Winter is on the horizon, vendors open up for sales next month, and we all wish every iris was a rebloomer. I had a bumper bloom of iris here in North Carolina this year. Unfortunately it was followed by iris borers, drought, then three (!) tropical systems, and another drought. The mixture of being either too dry or way too wet did in MANY of my iris, especially the bearded weakened by borers. So in honor of those that survived and those that were lost I will be posting blooms from Z to A.

NOTE: These bloomed from March to early June of this year, none are blooming now.

Z:
Zurbrigg seedling VV72 (TB)



Zing Me (Blyth, IB)


Zaa Zaa Zing (Black, SDB)

Y:
Yodel (Johnson, SDB)


Yoda (Blyth, SDB) Very active this year!




Yummy Accent didn't give good pictures this year. May be no more.

X: uh, none

W: lots of these!

Wysiwyg (Burseen, TB) - see a lot of it's parent Frozen Margarita in this one. Now on life support in my garden.




Wukee (Spoon, SDB)



Wow Factor (Pryor, LA) - new bloom and after transition



Wonders Never Cease (Black, TB) - a favorite of mine!

Wizard of Aussie (Pryor, LA)



Wispy Clouds (Bauer/Coble, JI)



A bunch of Wilds

Wild West (Ghio, historic TB)



Wild Jasmine (Hamner, historic TB) - may be no more


Wild Angel (Johnson, TB) - this one took a beating this summer

Looks like we're in for a long parade of bloom pics!

Am I correct, Leslie, that you have the rhizomes completely buried in the dirt? I thought we were supposed to have the top half exposed.

Marilyn: My bearded all have exposed rhizomes. The dwarfs tend to get buried a bit during the winter rains and I have to uncover them again every spring. Yoda hadn't gotten exposed yet.

Yes, a lot of blooms. Hope that doesn't wear people out, but instead inspire some new additions to their garden!

When Pigs Fly (O'Connor, LA, Mary Swords Deballion Medal: 2021)



Wench (Miller, TB)



Weeping Mascara (Burseen, TB)

later blooms were less ruffled



We Are Sailing (Jackson, LA)


End of the W's. Time to go rake some leaves!

V:

Vivian Mae (O'Conner, LA)



Vishu (Sturtevant, historic TB) - this has been a great grower in a neglected back garden



Violet Moon (Remare, IB) - lost this one



Violet Constellation (Harris, laevigata) - I used this picture because it shows my crazy camelia that usually blooms in later winter, but this year started blooming in April with the iris. Crazy weather year all around.

Very Vein (Grieves, LA) - very similar to Wow Factor, pic is bloom before fade



Vapor (Ghio, TB) - I love this iris, only have a tiny rhizome left



Vamp (Gatty, historic IB)



U:
Urban Riot (Burseen, TB) - it was always a big bloomer, lost it to Hurricane Debby

Leslie, nice show! Sorry that your irises took such a beating.

Marilyn, bearded irises don't always need to have the top of the rhizome showing. Barry Blyth mentioned in one of his catalogs that he had to burry his, he lives in a very hot and dry part of Southern Australia and by keeping them covered they didn't bake and die. I had a friend in Arizona who wanted to grow them, I told her to bury the rhizome, She did, and had good luck with them. Most knowledge is conditional, not absolute. It's good to know when to do something and when it's not a good idea. I have some irises that will bury themselves below the surface, I figure if that's what they want to do, then go to it. They seem to do just fine.

Yes, that's right - here in Australia the recommendation from major nurseries such as Tempo Two and Smokin Heights (particularly for growers in the hotter/dryer areas of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales) is to just cover the rhizome when planting.

It is the opposite in the Southeast because our higher heat comes with lots of humidity. If we bury the rhizome they have a higher tendency to rot. The SDB's and MDB's are the exception. Being slightly covered keeps the rhizomes from shrivelling, but only if they don't get too much water. Over time big fat rhizomes become longer and thinner as well. It helps dissipate the heat better so they become more resistant to rot. If they stay fat and you add heat and humidity it can be likened to a baked potato. They get cooked and soft inside.

