Gerie said:

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Dorcas Lives Again')
• Uploaded by Gerie

Here's a picture comparison of the Dorcas Lives Again blooms from the two separate clusters I was talking about earlier.

For what it's worth, your pictures match the registry description better than either of the pictures in the Iris Encyclopedia (the two pictures in the Encyclopedia don't even match each other, let alone your irises ). I also think the two flowers in your picture are from the same cultivar. The bottom one just appears to be from a healthier plant.

Or the lower one could be a day fresher.........

I thought about both of those possibilities: fresher/healthier. Especially after I saw earlier photos that went both ways from all three vendors I have clusters from. Just for fun, I may plant all three vendor's Dorcas Lives Again in my new garden which will be much more consistent in conditions (soil, moisture, drainage, sun, no other plants in garden). I just hope I can remember the details of this little comparison project several months from now. Maybe if I make notes in my MS Outlook calendar....

Well there ya go!!!

I have a gorgeous unidentified red and white that threw me for a loop one spring. It bloomed very early spring, and then again about a month later. The marking of the blooms were even more different that what I'm seeing with Dorcas right now, even out of the same cluster. I couldn't believe it and spent hours analyzing photographs to see if I had somehow mixed rhizomes. I concluded that different looking blooms were in fact coming from the same cluster, just a few weeks apart. I'll try to find pics tomorrow.

Different cameras & different lighting can make a difference in what you see.

Gosh, I don't think any of us know anything about analyzing pictures for hours..

Nope, not a thing!

I think they look like the same cultivar as well, to throw my two cents in.

Looking forward to the pictures of the red and white!

I call this unidentified iris, Spotted Red. I took it from Grandmother's garden years ago. It may not be her introduction.

These pictures were taken just a few weeks apart. The one with more white was taken in March while it was still cold. The bloom was close to the ground. The one with less white was taken in April from the same cluster when it was warmer and the cluster was in full bloom.

Sunlight can really brighten up a red iris. Easy to see it is the same iris, but the lighting can really change the warmth and feel of the bloom. The second picture makes you take notice of it's rich colors.

I hope someone can identify it for you (I am not the best with historics) because it is a lovely red plicata.

Nice one !

That's a beauty!

If it were growing in my yard I would say it was a mixed clump and not the same iris. just my one cent worth.

I went to a lot of effort to verify that it was the same iris.

I was thinking...just to be ultra confident....I will watch Spotted Red carefully this spring. If it blooms early again with more white, I will carefully move the blooming rhizome to another spot and see what happens. This is fun! Thanks for discussing it with me.

I'm so excited! I have a seedling of my own that bloomed this week. I didn't pollinate it myself, I saw it growing in my iris garden last year and decided to move it and watch it. Sure enough, it is a new iris! It is big and healthy. The pictures are from this week. I moved it as a seedling in September 2013. I think I'm going to name it Daniel Delivered because the colors remind me of lions and in keeping of Grandmother's tradition of Biblical names. Can ya'll help me with the lingo do describe it? I ordered an iris book, A Guide to Bearded Irises, Cultivating the Rainbow by Kelly D. Norris. I hope to educate myself better so I can do a better job with my iris and to be able to speak the language better.

Pictures please.....

Sorry about not putting pictures with my post about my new seedling bloom. I'm having computer issues.

It's lovely, Gerie -- congratulations!!