So, last fall Phil Williams let me know that he is cutting back a bit with his business and wouldn't be able to continue introducing my irises. I spent the last several months figuring out how to do it myself: starting a business, creating a website, etc. It all proved much more complicated and time consuming that I had hoped, but I *think* it's finally ready.

My intros are now available for sale at https://www.prairieskyiris.com... . I still need to add descriptions, but the pictures are there and the plants are available for sale.

Also available for sale are some irises created by famous hybridizers such as Barry Blyth, Keith Keppel, Joe Ghio, etc. and some lesser known but still talented people like Gerald Richardson and Barbara Nicodemus, many of which are hard to find in commerce anymore. These irises have all stood the test of our harsh climate ("Nebraska, It's Not For Everyone" isn't just a tourist slogan. Irises have to be tough to make it here as well. )

Anyway, please check it out!

Congratulations, Kent! I was wondering if your SDB Steel Panther is the seedling 19D-03r you posted a couple years ago:

Congratulations, Kent!

I may have to sneak in an order later on...

lauriemorningglory said: Congratulations, Kent! I was wondering if your SDB Steel Panther is the seedling 19D-03r you posted a couple years ago:

Yes. It's not the most exciting color, but probably the best SDB seedling I've had.

Kent, Good see you were able to get everything to work out and have your intros available. Are you only doing online sales? Reason I'm asking is because if I can get my ducks in a row and grow my inventory, I want to start selling on my own. And possible introducing my own plants. I was thinking to myself that I only wanted to do online sales and have the website set to show sold out after so many plants are sold. I was also thinking that I'm only going to offer plants that do will for me here in northern Indiana. I just don't feel right about trying to sell something that hate's it here to someone that thinks it will grow well here.

Congratulations, Kent, on your new web-site! Some tempting offerings!

irisfirefighter said: Are you only doing online sales? ……. I was thinking to myself that I only wanted to do online sales and have the website set to show sold out after so many plants are sold. I was also thinking that I'm only going to offer plants that do will for me here in northern Indiana. I just don't feel right about trying to sell something that hate's it here to someone that thinks it will grow well here.

Yes, online only. That last part pretty well describes the approach I'm taking with the irises that aren't my seedlings . They are all plants that have shown the ability to thrive in spite of our less than ideal, to say the least, weather. 😀

A few of them I know disappeared from commerce pretty quickly as well, especially some of the medians, so it might give people a second chance at them.

Steel Panther---I think it is a unique color pattern. I ordered it!

KentPfeiffer said: Yes. It's not the most exciting color, but probably the best SDB seedling I've had.

"...not the most exciting color..." ??!!
It's a study in the beautiful subtlety and delicacy of muted colours - There! Fixed that for you! You're welcome!

I was thinking the same, Lilli.

We should both apply for a position in Kent's Marketing Department!

I for one find Steel Panther to be a beautiful display of restriction - not overbearing to your eyes.

Congratulations on the new website Kent .

Good for you, Kent. They are beauties. We've all been admiring Serene Silence as we see the pic every time we log in to the forum. Nice it's finally available.

Iris season has started about two weeks early here this year with the first of the SDBs. Watching a seedling bloom for the very first time is probably the best part of hybridizing. Just a handful blooming so far and nothing too exciting yet, but one of them involves Steel Panther.

21D-10c

Psychedelic Dreams X Steel Panther.
It's kind of a neat blend of colors, but is very similar to it's pollen parent and is too tall (also like it's pollen parent).

21D-03c

Bit of a different color. Not sure that it will have broad appeal, but I like it.

Congrats on your new store!

I really have no business buying anything, but I'll be out of my arm cast by August, and SERENE SILENCE has been on my want list (even tho a bit short for me) for a while, and I needed a replacement , and I couldn't resist looking at other things.

Thanks!

I'm glad someone ordered Twilight of the Gods. It's a great iris that deserved better distribution than it got. I've been growing it for almost 15 years and it's still the best orange iris (except for Caneel Sunset) I have.

I thought I would give it a chance (hey, it's tall ), so I'm glad to hear that !

It's definitely tall. Very sturdy, though. Can't ever remember a time when its stalks went down, which is not something I can say about very many TBs I've bought. The weather here really puts irises to the test.

That's even better to know! I *hate* having to stake irises!

I still think that orange and red irises look muddy, but it looked worth taking a chance on, and with a name like that, I couldn't resist.

(Yep, lots of my plant purchases are partly name driven, but ultimately the plant has to provide a certain amount of satisfaction to stay. We'll see how this one does. It has a factor in its favor that it looks to be an eye-zorcher; I like to have a few of those around.)