, gardeners—and all garden groupies—envision the tall bearded varieties. Decades of hybridizers have tweaked these plants to produce luscious colors, fascinating forms, great productivity and disease resistance. They are excellent plants that are easy to grow and great assets in the landscape.

The same can be said of roses and tulips, which include popular garden selections that have been hybridized through multiple generations to produce qualities that qualify them as “super plants.”

The hybridizers are creative, imaginative, and extraordinarily painstaking and patient as they build upon past successes and pursue horticultural perfection, the definition of which continues to evolve.

Home gardeners who enjoy these plants can be drawn into the endless process of acquiring the latest introductions featured in each season’s mail-order catalog photos. Each offers something a bit different and better than its predecessors.

For many gardeners, this process can be absorbing and defining of the essence of gardening.

Consider an adventuresome alternative: stepping off the bandwagon and exploring the vast array of related, less fashionable plants that can be equally beautiful with a more natural look, often relatively free of pests and diseases, and invariably less expensive.

Roses

When it comes to roses, look for the “own-root” selections. These are plants that are grown from cuttings and do have developed their own roots, rather than being grafted on a rootstock such as “Dr. Huey.” These are often historic varieties or stable hybrids. The advantages of own-root roses over grafted roses include greater cold-hardiness, shapelier (because they do not grow from a graft), and complete absence of rootstock suckers. Mail-order sources of own-root roses include Heirloom Roses, High County Gardens, David Austin and others.

Photo of a Pink Rose Blossom

Rosa ‘Mary Rose’ by David Austin Roses

Irises

Alternatives to the tall bearded hybrids include the beardless varieties. The America Iris Society identifies many species of breadless irises, organized in several series within subsections. For an excellent overview of beardless irises, search for Ben Hager’s article, “Beardless Iris,” on the Pacific Horticulture magazine website.

One series listed by the AIS, Series Californicae, may be of particular interest to readers of this column. Most of the species in this series are referred to collectively as Pacific Coast Irises (PCIs), because they are native to and grow well in coastal habitats, like the Monterey Bay area. Right now is the ideal time to plant PCIs.

Local hybridizer, Joe Ghio, has created many new PCI cultivars and won numerous national awards for his introductions. His catalog of both tall bearded irises and PCIs is available for $3 from Bay View Gardens, 1201 Bay St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Tulips

The several groups of hybrid tulips include Darwins, Triumphs, Fosterianas, Gregeiis, Kaufmannias, Viridifloras, and others. These groups include many hundreds of cultivars that could overwhelm the most avid collector. All produce uniquely gorgeous blossoms, require a winter dormant period for reliable bloom, and attract gophers. Alternatives to these very popular plants, especially for areas without several weeks of cold weather, are called the species tulips. These are “the little bulbs that have given rise to all the big showy hybrids.” These smaller plants are native to areas around the Mediterranean Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, or Asia Minor, and grow fine in the Monterey Bay area.

Species tulips that are good selections for the Monterey Bay area’s moderate climate include Tulip sylvestris (Europe), T. bakeri “Lilac Wonder” (Crete), T. clusiana var. chrysantha and “Lady Jane” (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan), and T. saxatilis (Crete).

Most mail-order sources of tulips, daffodils and other geophytes usually also offer species tulips. Look for them in the catalogs of McClure & Zimmerman, Van Engelen, Brett & Becky’s Bulbs, John Scheepers, and others.

Spring Show of Tall Bearded Irises

The tall bearded iris is among the most rewarding drought-tolerant plants, and right now is the ideal time to plan for irises in your garden.

Big Picture (Ghio, 2014)

Big Picture (Introduced by hybridizer Joe Ghio, 2014)

There are several iris genera and species, and several varieties of the bearded iris. The tall bearded iris is the most popular variety, the result of the past fifty or so years of hybridizing. The hybridizers’ patience and creativity have yielded an amazing range of colors, color combinations, patterns and blossom forms, as well as plants with great vigor, productivity and in some cases repeat blooming.

The early fall is the time to plant irises, but they are blooming now, in the early spring, making this the time to learn about the varieties and choose plants to add to your garden.

The occasion for this timely and enjoyable pursuit is the Monterey Bay Iris Society’s annual show, scheduled for this weekend. This event features the best plants grown by local gardeners. There are a few “ringers” among those displaying their plants (people who grow irises commercially), but they are also locals and active participants in the Society’s ongoing educational programs.

