Holy smokes! All some really amazing irises. Too many to go back and comment on, but wow that last bunch of plicatas in particular I didn't see one that I don't want. I do especially love 21-85B with the haft marks on a plicata. I'd love to see pics of Keppels seedlings that you are using.

Hot tip on seed soaking. A five gallon bucket that Brad uses seemed like overkill for my 60 seeds, so I am using my sprouting jars (these are mason jars with a mesh lid which are made to be able to soak, rinse and drain seeds repeatedly without the seeds falling out) You just use regular mason jars (available at any Walmart) and buy the lids separately - very inexpensive - and when you're not doing iris you can make your own broccoli and radish sprouts fresh at home for a nice salad addition.

ARUBA1334 said: I get asked every year by the garden clubs and visitors which one is your favorite and every year that changes but this year they were showed these groups as I thought the colors were fantastic.. here a good example of why I wish more people worked Plicata's the possibilities are endless . Keith has done some amazing work over the years breeding these and selecting the best to introduce you could just take his plicata's and cross them together every year and get an amazing show full of colors. I was very excited with this group they were all left in place so I can see them in 2 year clumps next spring.

I'm so glad you finally registered your first masterpieces, Brad! Please accept my congratulations! I was really looking forward to your annual theme with news from your fields, the seedlings are just impressive! I was especially excited about the plicata. Plicates with a yellow ground on falls and a bluish ground on standards are my dream! I saw that you managed to embody this in some of your seedlings. It's so great that you had the opportunity with Keppel seedlings (did you make crosses in his garden in Oregon?) In previous years, I purchased Keppel varieties, in the pedigree of which there is a seedling 07-176B (Turkish Tapestry, Pastel Pattern, Hold The Line), but due to flooding at the end of this flowering season, I was unable to cross them with each other.

I have been admiring a couple of plicatas that I have seen that have a blush pink ground. Mid America, I think.
Tracks of My tears:


Blushing grapes:


I ordered ToMT last summer. I hope it blooms this coming spring.

So, yes, I agree that wonderful things are happening with the plicatas!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know which ones you would grow in your gardens your comments may keep some of them around in the future
I'm happy everyone is enjoying the Plicata's they were a real treasure last May the colors and patterns are a lot of fun to work with my favorite part of the season is the surprise a new seedling brings when it opens for the 1st time..many many crosses were done with a lot of the seedlings shown here looking for more of the same thing with hopes of making them a little better every generation so we have high hopes for good germination this winter lot's of good possibilities in these Plic pedigrees


Tom.. I don't have all of Keiths picture files with me on my laptop to show today but here are a couple of the ones that I think a lot of ...this 1st one 07-176B is an amazing parent it is the source of all the fun colors and patterns when we get into Keiths seedlings Ill get more detailed into some of the patterns it has created over the years and why Im so excited about it .. You won't ever see it for sale from him because it does not branch and it's short on buds but as a breeder its one of a kind ..

He has been trying to advance this color pattern on to something that has show branching and it's proving to be a difficult and long term project it is one of the hardest things to fix ..he has intro's a few plants from it but none in this exact color pattern yet.. a couple of it's kids are Pastel Patterns, Turkish Tapestry, Hold The Line as mentioned by Serijo above and I have been trying to take them and other seedlings of his with it in the pedigree and breed them together to get those colors and find the right combination to get the stalk with a decent branch the 21-85A cross shown above gave some progress on the stalk although not a show stalk it was decent and had 7 buds so something to work with and still quite a few more that didn't bloom last year that will in May on 2 year plants so maybe another good surprise in there

07-176B


The Pod parent of 21-85 was this one Keith's 12-103C it has the best branch of the 07-176B kids in that color range it's a sib to Pastel Patterns and has a good bud count so I have been trying to breed with it a lot to other things hoping the colors will show up in the seedlings the pollen parent was another on his seedling's I really like 13-21B it's color is fantastic maybe a little darker seems to make good clumps and has wide flowers.
12-103C


A sample of some of Keith's work with it this was my favorite of his brand new seedlings this spring look how far the flower form has come on it wide overlapping falls/ ruffles / the bright gold ground is more intense loved everything about it so it will develop the other things needed to move it forward will be looking for it in May
Keppels 21-105 (18-66A X 12-103C)



Another bonus on the Plic's is all the different colors that pop up in the style arms that give added interest on most other patterns I don't pay attention but they can really be beautiful the one that caught me by surprise was 20-125A one of the things that we don't do here is open standards and when that one 1st bloomed I walked right by it but the next day the standards had flopped open and it showed the styles which gave it a whole other look not enough to move forward but a reminder there is always something interesting when breeding Plicata's

20-114 (Pastel Patterns X keppel's 14-29B)
A

B

C

D



20-125 (Pastel Patterns X Stitches)
A

B

C

D

thank you for sharing, the seedling Keppel's 21-105 is just fantastic, I couldn't even dream of such a thing! Your seedlings in this direction are also quite interesting and promising, this is some new direction in color patterns. Truly, the Plic's are fraught with great potential

Serjio,

Thank You ! Good to hear from you and thrilled your into Plicata's we need more people around the world working on them and finding these new patterns I think they give us the best hope for new breakthrough colors in the future and yes I have been lucky enough to make some crosses in Keith's garden which gave me the chance to work on this pattern the 07-176B kids you mentioned are all excellent and fertile both ways so cross away , put them together and cross onto others lot's of good things will pop up in the seedlings

Daisy.. I too like those plants you showed (Blushing Grapes) has been here for years and it's nice ! There is another one that Barry introduced that is on my want list called (Plenty OF Jazz) it's in that color range too and gorgeous.

