Are they really all REALLY different? Well, no!

Hi all,

I'm of course wildly in love with the older
historic iris (pre-1940s), so that steers my
comments on iris in general.

Many iris are introduced that really, truly,
are too similar to others already out there.

If you read old AIS bulletins and such, you'll
see that there's a huge spread in how hybridizers
do things -- one might introduce 10% of what
they get, one might have acres, grow 10,000
seedlings, and introduce 10 out of those 10,000.

You can look at the Data Cards AIS uses, to see
some of the detail recorded for each cultivar.

Historic Iris Preservation Society has good info
on differentiating between similar cultivars -- 

Mike Lowe's older HIPS site is at
www.worldiris.com/public_html/level1/TOC.html

The current HIPS site is at
www.hips-roots.com

Phil Edinger (HIPS' ID master) has some articles
you can read on those sites, and in old copies
of ROOTS, the HIPS journal, on details to notice
to tell iris apart.

Grace Sturtevant, who I adore, hybridized 
really amazing iris, and later advised people to
toss her earlier efforts (which earlier efforts
I really love).  She's kind of an awesome exception!

But reading old AIS bulletins you'll see periodic
"we're introducing too many too-similar cultivars"
discussions.  Personally, I think this is more
true *now* when the iris field has gotten much
bigger than in the historic past.

And by the way, you're not alone in beginning-ness -- 
In 1999 when I first met Mary Hess (Bluebird Haven,
she told me the iris I'd gotten from my late Ma's
garden in New Jersey was INDIAN CHIEF, Ayres 1929),
I blithely asked her, "so, do you have other iris
like this one?"  She said "huh?"  I said you know,
lighter top and darker bottom (a bitone).  She
looked sympathetically at me.  A zillion iris
are bitones!  The eye does learn.

Gesine


       
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