A room full of top quality irises can be overwhelming to those not already familiar with these striking plants, and perhaps intimidating. You might even think, “How could I grow such impressive plants?” A good defense to such feelings is to read “How to Grow Tall Bearded Iris,” which is freely available online from the MBIS.

This two-page tutorial will make clear that irises are among the easiest great garden plants to cultivate and provide the confidence to bring them to your garden.

Another very good preparation for this show is to look through the Show Program, which is also available online from the MBIS. This eight-page document is packed with information about the categories of irises in the show, the exhibition rules, and the awards to be won. The Show Program provides an excellent orientation to the blossoms to be seen at the show.

The Program also includes information about membership in the MBIS and a calendar of the Society’s sales in June and July, anticipating planting in August and September.

This show is conducted according to the rules of the American Iris Society, and a team of expert judges will evaluate the blossoms. This process occurs on Saturday morning, before the show is open to the public, so visitors will see which blossoms have received first, second or third place awards. Visitors to the show are invited to vote for the People’s Choice Award.

Irises can beautify your garden!

If You Go

What: Spring Iris Show: “2016 Spring Rainbow”

Who: Monterey Bay Iris Society

When: Saturday, April 23, 1:00 to 6:00 and Sunday, April 24, 10:00 to 5:00

Where: Louden Nelson Community Center 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA

Admission: Free for all visitors

Information: “How to Grow Tall Bearded Iris” and Show Program: http://www.montereybayiris.org/

Dormant Season Only for Plants

Some might regard November as the beginning of the dormant season, with little or nothing for gardeners to do until spring. Not true!

Beginning now, we can pursue selected gardening projects will pay off later in the year. Still, the garden does not demand intensive work and daily dedication by the gardener during this season. It’s quite all right to take time off to celebrate the holidays, avoid nasty weather, and otherwise enjoy life’s many pleasures out of the garden.

There are many good gardening projects to do now in the garden; let’s consider three projects that are worth attention during November.

Plant Cool-season Ornamentals and Edibles

Visit your local nursery for cool-season flowers, e.g., pansies, calendula, candytuft, foxgloves, snapdragons, stock, sweet peas, and sweet alyssum.

Plant seedlings of cool season vegetable such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, chard, lettuces and greens, cabbage, potatoes, radishes, peas, bunching onions, and spinach.

Look for six-packs of seedlings at garden centers or farmer’s markets.

Plant Pacific Coast Irises

Several beardless iris species are native to the Pacific coast. Because they cross with each other freely, they are often referred to either as PCIs or Pacific Coast Hybrids (PCHs). Most common locally is the Douglas Iris (I. Douglasiana), named for David Douglas (1799-1834), who was the first botanist to describe this plant as it grew in the Monterey Bay area.

PCIs can be grown from seed, but more often from divisions. After listing a mature PCI clump, pull the stalks apart and store them in water for a few days as they develop white roots at least a half-inch long. Then, plant the divisions and keep them moist until four new leaves appear. Seasonal rains could be sufficient to establish the divisions.

Move Perennials and Shrubs

Plants vary in their ability to tolerate relocation. Roses and hydrangeas, for example, adapt quickly and easily to being moved, although they appreciate careful handling: lifted without being damaged, moved to a hospitable location (full sun for roses; morning sun and afternoon shade for hydrangeas), and watered in.

Generally, it is easy to move plants that tolerate rejuvenation pruning, e.g., abelia, dogwood, honeysuckle, hydrangea, lilac, mallow, penstemon, rose, Rose-of-Sharon, salvia, spirea and many others.

Shrubs with fine root systems, e.g., azaleas and rhododendrons, do not respond well to being moved.

For information on specific plants, search the Internet using the plant’s common or botanical name. Visit ongardening.com for successful search methods.

At this time of the year, plants are dormant, but not gardeners!

More

The Yerba Buena Nursery website has a helpful pruning calendar for California native plants.

The National Gardening Association has brief but solid advice on dividing perennials.

SF Gate has suggestions for adding edible perennials to your garden. Right now is a good time. Some recommended plants might be unfamiliar: tree kale, yacon, ground cherries, chayote and banana passionfruit (Passiflora mollissima). Still, they might be turn out to be welcome new “friends.”

Master Gardener Marie Iannotti, writing on Ask.com, offers a good overview of pruning for several categories of garden plants.

To find information about specific plants in your garden, start by learning their botanical names. (Search ongardening.com for more information on botanical names.)

