Re: Identification of Irises -- a few beginner questions
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Identification of Irises -- a few beginner questions
- From: R* T* D* <r*@sierratel.com>
- Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 12:02:30 -0600 (MDT)
Katherine Salter wrote:
>
> Hi Folks
>
> I am new to this list and have been fascinated by your discussions of
> various irises. I am a beginning gardener with a love of irises -- my
> mother used to grow huge stands of tall-bearded iris. Anyway -- I have
> 8 - 10 different bearded irises in my garden right now (among others)
> and my question is, how do I identify them specifically, by name or
> number. Is there a good picture source I might check out? They weren't
> labelled by name or number when I purchased them, and some of them came
> from a friend of the family some years ago -- she didn't know what they
> were beyond "bearded".
>
> Also, could you please recommend a good book to read as a starting
> point? I have picked up a couple of books but they seemed to assume a
> level of knowledge somewhat beyond my own and I feel in need of a good
> "primer".
>
> My thanks in advance for your kind assistance.
>
> Katherine
Dear Katherine,
It has been mentioned previously on this list that approximately 45,000
iris have been registered with the American Iris Society (AIS). As you
can imagine the process of identifying your iris could get quite
involved especially if they are not too distinctive. If they are
"selfs", that is a flower of entirely one color such as yellow, pink,
blue etc.. then you may as well forget even trying as there can be
literally hundreds, maybe thousands of this color. On the other hand,
if there is something distinctive about your iris say a stripe down the
middle of the petal or a band around the petals then your chances of
identification increase. The AIS have for sale their registration books
going back to 1939. They issue one for each decade, that is 1939, 1949
etc for the entire decade. These Registration & Introduction books give
an alphabetical listing of every iris registered with them and a written
description, except for the 1939 and 1949 which has a chart to translate
colors. In between decades a yearly book is issued for registrations for
the current year. Probably more than you wanted to know.
Also, if your iris are fairly modern(within the last 25 years), their
are many growers who issue color catalogs.
The AIS also sells a Basic Iris Culture booklet which covers all aspects
of growing, showing and hybridizing. They also have a more extensive
book called The World of Iris which is more detailed and goes into the
evolution of our modern hybrids.
If you are not a member of the AIS you should consider joining. They
issue a Bulletin quarterly which discusses many topics concerning the
iris, usually with some color photos. To join send 18.00 single, 43.00
for 3 years to Marilyn Harlow, PO Box 8455, San Jose CA 95155.
Rick Tasco
Superstition Iris Gardens
Central California
Zone 8
