Greetings for 2007

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Greetings for 2007

Another year is upon us, with it's promise and hopes. Perhaps this year we will have the perfect season when everything blooms, and everything goes perfectly. This spring started early and then a period of cold weather set in. This was followed by very hot weather with everything happening at once. The cold weather didn't catch the plants too much by surprise, but many warmer areas, especially in the USA, lost bloom stalks to this harsh weather.

It was a great year for awards. Ruby Eruption won the Cook-Douglas Medal (for Standard Dwarf Bearded iris) from the American Iris Society with the runner-up being Forever Blue. Walker Ross won the William Mohr Medal as the top aril-bred iris, again awarded by the American Iris Society. In the German International Iris competition it was a double header. Sargent Preston won as the top Tall Bearded iris and Crystal Carpet won as the top Standard Dwarf Iris. This was after a three year garden trial with plants being judged in the final two years.

The goal of producing quality hardy pink and orange TBs or cold is progressing nicely with the introduction of 95-X-32. This is a big step forward as there haven't been any good hardy oranges for our climate. 95-X-32 is a light dusty orange with a violet overlay on the falls. This plant puts out a good show year after year regardless of the weather. It is tall, well branched and has large flowers and puts on an impressive display over a long time period. Lots of great features. It has been used heavily in breeding and this and Eramosa Blushing Bride should provide good bright pinks and oranges in the future. This plant along with Eramosa Blushing Bride and Garden Bride should be able to grow in tough climates, where you would normally have problems with handiness with tall bearded iris

There are some new and exciting seedlings for future introduction. There were some very exciting and unusually patterned plicatas. Some with dark tops and some reversed yellow amoenas. Some with blues and violet colours at centre of petals, some just at top of falls and some with it just at bottom of falls. A Fancy Woman type luminata in SDB, and a luminata yellow plicata There doesn't seem to be any end to new patterns and colours.

Work is progressing on getting Forever Blue type rebloom in taller plants, but the work is slow. Now getting some nice SDB with dark red, near black rim on bright yellow ground, a very interesting contrast. Still hoping for a black on yellow plicata.

A seedling to expect for next year is 02-43-1. This is an SDB that is a two-toned black with a dark blue beard. Round, wide, flared and gorgeous.

Last year was great for hybridizing and a record number of pods were set. Over 6,000 seedlings from last years pods to get planted into the ground. Some years are better for hybridizing then others and last year was a great year. Still many a slip between cup and the lip, as the saying goes. Many seedlings succumb over the hot dry summers and many over the cold winter with inconsistent snow cover. Then they have to face the freeze thaws of early spring with its cold and damp weather. No wonder my introductions are noted for their hardiness. Getting seedlings planted as well as evaluating seedlings, doing crosses and dealing with weeds, all at the same time makes for a very busy and hectic spring. This will be a busy year indeed.

The preparation of the website was done by Debby Nelson who did an excellent job of setting up a site that is easy to navigate and loads quickly.

If there is a particular plant you would like to get but it is not listed , contact me to see if it can be supplied or obtained for you. There are many plants in the garden which are not listed in catalogue as stock is too low.