ARUBA1334 said: Serjio,

Thank You ! Good to hear from you and thrilled your into Plicata's we need more people around the world working on them and finding these new patterns I think they give us the best hope for new breakthrough colors in the future and yes I have been lucky enough to make some crosses in Keith's garden which gave me the chance to work on this pattern the 07-176B kids you mentioned are all excellent and fertile both ways so cross away , put them together and cross onto others lot's of good things will pop up in the seedlings

Initially, I found out about seedling 07-176B thanks to you on this forum, and since then I have lost my peace) By the way, have you tried to add to this line any of the new two-color varieties of Barry Blyth (Mystify, Sheer Madness) or Paul Black (Plic Symphony)? I don't have them, but I would like to purchase them in the future.. I used Turkish Tapestry a bit in 2021, but this season I have only bloomed one seedling from one crossing. I hope in the future it will turn out at least some two-color.
21-407 Gwiezdny Pyl X Turkish Tapestry

I love it, too, when I peek into a flower and discover the style arms are a deep, solid color that contrasts surprisingly with the rest of the bloom. I have one of those, but can't remember at the moment which one it was. I think it's pretty neat!

Thanks, Brad for more pix to delight us.
I especially love this one



One of the others


reminds me of Thomas' Beautician


the pictures don't do justice to how it looks in person, like something painted on an antique porcelain dish

It is big, the flowers are wide. Maybe it would be of help in your project (if you are not already familiar with it)

another shot of it below

deleted duplicate.

I loved the coloration in Parsian Dawn, but never got it, because pictures showed its form to be less than perfect. This one (Beautician) seems to be on the right track.

21-105 is really nice .I like it a lot.
I have Persian Dawn and Beautician.Neither really grabs my attention in my garden .

Been busy with TG prep, so didn't have time to respond to the Plicata show. Boy they sure are beautiful, so many different and colorful choices. 07-176B sure has been making some nice offspring, and in time I'm sure another one just like it will come around and have a great bud count.
Brad, you are well on the way to becoming a world class hybridizer! You are learning from the best and it's good to see that some younger upstarts are on the way to keep us hungry iris hoarders well stocked with beautiful irises.

tveguy3 said: Been busy with TG prep, so didn't have time to respond to the Plicata show. Boy they sure are beautiful, so many different and colorful choices. 07-176B sure has been making some nice offspring, and in time I'm sure another one just like it will come around and have a great bud count.
Brad, you are well on the way to becoming a world class hybridizer! You are learning from the best and it's good to see that some younger upstarts are on the way to keep us hungry iris hoarders well stocked with beautiful irises.

TG?

Later: Oh, Thanksgiving of course! Dummy me!

Serjio.. I do not have any of the plants you mentioned of Barry but like them a lot especially Sheer Madness it is Outstanding and will get it eventually a couple of his newer intro's called Box Of Chocolates and Inked In were used in crosses last year Box Of Chocolates it is a mix of Keppel plants and I like Brown tones wanting to mix it with some of the seedlings here and get more of the same.

I have been trying to work Turkish Tapestry not a whole lot bloomed out of it so far many more in May nothing really different out of it yet but these 1st 3 all had buds and good branching so saved to breed with ..the cross with High Desert only had 4 seeds germinate and what bloomed was not Plicata's but I liked them both especially A

20-151 (Vista Pointe X Turkish Tapestry)
A

B

C


20-160 (High Desert X Turkish Tapestry)
A

B



20-151( High Desert X Fire Danger)
A

B

C


19-161A (High Desert X Tuscan Summer)


19-3 A( Fire Danger X Steal My Heart)


19-174A (12-12E Smoke and Thunder X Class Ring) x Tuscan Summer)

Lyn.. Thanks I do like Beautician think it is a sib to Stitches or the same pedigree what interests me about them is they come from crosses that are not Plicata's but there throwing Plicata's so a lot of interesting things in the gene pools there this is where the new colors and patterns will show up in the seedlings so I want to mix them in and see what else pops up

Tom.. Thanks hungry Iris hoarders

Really like this one
20-151 (Vista Pointe X Turkish Tapestry)
A

Don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.

High Desert x Fire Danger C is bright and beautiful too!

I just looked up the parentage of Beautician - pollen parent is listed as unknown, so maybe it is something with a plicata heritage. Thomas has a few nice iris with unknown pollen parents - Born this Way and Blushing Doll come to mind. I guess it means the tag got lost, right? Maybe it's different in Oregon, but I've never had a "bee pod" with any seeds in it.

ARUBA1334 said: Lyn.. Thanks I do like Beautician think it is a sib to Stitches or the same pedigree what interests me about them is they come from crosses that are not Plicata's but there throwing Plicata's so a lot of interesting things in the gene pools there this is where the new colors and patterns will show up in the seedlings so I want to mix them in and see what else pops up

Tom.. Thanks hungry Iris hoarders