Found a photo of this - was previously in our church bed but unfortunately it was ripped out and tosses😩. We wanted to find it!!!!

To my untrained eyes, it looks like Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Wabash') to me.

Then again, there are others that look like too. I'm sure members with far more experience then I'll ever have will come share their thoughts.

Beautiful flower, Betsy.

Here are three contenders that come quickly to mind, but there are probably at least a dozen other possibilities:







If you just want an iris that is similar to what you had, any of the above three are still fairly easy to acquire. If you need the exact variety for some reason, it's going to be difficult to figure out which one it was. 'Melody' would be my guess, but it's just a guess.

Could be this one, too.

Based on the shape and ruffles in the falls, plus the rim shading I have to say that Elizabeth Noble, TB 1955 Smith, is the closest of those offered. It is available from both Blue J and Winterberry. A very nice one in my opinion.

As Kent mentioned, there are quite a few "possibles" out there ! In the "search for a perfect neglecta", there were a LOT of very similar iris bred, and registered.....and Wabash and Amigo were used in the breeding of most of them...so they all vary very little.

My Wabash does have some ruffling.. I have not seen the other two you posted Kent, or Elizabeth Noble, that Celia posted. If I were trying to replace something that looked the same or similar, I'd think Wabash would be the easiest to find.. Of course the height might make a difference..
Melody, and Elizabeth Noble are listed as 36" w/ Wabash being taller at 42"

Now I wonder if I've got Wabash or one of the others? I don't recall it ever being close to 42"

Sherry - does "your" Wabash have PBF? All of the others mentioned do not show PBF in the database. (not always full proof as this was not always noted when registering irises in the post WWII time frame/era)(1945-1965)

I'm surprised to see 42 inches listed as the registered height, because the registry actually says nothing about its height. That might need to be removed.....

I don't grow Wabash, but often see it in other gardens. It's maybe a little taller than average, but doesn't seem to be unusually tall by any means.

I agree with Kent. I have alot of Wabash and don't recall it over 40", much less 42". I would say it is in the 34" to 36" range normally for me. Maybe I need to pay it more attention this Spring and measure all of the stalks.

I think the *height* of an iris is quite variable, also......it seems to be an ID *tool* that only 'counts' when you grow both iris , together, in the same dirt. It seems (to me, at least) that color intensity, height, PBF, and"speed of increase".....all used as ID tools.......are all quite variable, and dependent on climate ,as well as culture.....in other words, what is 40" tall, and has moderate PBF, and increases fast for me....may, in other gardens, be 32", slow to grow, and increase, and show only a slight tinge of purple.

Sherry,
I'd bet yours is Wabash regardless of the height.

Greg, There is no PBF in evidence.. My own database lists the height at 35" and I'm not sure where I got that height from, but it's probably close to that..

Thanks everyone for your input....Elizabeth N. and Melody both look close. I will check with the two vendors you listed, DaveinPA.

All of them are close enough, I suppose. Too bad it was tossed before you had a chance to get it.

Melody is available from Bluebird and Echo Iris.
Enjoy that beauty.

What happened to the link to Elizabeth Noble I had posted. It appears to be gone.

The owner of the image asked that it be deleted from the database. Whenever an image is deleted from the database, any links to it disappear as well.

Gotcha. Thanks.