skip to main content

Can you identify these tall bearded irises?

16 years ago

When I first planted them I just wanted something pretty, which they are. Now that I no longer have any tags I would like to know what they are. I did not get them from a specialty nursery, just Wayside or Van Bourgondian. But if you could identify them for me, I would be very pleased!

The first one is vividly striped and does not last long.

{{gwi:235317}}

The second lacks the drama but lasts a bit longer for me. Also the picture is just a little bit paler than it looks to me in real life.

{{gwi:1006421}}

The third always blooms a bit later than the first two, and is just now starting to open so it probably won't be possible to identify it. Still, I thought I'd include it anyway. It has paler blotches on the petals and stronger colored edges, as you can see from the petal starting to unfurl.

{{gwi:1006423}}

Thanks for any help you can give.

Rosefolly

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

rosefolly
Original Author
16 years ago
I'm sorry -- for some reason my pictures aren't showing up properly. They looked fine when I previewed them. I'll try again.

{{gwi:235317}}

{{gwi:1006421}}

{{gwi:1006423}}
iris_gal
16 years ago
Your top broken color is 'Batik'.

Try for a pic of the bottom one fully open.
Related Discussions
HAVE: Tall Bearded Irises
Q
Comments (4)
TB irises are my favorite! Not sure if I have anything you would like, but I do have cannas, two kinds, lots of perennials & seeds. Please check my list and let me know, and also if there's anything not on it that you are looking for. I love blue, purple, clear yellow and white for the iris colors. Thanks! Rosemary
...See More
Tall Bearded Irises
Q
Comments (5)
Hi Brenda, The reason I say it would be better to wait is that you will be disturbing them, cutting the roots that are only now starting to put out new growth. This disturbance makes them vulnerable to cold, wet, disease or whatever. My rule is no digging before May long weekend and no planting before at least the first week in June. It has worked for me. I'd be particularly leary of moving tall bearded iris since they are finicky here at the best of times, particularly the modern ones. Better safe than sorry is my mantra. BJ in SW MB
...See More
Can you identify this lavender bearded iris?
Q
Comments (3)
Maybe Quaker Lady? It's beautiful! Well, shoot! I can't get the direct link; just click on "Q" at the top of the page, & Quaker Lady is the first one. Here is a link that might be useful: Quaker Lady
...See More
Need help with tall bearded irises
Q
Comments (8)
Poultry manure is very hot. Make sure it's well aged or it will burn. I've even seen it eat through metal sheds. Add a little lime, now or late fall. Takes time to work. Don't lime beardless iris, can kill or seriously set them back. Unless your sitting on one of the rare limestone deposits on North americas east coast a little lime won't hurt, probably will help and is real cheap. Bearded iris like calcium. Little bit of epsom salts sprinkled in now and then too. Because the east coast soils and bedrock are much older than the west coast a lot of the easily solubable nutrients have gone too deep for most plants to reach. Calcium and magnesium being the big ones. Nitrogen grows foliage, phosphorus grows blooms. Iris actually like the soil a little on the poor side. I'd mix the sand and soil up too. After bloom season would be best. Too much disturbance and they may abort blooms. Probably won't bother the plants much but inorder to gain strength from a transplant a lot of plants won't bother using strength flowering. I don't use much in the way of commercial fertilizer but I have spread an all purpose 10-10-10 after bloom with no problem. Light feeding and once or twice after bloom. Plenty to hold them until spring. You really don't want to kick them into high gear while the soil is still real wet or too late in the fall either. Honestly they are better off a little hungry.
...See More
rosefolly
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, yes! That is indeed Batik. As soon as I read it, I remembered the name.

The bottom one has now opened. Here it is.

{{gwi:1006425}}
iris_gal
16 years ago
The middle one is too difficult for me. I thought of Shipshape which was often sold by those companies but don't remember if it has the veins in the haft area???

Does Victoria Falls ring a bell for the one opening? Can't tell if the whitish area on the standards is sun reflection or actually white?
rosefolly
Original Author
16 years ago
Sorry, Iris Gal, it's not ringing a bell for me. This does not mean that you are wrong. I probably just forget. Darn it. I would love to have identified them both. Very likely the middle one is just too generic a violet iris to be identified. I had hopes for the bottom one with its more distinctive coloring.

Thanks anyway.