Then, using Google or another search engine search for the botanical name of the plant, plus “cultivate” or a more specific verb representing want you want to know. Include the variety name, when you know it. Examples:

Rosa minutifolia transplant

Hydrangea paniculata divide

Salvia greggii ‘Heatwave Glimmer’ prune

 

Sizes of Irises

We are in iris planting season, made apparent by the annual sales of the Monterey Bay Iris Society and the deluge of catalogs from iris growers.

Iris family (Iridaceae) is huge, with about 2,000 species distributed among 65 genera. The bearded irises, the most popular form, are hybrids based on the German Iris (I. germanica), the Sweet Iris (I. pallida) and the Hungarian Iris (I. variegata). Bearded irises are available in many sizes, colors, color combination and blossom types, thanks to the tireless work of professional and amateur hybridizers.

Today, we review the six horticultural classifications of the bearded iris, both to broaden appreciation of this popular garden plant and to suggest landscaping opportunities.

Miniature Dwarf Bearded Iris (MDB): These are smallest (up to eight inches tall), and earliest to bloom, with the crocus and dwarf daffodil. Each plant produces multiple stems, providing a great display that lasts for weeks.

Tall Bearded (TB): These, the largest and most popular of the bearded irises, grow to 27.5 tall and more. They are the last to bloom.

Medians: there are four “medians,” all created by crossing MDBs and TBs.

  • Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris (SDB): Eight to sixteen inches tall. Blooms after the MDBs. As edging plants, they make a charming display. Their popularity with gardeners and hybridizers is growing, and new hybrids are appearing in great numbers.
  • Intermediate Bearded Iris (IDB): Sixteen to 27.5 inches tall. Blooms over a long period, beginning after the SDBs and continuing during the TBs. These provide welcome smaller versions of the TBs for a different look in the garden.
  • Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB): Also sixteen to 27.5 inches tall; blooms with the BBs and TBs, but produces smaller blooms. The MTB’s smaller flowers are perfect for smaller gardens and a more delicate look.
  • Border Bearded (BB): Also sixteen to 27.5 inches tall; blooms late, with the TBs. This classification’s name suggests its role: these irises are desirable for the garden bed border, compact and floriferous, with ample colors and color combinations to support creative color effects in the landscape.

This quick review of the several kinds of bearded irises is drawn from Kelly Norris’s new book, “A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts.”

Last week, I mentioned the Annual Rhizome Sale of the Monterey Bay Iris Society, Saturday, August 10th (that’s today, from 9:00 to noon!). Visit the sale at Aptos Farmer’s Market, Cabrillo College, Aptos. It’s an exceptional opportunity to add tall bearded irises to your garden at very low cost, and chat with local iris enthusiasts.

More

Good mail order suppliers of iris rhizomes

Schreiner’s Iris Gardens, near Salem, Oregon

Keith Keppel Iris, Salem, Oregon

Fred Kerr’s Rainbow Acres, North Highlands, California

Aitken’s Salmon Creek Gardens, Vancouver, Washington

Books on Irises (most available through Amazon.com)

The Iris Family: Natural History and Classification, by Peter Goldblatt and John C. Manning   2008

Irises, by James Parry           2006

Classic Irises And the Men And Women Who Created Them, by Clarence Mahan             2006

Irises: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia, by Claire Austin             2005

Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots, by Nora Harlow, Kristin Jakob     2004

Iris, by Theodore James , with Harry Haralambou            203

Irises, by Sidney Linnegar, Jennifer Hewitt            2003

Iris: The Classic Bearded Varieties, by Claire Austin            2002

The Gardener’s Iris Book, by William Shear            2002

The Siberian Iris, by Currier McEwen, with Jean G. Witt   1996

The World of Irises, by Bee Warburton, Beatrice A. Warburton and Melba Hamblen (Eds.)   1978

The Iris Book, by Molly Price            1972

The genus Iris, by G. I. Rodionenko   1961

Iris culture and Hybridizing for Everyone, by Wilma Vallette         1961

The Iris, by N. Leslie Cave     1959

Iris for Every Garden, by Sydney B. Mitchell           1949

Irises. Their Culture And Selection, by Gwendolyn Anley    1946

The Iris: A Treatise on the History, Development, and Culture of the Iris for the Amateur Gardener, by John Caspar Wister    1930

The genus Iris, by William Rickatson Dykes            1913

 

 

 

Time to Plant a Rainbow

I mentioned recently that the imminent annual rhizome sales by the Monterey Bay Iris Society. If you made notes, you know that the first of two sales happens today, at the Deer Park Center in Aptos. If you didn’t write a reminder to yourself, by the time you read this, you missed it.

