Re: CULT: The Very Best of Our Best

Select your 25 favorites??!!  Now that is a daunting task.  I had an Iris Round Robin friend who, some years ago, had to move from a place with a large yard and a few hundred iris to a small place where she could only take 20 rhizomes along.  Well, she said she fudged and took 25, but even so it was extremely hard for her.  She offered to send me as many as I wanted from her lists, and even choosing a dozen (didn't want to appear to be TOO greedy1) for real was hard.  If I could only take 25 from my present 500, it would be agonizing.  At least the current list is only academic, not a real "this is all you may have" choice.  I wonder if I could really do it.  Anyway, this is today's list, but I might have a different one tomorrow.
 
Siberians 
HELIOTROPE BOUQUET-I loved this one ever since I saw its wonderful clump at the 
    national AIS convention in Omaha in 1990.
ROARING JELLY-the picture in the latest AIS bulletin says it all.
An unknown, I'm told it might be ORVILLE FAY, tho I have my doubts, but a tall stalk,
    big wide flower, pinkish lavender in color.
SULTAN'S RUBY-this dark, dark flower definitely stands out in Siberian beds where so
    many varieties seem to look so much alike..
 
Spuria
ILA CRAWFORD-a white with yellow signal, very tough, long-lasting flowers, it
    bloomed the season after I planted it, which spurias commonly don't do.
 
Species
I. BREVICAULIS-gooseneck stems always, but the color is such a rich purple and it grows well under less than perfect conditions.
 
Intermediates
POSH-this orangey gold of Barry Blyth has to be the most vigorous iris I grow, and it is
    one of the most floriferous as well.  Forms a great clump in no time, and shows off.
BLUE-EYED BLONDE-a great Ensminger iris, soft yellow with blue beard.  Full of bloom
    stalks and the flowers keep coming, blooms such a long time.
HONEY-GLAZED-From Dave Niswonger, soft yellow stds, with velvety, honeyed 
    caramel falls, looks so rich.
 
Border Beardeds
BATIK-I could never leave it behind, even though I have a hard time making it prosper in my garden.  Such a distinctive pattern.
 
Tall Beardeds
DUSKY CHALLENGER-it's all superlatives.
SUPREME SULTAN-wish it would produce more increase than it does, but WOW!
FINALIST-great color combination, and how could I not love the iris that gave me my
    first and only Best of Show last June?!
YAQUINA BLUE-super flower, super plant, vigorous and strong, productive, just great.
TIMELESS MOMENT-always forms a great clump, very rapid to increase, makes a 
    splendid eye-catching clump in a hurry.
CRINOLINE-an older Schreiner variety, maroon/white plicata, sweet grapey fragrance.
CRANBERRY CRUSH-isn't cranberry at all, but its velvety purple is so attractive.
LEMON MIST-close to 30 years old but still holds it own with newer intros. in its color
    class.  I can't imagine why it didn't win the Dykes.
SUPERSTITION-so black, black, black.  Long lasting flowers.
TENNISON RIDGE-great color, no other quite like it.
ROLE MODEL-another I "had to have" the moment I saw it in Omaha.  I generally shun
    anything that suggests pink, but not this deep melon.
KATIE LYNN-one of the first TB to bloom, a great med. yellow, ruffled besides.
CLASSIC LOOK-my all-time favorite color pattern, the clean blue/white plicata. 
WABASH-goes back to the 30s, not big flowers, but so floriferous, such a wonderful
    color, and it gets attention even when among all the big boys.
 AMIGO-looks clearly related to WABASH, but has blue rims where the other has 
    white.  Such a clean look
 
    Well, that's 25, but I really love all the others, too.  Every time a variety opens its first bloom of the season I find myself thinking, "This is one of my favorites."
 
Arnold    
 
Arnold & Carol Koekkoek
38 7th Street, NE
Sioux Center, IA 51250
e-mail  k*@mtcnet.net
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