Re: CULT: Blooming White

Hi Everyone,

I'm delurking for a second because I saw Jan's comments about doing a survey 
on irises turning white.

I just happened to be looking over some back issues of ROOTS (HIPS 
newsletter) when I saw an article by George R. Stritikus called "Old Iris 
Turning White" (Spring '90).  He says, "When I first came to work with 
extension as a home grounds horticulturist, several people told me that their 
old iris had turned white.  I knew from genetics classes and from my 
gardening experience that this could not be!"  But he goes on to say that he 
himself saw a case of this happening:  "Three large beds . . . had been 
purple for six or so years previously. This spring, however, almost every 
plant had bloomed white.  No gradual takeover here, and the same explanation 
won't work."  

I suppose it could be a "round up thing", but Stritikus goes on to say that 
the purple was "decidedly an old form" and the white was "uncomfortably like 
a modern hybrid."  Wow.  Interesting.  The same issue included articles about 
cultivars famous for spontaneous sporting (like Kaleidoscope/Honorabile).  So 
I started wondering if there were some variety that commonly sports to white 
that could be responsible for this.  But Stritikus didn't seem to think that 
changing form was a normal way for iris to sport.  I personally have never 
seen it happen and that doesn't seem to be a story attached to gardening lore 
in my area.  But it's certainly an interesting mystery.

Mary Forte, Atascadero, CA, Zone 9 where a few last stalks are hanging in 
there and I finally found the right CORALIE--stunning.

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