Happily, the second sale is a week away, at August 11th at the Aptos Farmer’s Market, located at Cabrillo College. For details, visit http://www.montereybayiris.org.

These sales are very popular: the rhizomes are favorably priced and sell quickly. Their popularity begins with the plants themselves, which most gardeners find both easy to grow and stunningly beautiful. The extraordinary range of colors—and color combinations—that iris blossoms display have earned the plant’s name, which comes from the Greek word for the rainbow.

Iris hybridizers search diligently for new colors, color combinations, patterns and textures, at the same time striving to improve the species in terms of blossom size, number of blossoms, overall form, vigor, resistance to disease and other traits.

The hybridizing process, like that of all flowering plants, seeks to combine the desirable characteristics of two plants. For example, one might have blossoms with very beautiful colors while the other has attractively ruffled blossoms. The hybridizer transfers pollen from the anther of one plant (the pollen parent) to the stigmatic lip of the other plant (the seed parent), plants the resulting seeds and evaluates the progeny. It is up to the plants to produce new plants with a marketable combination of features.

The result of this continuing quest for improvement is an ever-expanding multitude of named varieties and the evolving opportunity for the iris fancier to add to his or her collection. Each year brings new introductions with unique names.

All the new hybrid plants do not combine the desired characteristics as the hybridizer intended. Each trial inevitably yields many new plants that do not improve upon their parents. The hybridizer does not offer such seedling as new named introductions, so we who buy irises for our gardens see only very attractive plants. The “duds” are discarded.

Most hybrid irises are descended from one of just three species in the genus Iris: the German Iris (I. germanica), the Sweet Iris (I. pallida) or the Hungarian Iris (I. variegata), all of which are categorized as “tall bearded” irises. The hybrids of these species number in the thousands—and counting—but the genus includes about 300 species. Gardeners who appreciate the unique form and stunning range of colors of the iris have ample opportunities to look beyond the popular hybrids and explore the long list of naturally occurring species.

More

Iris Cultivation
The websites of the American Iris Society and the Monterey Bay Iris Society provide detailed information on the cultivation of irises.

Mail Order Sources of Tall Bearded Irises (West Coast Growers)

Aitken’s Salmon Creek Garden, Vancouver, WA
www.flowerfantasy.net

Bay View Gardens
(our friend Joe Ghio)
1210 Bay Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Cadd’s Beehive Iris Garden
(our friends Anna & David Cadd)
Healdsburg, CA
(707) 433–8633; caddiris@comcast.net

Fred Kerr’s Rainbow Acres
North Highlands, CA
www.rainbowacresonline.com

His Iris Garden
Merced, CA
www.hisirisgarden.com

Iris Fan, The
Albany, OR
www.theirisfan.com

Keith Keppel
P.O. Box 18154, Salem, OR 97305

Lauer’s Flowers
Independence, OR
lauersiris.com

Napa Country Iris Gardens
Napa, CA
www.napairis.com

Nola’s Iris Garden
San Jose, CA
(408) 929–6307; info@walking-p-bar.com

Pleasant Valley Iris Farm
Vacaville, CA
(707) 451–3367

Snowpeak Iris and Daylilies
Lebanon, OR
www.snowpeakiris.com

Scheiner’s Iris Gardens
Salem, OR
schreinersgardens.com

Superstition Iris Gardens
Cathy’s Valley, CA
community.webshots.com/user/rickt103

Sutton’s Iris Gardens
Porterville, CA
suttoniris.com

Wildwood Gardens
Molalla, OR
www.wildwoodgardens.net

Mail Order Sources of Species Irises
Note: Most growers carry at least a few species irises in addition to the ever-popular hybrid tall bearded irises (called TBDs). The growers listed below place greater emphasis on the many alternatives to the tall bearded irises.

Draycott Gardens (beardless irises)
Upperco, MD
www.draycott-gardens.com

Eartheart Gardens (Siberian & Japanese Irises)
Harpswell, ME
www.EartheartGardens.com

Ensata Gardens (Japanese Irises)
Galesburg, MI
www.ensata.com

Iris City Gardens (Siberian, Louisiana and other beardless species)
Primm Springs, TN
222.iriscitygardens.com

Iris Haven (Louisiana Iris)
Australia
www.irishaven.com.au

Wildwood Gardens
Molalla, OR
www.wildwoodgardens.net