Roger Duncan (Superstition) used to think I was crazy when I told him to send me the thinner rhizomes. He would tell me he would try, but then when sending some of Rick's, or some Burseen's he would write me a note saying they only grow big and fat. !!! We became email friends over these exchanges and I cherish a lot of the funny emails I got from him before he passed.

T: (Always a popular starting letter for naming iris)

Ty Blue (Burseen, TB)



Tuck Everlasting (Bacon, SDB) - fate undetermined



True Patriot (Mego, TB) - I loved the blooms on this iris. This was it's first year. And it is one of the deceased. It got flooded and then pretty much disappeared. Will buy again.





You will see the angel in the background of several pictures. She was given to me by my brother and centers a ring of peonies and iris.

I plant my rhizomes above ground to begin with.However ,rains wash dirt over the rhizomes in alot of cases over time and the rhizomes become covered.Most of the time lightly covered.It doesn't seem to matter in how they grow and bloom for me here in Louisville.

Tropical Shoals (Spoon, SDB)



Tropic Night (Morgan, Sib) - this one grows like a beast. Wonderful siberian!



Trip The Light (Pryor, LA)



Touch of Gossip (Blyth, TB) Good grower. Can you tell so far that I like Blyth's iris?

To The Point (Black, TB)



Tom (TveGuy3) - One of many friends on this site that was here from when I joined this forum.
Over the years he has been a great source of information, humor, and the general hi-jinks we used to participate in on the forum. I am sure many remember Fess Up Time! (below)

"Here is the "How many new iris cultivars did you acquire" scale

1 to 30 = Just kid stuff
31 to 50 = A good start
51 to 75 = Slightly off balance
76 to 100 = On the Edge!
101 to 125 = Over the Edge
126 to 150 = Pretty messed up
151 to 175 = You need your head examined
176 to 200 = Bring on the paddy wagon!
200 to 300 = Men in white coats coming with strait jacket.
Over 300 =Living in La La Land "
See more at The thread "Fess Up Time 2017" in Irises forum

He has also been a kind source for irises I have lost or really really wanted (Peking Dancer) and we have exchanged iris through the years. Thanks so much!

Tom's seedling (the giant one) that I hope will bloom next year.



Tiny Beacon (Aitken, MDB) - I love this little one!

Timely Kiss (Blyth, BB) - I love the burnt orange color of the falls



Tiff (Lauer, TB) - stalk just opening up



Tickle The Ivories (Blyth, IB)



Thornbird (Byers, historic TB) - the best known space ager out there

Only 2 more T's to try your patience (though S's are even worse!).

Tectorum: This one grew like crazy this summer. Greatly in need of dividing. Had both knees go out late spring, so way behind in such things.



Tarawera Flow (Jackson, LA) - Peter Jackson (of the LA's not LOTR's), and fellow Aussies Heather and Bernard Pryor, have really added some depth to the range of LA's. Great color combos, wider falls, more ruffles. It is a very sad thing that rhizomes can no longer be sent from Australia to the US because we LA lovers can no longer obtain their new introductions.

Looks like that seedling is doing well for you so far. I hope you get to see it next year. Love the statue, sure gives some character to the bed.

We used to have a lot more people who were active on this forum years ago. Boy we sure had some fun on here. Rob would have me laughing so hard some times I couldn't catch my breath. Sure miss him.

It's sure nice to see your bloom season. Looks like the Southern hemisphere is at or near the end now.

Thanks Tom. Your seedling is still the biggest in the garden. High hopes for next year.

The statue ended up being perfect for the stump in the center of the ring. She looks out over the LA's and also the JI's and sibs on the other side of the creek.

I agree about the loss of so many active members. We had so many with great stories and great humor. I will be "honoring" a few more than influenced my iris path as I go along.