Re: CULT: Bloom Report

Hi Don,
The one with six falls sounds interesting to me. I do not think I have heard of one of those with broken color. Could be fun just to play with. I just got my first SDB's to bloom here. Now they are calling for possible freeze tomorrow. I hope not the plums are blooming and the peaches. I hope they are wrong things around here are trying to form buds.
Wendy and cold today but sunny.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Donald Eaves 
  To: iris-talk@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2001 11:17 AM
  Subject: Re: [iris-talk] CULT: Bloom Report


  Hello Folks,

  Well, as some you cooler climates begin your season, my own will be winding
  down.  It has been peak bloom since last weekend.  It is today as well, but
  there may not be much left after the window-rattling, battering wind we are
  having today.   The new says 35mph gusting to 43mph, but I suspect it is
  higher than that.  I'm hoping it doesn't snap off the stalks with pods.
  Still, for this part of Texas, it has been a banner year with not as many
  windy days as is usual here.  The result of the temperate weather we've is
  the best bloom season I'm ever likely to see.  So many things have done
  really well and look so good this year, it would be impossible to pick and
  choose between them.  The result was I went around daubing pollen like a
  crazed escapee from an asylum.  With wonderful results so far.  If the
  weather and bugs don't get too many, I'm going to have a bumper crop of
  seeds.

  A few I'll mention.  Not because they've done better than some others, but
  because they were just interesting to me this year.
  I've had trouble with the median class, but finally some seem to have
  established and gave me a wonderful contrast to the arilbreds and TBs that
  make most of the garden.  ZULA, a cultivar I struggled just to keep alive
  several seasons, finally took hold last year.  A clump just over a foot in
  diameter was a solid mat of tiny, straw colored blooms.  Still blooming, but
  it will finish this week.  Other medians that are doing very well after a
  difficult start are DARK WATERS, FROSTED VELVET (these did well last year
  and were better this year), BATIK, SHAMPOO and PEACHY FACE.  MOVE OVER has
  been the strongest of all the medians and it is just getting started.  16
  stalks on a small clump, so it will be nice later this week.  The other
  medians I grow are beginning to look better and a couple bloomed this year,
  so I'm hoping I'm finally getting the hang of what they like.

  MOCAMBO.  This TB is worth mentioning again this year.  For those who like
  the truly unique in appearance and also want one that is beautiful as well,
  I recommend this one.  It has done well, makes a show and isn't odd-looking
  as the description would hint at if you haven't seen it.  Not that it is
  wrong, just that it doesn't convey what a nice thing this plant really is.
  All the visitors liked this one.  It's not another look-alike and is not
  merely weird, either.

  SCARLET BUTTERFLY.  This old one, historic now, registered in 1960 has been
  a strong grower here.  But it didn't bloom 'til the third season here.  I
  got a basketful of bloom on the clump this year.  This has the truest red in
  the falls that I've seen on any iris.  Close to the shade of an almost ripe
  strawberry.  The standards remind me of apricot nectar with some strawberry
  juice thrown in.  The beard is surrounded by a strong white ray pattern on
  the upper third of the falls.  It gives no appearance of substance at all,
  but that has been deceptive.  Even today it is not shredding badly.  The
  form is very flaring for all the older form.  One of those 'light' blooms
  rather than a heavy one.  No ruffles, of course.  I liked this one a lot.

  EDENITE.  Another old one worth having around.  There are not going to be
  many irises with the glossy finish and rich color combination  this one has.
  The form is unique and looks right for the flower.  Branching is a bit
  bunchy, but I'll put up with a lot to get the rest of the show.

  THORNBIRD.  And why it probably won the Dykes medal.  Super growth, super
  abundant bloom. As well as everything else has done, nothing approaches it
  for stalk and bloom production.  If only one of the brighter, more colorful
  irises would perform the way this one has for me, I'd be ecstatic.  Nothing
  else will come close in terms of performance and I have a lot of good
  performance this year. One visitor was to taken with the clump, she took a
  load of pictures.  I'm sure the reason was the incredible number of stalks
  and blooms it has.  Still loaded and starting the third week of bloom.

  My seedlings.  What fun!  More than 90% will bloom.  The biggest surprise
  was they weren't dogs to a one.  In fact, comparing them to the store bought
  cultivars, they compared well for the most part.  Didn't find everything I
  was looking for, but then didn't have high expectations. One I didn't like
  at all was one of the most interesting.  A seedling from the cross between
  LADY FRIEND X SATAN'S MISTRESS produced a six fall, no standard broken color
  about 7-8 inches in diameter.  Yellow ground with broken color patches of
  rusty red, yellow style arms.  I thought the first bloom was probably due to
  freeze damage, but when all bloomed the same way, I wasn't so sure.  All the
  SM seedlings picked up the strong, dark colorfast influence except this one
  and one other.  Nice rich colors on nearly everything, clearly inherited
  from the pollen parent, no matter what the pod parent was.  Enough to make
  me look forward to seeing some more seedling bloom next year that also had
  SM for the pollen parent. Two pods that should be quarterbreds bloomed
  strongly.  With KOKO KNOLL as the pollen parent, they ended up similar in
  appearance, but didn't demonstrate much aril appearance.  Nor did they look
  like either the pod or pollen parent.  Not one.  The colors were a pastel
  range from pink through yellow to plum and even one white.  They have the
  strongest substance I've seen (maybe MOONRAKER has as much, though) and more
  ruffling than the TB pod parent.  Just about all have been strong growers,
  so they'll make lots of compost at some point.

  I hope everyone has the kind of season I've had this year.  Every year.

  Donald Eaves
  donald@eastland.net
  Texas Zone 7, USA


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