This is little MDB Aaah. It is a gorgeous little iris that is blue/lavender with chartreuse rims and lines. For a tiny iris it has quite a few ruffles.

I have been looking for this little guy for quite a few years. It was introduced in 2009 by George Sutton. I tried to track it down in vain including contacting George and asking for his help. He had lost the iris in the move and could not locate another and I had begun to think of it as a lost cultivar. I kept whining and contacting people, making a pest of myself I am sure, and then last summer a great lady that cares for the gardens at the Will Rogers Museum in OK sent me rhizomes.

They have been slowly opening all week and today before dawn made their full appearance.

Congratulations on finding that elusive cultivar and a lovely one it is too!

...and how appropriate to start a thread named Bonnie's Bloomers with an Aaah!

Thank you Lilli. This little iris is supposed to do well in warmer climes than most Miniature Dwarfs do. I have my MDB's in pots so I can move them to cooler places on the property as needed. This one may go directly in the soil if it does well.

For anyone interested in growing the 'little guys' don't confuse conditions needed to grow MDB's with those needed to grow SDB's. Only MDB's need the cold winters as they are dwarfs. SDB's are medians and can be treated like other bearded irises.

thanks bonnie, i will keep that in mind as i go forward on my iris journey.

I wonder if George Sutton would like a rhizome back ....or do a trade?

Ahhh what a beauty!!!! 😀 I love all your small guys Bonnie!!!! I really enjoyed your thread last year and looking forward to this years pics!!

Good idea Barbara. I shall send George an email updating him on little Aaah.

Elsa, I never know what will bloom first or when. I guess that is part of the fun. I have a bloom stalk on a little aril bred and one on a MTB that is ready to open. I moved a lot of irises around last year so I may not have as many to bloom this year but enough to keep me busy I daresay.

Daphne, you are beginning a very pleasant journey.

bonnie, where do mtb's fall? they need as much cold?

MTB's are classed as a median iris. Their requirements are like the taller bearded irises. MTB's are not only taller than SDB's and shorter than BB's the blooms are smaller on long but narrower stems. These are the irises florists use in bouquets and are often referred to as table irises. Often the blooms appear, from across the garden, to hover above the foliage and remind me of butterflies.

thanks bonnie....hope that they will bloom here, too, in 10a.

What a poetic description, Bonnie!

Good to see your bloom season is on the way!

It will be a slow start, Tom, but yes, it is on its way.

You and me both on the slow start Bonnie! Ahhh is quite the cutie!

Ahhh is a pretty little one!

Y'all I believe George passed a couple of years ago. I'm glad you found your elusive Bonnie I did the same thing with the arilbred Merriglow. Found it lost it replaced again. Thanks D you know who you are

You are right, Arilbred, George did pass and now it is Mike Sutton who is carrying on the business. It is my understanding that Mike lost both parents and moved the business shortly thereafter. I may be wrong but I think that may be why some cultivars were lost. Mike is a really nice fellow.

We had a storm come through this morning with a lot of wind and a bit or hard rain. This little iris was not open at all last evening and so I did not cover it. It must have opened during the night and it took a bit of a beating from the weather.




This is a John Weiler iris that he introduced in 1993 - Little Blue Eyes. This is the first yellow iris with a blue beard that I bought. It is a hardy iris that seems to bloom every year and I have shared it a lot. I will try and get a photo of another bloom later that is not so weather beaten.

~~~edited to add the iris name.

What a pretty little iris. I love the blue beards

Valerie, it is really pretty when it open to a lovely sunny day. It holds its color well too.