BRILLIANCE, by Lesley Painter at Napa Country, is my favorite orange and was my absolute favorite iris until some of the newer Blyth irises came along.


FIERY FIGURE - My second favorite


BRAZILIAN ART


CORAL SPLENDOR


RUSTLER


BARBARA MY LOVE


FIXATION


PRETTY SWISH - In sunlight and in shade


RIO


McKELLER'S GROVE and ORIGINAL CAST (At Mid-America)


GREAT BALLS OF FIRE - Introduced last year by Terry Aitken. Pictures taken at Aitken's on an overcast day when it was about to rain, so the colors look subdued. I was very impressed with this bright orange and its fantastic beards, and someday I'm going to get it!



And I'll finish with some oranges I saw at Schreiner's a couple of years ago:

RAVE ON


MAGICAL GLOW


PENNY LANE


MANGO ENTREE


LEADING LIGHT



Sure hope you-all have some oranges and apricots to share with us!

Some really beautiful ones Betty. I don't have many orange selfs, but some with orange/peach in them. My Favorite is Brazilian Art.
Brazillian Art and Ardvark Lark


Mandarin Morning and Outragious Fortune


Luscious Lace and King Tush (kinda pinky peach)


Ginger ice

Wow great pictures I really like Brilliance I ordered it this year hoping it will bloom for me and Barbara My Love is always great Im going to have to add GInger Ice and Original Cast to the must have list both are beautiful flowers thanks for posting these.

I have a few I can add with these

Crackling Caldera


China Moon



Forbidden Fruit



Awesome Blossom





Cajun Ryhthm



Leading Light





Island Coral



Mid America Seedling 038-A (My Fav for color)

Beautiful flowers, Tom and Aruba! I thought I had responded this afternoon to Tom's pictures, saying how much I like ARDVARK LARK and GINGER ICE, but I guess I didn't hit the "finish" button or something. I planted LEADING LIGHT last fall, so I hope to get blooms this spring.

And I really love your Mid-America seedling, Aruba! I wonder if it's the same one I took pictures of back in 2009 and 2010, which I had recorded as P. Black Seedling #O-38A.


Is it a seedling that will be introduced someday? I love the colors, with the standards a little pinker than the falls and the bright orange-red beards. You're right -- it has terrific color impact in the garden, and I was immediately drawn to it! Do you think my pictures are of the same one?

Some nice orange color, I put Brilliance on my wish list. Aruba, I especially Iike China Moon, I have Awesom Bloosom, just forgot about it. Does your Allium always bloom with your Iris? I like the way it looks together. Guess I'm going to have to get some. I really like Lusious Lace, but I keep having trouble with it. The stolks just "explode" with a watery mess and break off. Last year, with proping the stalk, I was able to get a bloom, but it wasn't fully developed. I wonder if anyone knows what that stalk thing is? It's the only one that has that trouble, and it doesn't smell like mold, just seems hyper distended with water. It did this two years now, will have to see what happens this spring.

Betty yes that is the one When we were there it really stood out I loved the color of it I don't think Paul was going to introduce it he did not like the form of it, but to me color wise there was nothing else close to it.

Tom yes the Alliums always bloom with the Iris and last a long time Im always looking for good companion plants for Iris that will do well over winter the Alliums is one of the few that come back every year, I have never had a stalk problem like you described I mostly fight the wind here Im in the country with not much wind break so I have to stake just about everything.

I know what you mean about wind, I'm in the country too. Are you near the Rainbow Iris farm in Iowa? I have ordered from them some in the past.

Tom, if you haven't already done so, I suggest you get in the Irises Cubit and ask about that stalk thing. I'm sure someone there can help you. Dee has been an iris grower for a number of years, so she's probably seen it all by now and might know what to do. I used to complain about stalks suddenly taking a 90 degree turn and twisting all around, and I found out that it's a combination of alternating hot and cold weather in the early spring, plus some varieties are just prone to doing that. So I've pretty much eliminated the offenders by now -- they weren't favorites anyway, so their days were numbered...

Aruba, I think it's so nice that Paul let you have some of that iris seedling. I can tell that the form is not perfect, but the colors are fantastic and it looks incredible in your garden! I had really fallen for one I saw up there in 2009, and he said he probably wouldn't introduce it because it didn't have that many blooms -- but now he's introducing it this year as BABY I LOVE YOU! So of course that was the first one I ordered.


How I envy you getting to go to Salem again this year. I don't even think I'm going to the AIS convention here in Ontario, CA in April, or the big Region 14/TBIS meeting in Santa Cruz the following weekend, because I've already blown my budget on ordering irises and daylilies this spring! Bummer!

Twilight Of The Gods - the most vigorous orange iris I've grown. The picture on the right was taken a Powell Gardens near Kansas City, one of the display gardens for the 2009 AIS convention. Those of you who attended know what a tough year for irises it was in that area. Many varieties had been flattened by the weather. Quite a few didn't even survive. This one was pristine, as if it had been a perfect spring.


Mango Entree - glorious substance, just wish it was a little brighter


Magical Glow


Cheyenne Sky - interesting blend of colors


I planted Brilliance, Crackling Caldera, Golden Panther, and Sunset Plaza last year and have high hopes for all of them, especially Sunset Plaza.

PRETTY SWISH such a big difference like the shade one, not in full sun, and thank you all for posting these great pictures. I was going to say CC but you posted it and I love that one and Clockwork for dwarf

Beautiful oranges, Kent! Unfortunately I haven't been able to get CHEYENNE SKY to bloom for me, and I'm about to give up on it.

I love the form of Mango Entree. Kent you have a real tallent with your camera. Betty, you should not have posted that pic of Baby I Love You, I had written that one off by the pic on the web site, now that I see your pic, I have to think some more hummmmmmm. It is a lot like Sofia though.

It does seem quite a bit like SOFIA -- just bigger and blockier, more substance and RUFFLES! Aren't I awful? And according to the catalog description it was created by Paul Black when he was visiting in Austraila, and the parentage is a seedling (Blyth's CANDY CLOUDS X SAFARI SUNSET sib) crossed with a seedling of Ghio's CAST OF CHARACTERS X DECADENCE -- good breeding there! Don't know what the parentage of SOFIA is, but based on pictures I've seen it doesn't seem to have a lot of substance. Would this one be an improvement? Of course you don't need it -- none of us really needs these beauties -- we just WANT them!

Tom I am a couple hours North of Rainbow by Des Moines but I have been to there farm and walked there beds they have a nice place there and very friendly people.

Betty I have very good luck with Mid America they have always treated us right and have always been generous with extras and yes I am excited to go back and walk there gardens I will take lots of Pics Just hopin I can catch it at the right time as you know a lot can change there with the weather rather quickly, I was just reading about the MBIS show at the end of April if you are close to there that sounds like a great trip as well Ill bet Joe Ghios gardens are fabulous and I think Napas and Superstiton are within a couple hours that would be a really good tour as well.

A few more oranges:
Orange Tiger, an sdb:



House of Orange (got this because "Orange" is a family name, thank goodness, there's been no sons named Orange for the past two generations........

Orange Tiger was the first clear (none muddy colored) SDB.

Good to know that little bit of history -- Thanks, Lucy!

Here's another orange....Orange Orangutan

Beautiful, Paul! Love it!