Is there an illustrated encyclopedia of iris varieties where I could try looking them up? It would have to be fairly recent, because I bought these in the past few years.

Rosefolly
alisande
16 years ago
I don't know about an iris encylopedia, but you could try an online iris catalog such as BlueJ Iris. They have tons of pictures, and you can search by color.

Susan
iris_gal
16 years ago
Can you take another pic of the last one with it fully open?

It is distinctive and there are several possible names.
rosefolly
Original Author
16 years ago
Iris Gal, I'm happy to, if you think it will help. Is this better?

{{gwi:1006426}}

Susan, thanks for the link. That will be helpful.

Rosefolly
rosefolly
Original Author
16 years ago
One question: I looked at my Batik and saw that a few of the flowers are a rich, dark solid purple. I assume that it is sporting back to the original iris. Can anyone tell me what that original iris was?

Thanks.
iris_gal
16 years ago
That helps immensely. Now we can see what a beauty this one is. Currently sorting iris photos and will put your pic up as I check pics.

Here is the list I am going to look at extra carefully for a match to yours. Does any name jump out?

City Lights - Cruzin 86 - Cycles - Dazzling Jewel B.yel - Divine 87 S.lav - Exotic Isle 80 - Exotic Star 74 - Fancy Face 85 - Forever In Love - Scorpio Star - Speed Limit - Stellar Lights - Suky - Windstar 87 - Winner's Circle 71
iris_gal
16 years ago
Rosefolly ~ sorry not to have something definative for you.

My first guess is 'City Lights'. Only a side-by-side comparison could verify.

If it reblooms. 'Cycles' and 'Suky' are possibbilities. They both have 'Victoria Falls' in their breeding and some years VF has been a reblooming fool. Other years, not.

'Batik' is not reverting --- broken color iris often have unstable genes.

Here is a link to Dave's Garden which has quite a number of photos. 'Suky' in on pg. 34 of the S's.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://davesgarden.com/pf/finder/index.php?sname=Iris&submit=submit
mshadow
16 years ago
Very pretty pictures!

Shadow
eroctuse2
16 years ago
I'm sorry that I didn't take the time to read all of the posts in this subject, but I saw something that made me want to speak up.

I don't think the noid with the fall spot is 'Exoitc Isle'. I bought a plant labeled as EI last year and it was a dark plum purple iris with a small white spot around the beards.

I had a photo of it, but I can't locate it right now.

Brock
iris_gal
16 years ago
Your're correct Brock. I had a list of iris names that lacked pigment around the beards ~~~ offered it for elimination, which I did later and posted possibilities from that list. Sorry if that was confusing.

Rosefolly ~~ you still with us???

Related Stories

FLOWERS Paint a Garden Delightful With Iris

Charming and colorful, irises propagate easily, are hardy in many soils and climates, and unfold with layers of beauty

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Ornamental Allium

By Annie Thornton

Lollipop blooms on tall, leafless stems add an architectural element to gardens of all styles

GARDENING GUIDES Top 12 Summer-Blooming Perennials for Deer-Resistant Drama

Can you have garden color, fragrance and exciting foliage with hungry deer afoot? These beauties say yes

SPRING GARDENING Top 10 Scented Plants for Your Garden

By Carol Bucknell Garden Design

A palette of perfumed plants can transform even the smallest of gardens into a sensory delight

LANDSCAPE DESIGN All-White Gardens Light Up the Night

Lustrous blooms in white, cream and the palest ivory enchant in the landscape at night — and can be practical too

TREES 11 Japanese Maples for Breathtaking Color and Form

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

With such a wide range to choose from, there’s a beautiful Japanese maple to suit almost any setting

FLOWERS Lessons from Monet's Garden

See how to bring the impressionist painter's vision to life in your own landscape with these flower choices and garden design ideas

GARDENING GUIDES Great Lakes Gardener's May Checklist

By Barbara Pintozzi

Let's talk about brilliant flowering trees. About blooms to light up a shade garden. And, of course, about everyday garden tasks

GARDENING GUIDES Be Your Own Best Florist With a Bouquet Garden

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Shop your backyard for gorgeous floral arrangements — these ideas will help you bring the garden to the table beautifully

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES 3 Ways Native Plants Make Gardening So Much Better

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

You probably know about the lower maintenance. But native plants' other benefits go far beyond a little less watering and weeding

Sponsored