Has anyone here heard of a tall bearded iris called Mary X? It isn't on the ATP database, nor can I find it on the web at all anywhere! I bought an iris by this name last year from a local iris specialist. I saw it flowering in her display garden, so I know I like it, but mine hasn't flwered yet so I have no photo to show you. Her catalogue description says its early to mid, mauve with brown markings, very nice, large.

I would like to know who the hybridiser is and the year of release for my records, and if it has any awards.

I also couldn't find much on Welcome Aboard or Alice Goodman.

Have you tried the iris encyclopedia? Doesn't sound like one I know, but the name may be wrong.

There isn't an iris registered under the name Mary X. It could be a garden name for an unregistered variety.

Here is the information on Welcome Aboard and Alice Goodman:

Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Welcome Aboard')

Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Alice Goodman')

The entry for Welcome Aboard doesn't have a picture yet, but all of the information contained in the AIS registry is there.

Thanks, I'm not familiar with the iris encyclopaedia, is it a book or online? Since the name isn't registered maybe she did get the name wrong, I doubt she would sell an unregistered garden variety as all the other ones she sells are fairly well known. When it flowers i'll try comparing it to others with first name Mary and see if I find a match. And I'll mention it to the seller when she opens her garden again.

The iris encyclopedia is online (http://wiki.irises.org/bin/vie...). But, the Database here at ATP includes every variety of iris listed in the American Iris Society's registry. For what it is worth, there are around 200 irises with Mary as part of the name:

http://garden.org/plants/searc...

You can narrow that down a lot if you know other details about Mary X (or any other iris). For example, the vast majority iris entries in the ATP Database already have their parentage listed. So, if you know the parentage, or even just one of the parents, you can use the "search by characteristics" function to get a list of varieties with a given parent/parentage.

The Irises Database

http://garden.org/plants/group...

Thankyou for your help!