Re: Louisianas- Favorites? and Rebloomers?

Hello Donald Mosser (and others):

You asked about favorite Louisiana Irises (LA's), so I'm going to jump in
and list a few.  [However, as every iris enthusiast knows, every single
iris cultivar has its strong points and weak ones!]

Here's some of my favorites:

ACADIAN MISS (Arny)--a beautiful and, for me, vigorous one.  White flower
which does not fully open, so it has a graceful cupped form.  Many good
compliments from garden visitors...plus it usually wins a blue ribbon for
me at our local show.

NOBLE MOMENT (Morgan)--This is a really pretty blue.  I'm not good at
describing blues (or any other color for that matter!), but it is a blue
that is pretty for my taste.  Plus, it presents lots of buds, and the
secondary bud placement is good.  I find this a reliable bloomer for me.

DURAL WHITE BUTTERFLY (Taylor of Australia)--It took two years for this
cultivar to settle down in my country garden.  But, when it did--the bloom
production was great...and the overall landscape effect was great!

JERI (Bertinot)--A wonderful dark purple iris.  This iris won the Deballion
Medal recently...and I pleased to say I voted for Jeri for the Dykes this
year!  This iris has always bloomed for me...in both my city garden at home
and the rural country garden (which gets less attention, and lower winter
temps).  This year I picked about 6 stalks of Jeri and about 6 stalks of
Dural White Butterfly--and took them to my office where I made a
spectacular arrangement that became the center of conversation among my
coworkers!  It was so dramatic--that combination of dark purple and ruffled
pristine white!  Wow!  (OK, OK -- I'll spare you the exclamation points
henceforth.)

COUNT PULASKI (Chowning)--Hybridized by the late Frank Chowning of Little
Rock, this iris is named after the Polish Count who fought in the
Revolutionary War--and the namesake for the county in which Little Rock is
located.  I like this iris for several reasons--not the least of which
being its early bloom.  Often this is the first LA to bloom in my garden.
Second, it has very nice form...quite graceful--no ruffling here, and the
bloom segments are tailored.  But, this smallish buff brownish red
flower--with a greenish yellow infusion near the throat--looks a lot better
in reality than in verbal description [!].

DIXIE DEB (Chowning)--Another tailored, older variety (introduced in the
early 1950s), D. D. is a real winner in both the garden and on the show
bench.  It is a tall yellow, with smallish flowers.  The local flower
arrangers (including me) love this flower because it looks so graceful in
an arrangement.

CHERRY CUP (Morgan)--This is what one would call a red LA.  But, in fact,
as with all irises, it is not a true red...but a rust red.  This flower
really bloomed well for me this year, despite our record cold last winter.

SEA WISP (Rowlan)--This pale blue is well named. It is a small, wispish
flower, with good pastel coloring.  It stands up gracefully in the
landscape.

This list is off the top of my head, and if I looked at my garden bloom
notes, I'm sure I'd add many others to the list.  But, nevertheless, I
heartily recommend any of these cultivars.

Tom Dillard
Little Rock, Arkansas
Zone 7B
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