Beverly Sills and Edith Wolford

In a message dated 96-12-12 21:18:34 EST, new member Patricia Roberson wrote:

<<  Some of my named TB's which bloomed so well in 1995 (SILVERADO,
 BEVERLY SILLS, EDITH WOLFORD, PLAYGIRL) took a year off. >>

First, I would like to join those welcoming you to the list, Patricia.
 Second, I would like to comment on your experience with the three irises
which did well for you the first year, but not the second year.  I have never
grown PLAYGIRL, and cannot comment on it from lst hand experience.  But, I
have grown BEVERLY SILLS and EDITH WOLFORD since they were lst introduced. 

BEVERLY SILLS and EDITH WOLFORD are very beautiful, but my experience, and
the experience of some other irisarians I know, has been that they are
examples of cultivars which will do well only every two or three years.  In
the years they give good performance they tend for me to give exceptionally
wonderful performance, blooming on every rhizome, and sometimes giving more
than one stalk per rhizome.  They seem to "bloom out", making next years
performance poor, or often, nothing.  They seem to do a little better when
they are divided every year, but the degree of "better" is marginal.

I was sorry to see these two irises win the Dykes Medal, and am amazed  to
see them continue to be at the top of the popularity Symposium.  But I have
imagined that they must perform differently in different climates.  Based on
my experience, however, I do not recommend them when people ask me for
suggestions for good garden cultivars.  VANITY, one of the parents of BEVERLY
SILLS, is a great pink iris which performs well for me every year.  And as
for the yellow/blue violet combination, it is hard to beat the old BETTY
SIMON as a great garden performer.

Clarence Mahan in Virginia
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