Acoma Mager 90 EM TB 34 in. AM Wide graceful flowers. Sky Blue wide standards with darker blue-violet plicata markings on ruffled ivory falls. Order now while supplies last. $11.88
Acrobat Williamson 80 EM TB 35 in. Ruffled with standards of silver-lilac infused with amber plum; falls same with amber hafts & amber-plum borders, the Acrobat sets a standard of unprecedented charm. $9.98
Actress Keppel 76 EM TB 35 in. AM The actress will amaze you with its dazzling color of spring wisteria, its wonderfully wild tucks and ruffles and of course, its unique tangerine beards. The new glamour and trendsetting flair of this top quality performer is designed to flatter. $11.88
Aegean Star Plough 72 EM TB 30 in. HM This colorful mosaic involves an exhuberant marriage of deep violet plicata, pure white ground, and violet beards. A look that is uniquely different in expression of color and design. What a great way to create a splash in your garden this spring!
Afternoon Delight Ernst 85 M TB 36 in. AM In a soothing desert palette with honey tanned standards infused with lavender. The Afternoon Delight provides a simple statement of style and grace. The subtle elegance is sure to delight all your guests. $11.16
Almaden Maryott 90 M TB 36 in. HM The smooth, dark,and red- maroon colour of this rich and enchanting flower is like the distinctive red wind of Almaden Valley, CA. It is sunfast and has no haft markings. The much sought after grace and majesty of such a deep and luscious colour is always a stunning addition to any garden. Why not add it to yours!
Altruist Schreiner 87 EM TB 37 in. AM Provides an oh-so luxurious look with its ruffled and fluted cool azure, and lightening to chalk white around midrib and beards. This graceful and fresh presence is one not to be forgotten. $11.88
Amber Snow Blyth 87 E TB 36 in. With a ruffled amonena, pure white standards, amber apricot falls, and bright tangerine beards, Amber Snow offers a hint of sophistication, romance, and simplicity for all those with such impeccable tastes. $11.88
Aphrodisiac Schreiner 86 M TB 36 in. HM The lightly ruffled petals with the luscious shaded apricot underside, will dazzle any garden or back yard setting. This finely sculptured iris and shining pearl luster will cater to your garden fantasy of sophistication and mystique. $11.88
Appreciation Hager 83 M TB 38 in. This beautiful garden perennial has buff-tan standards with rounded orchid-lavender falls, with bright and bold yellow beards. Appreciation has deeply fluted flowers on well branched stalks and therefore remains one of our bestsellers yet.This iris flower is bound to be a bright spot in your day! $11.88
At Dawn R & L Miller 88 EM TB 29 in. The sun-spun colours of this perennial are highly reminiscent of spring and the vitality that it brings. With a vibrant burst of lemon yellow standards, a slightly deeper color where it falls, and the rich aureolin yellow hafts and beards, this bulb will provide just the zest and vigor that your garden needs. $11.88
Aztec Dance Blyth 80 M TB 34 in. The rustic, time-honored beauty of cream standards, white falls, violet plicata borders and yellow beards of the Aztec Dance iris, yeild a fabulous mix of color and texture to create the perfect summertime classic for your backyard garden. $11.88
Babbling Brook Keppel 66 m TB 38 in. DM, AM, HM This delicate looking iris creates a beautiful, subtle palette with light blue petals and light yellow beards. It does very well with lot's of light and will be the perfect addition of fresh spring and easter colors to any garden. $11.88
Barefoot Boy M TB 36 in. Light blue standards and falls. Vigorous grower. This is an aggressive grower that is virtually carefree and can hold its own against weeds. An older variety but one with lots of crowd appeal and road site viewability. Excellent for bank stabilization. We have used it on steep sandy ridges to hold the soil. Iris are useful for many things!
Beautiful Vision Schreiner 90 M TB 38 in. HM A brilliant mix! The bright tangerine beards stand out on this rose-pink flower with laced and ruffled edges. Its withstanding durability and beauty is sure to impress. $11.88
Beckon Daling 74 M TB 40 in. A rhythm of color
involving rosy violet and purple plicata on pure white with yellow beards. This plant maintains a vigorous growth rate and is striking in any combination of vibrant perennials.
Best Bet Schrenier 88 E TB 36 in. AM, HM With light wisteria blue standards gently contrasting against the deep hyacinth falls, this classic beauty is a display of all around excellence. Named for its outstanding qualities of flourishing growth habits, the Best Bet is sure to be the most thriving grace of your garden. $11.88
Epicenter Epicenter is an outstanding purple-lilac beauty resplendent with dappled cream center and purple beard. $11.04
Mystic Lace Lightly ruffled blue lavender standards with royal blue to purple falls. $11.04
Pink Encore Pink Encore is one of the pinkest of pink tall bearded iris. Real pretty. $11.04
Laced Cotten Laced Cotton is a tall bearded iris with real class. Frilled and laced standards and graceful ruffled falls make it a showpiece for any garden. $11.04
Maroon Maiden Maroon Maiden casts a spell with it intense mysterious mauve-purple aura. Your garden is resplendent with this winner. $11.04
Villan Villan is that rare blend of unique majesty and regal splendor that every garden desperately needs. A certain devlish aloofness puts this iris in a class of its own.Falls are royal purple with a cream edging and deep creamy gold. $11.04
Thai Orange Thai Orange exhibits unique texture and a rosy orange that stands apart from its other iris cousins. Falls are orange and standards oranger if possible! $11.04
Inland Passage Gaulter 1986 Violet blue with white beards reminds you of a misty sea voyage with towering Norweigan fiords and a North Atlantic emotion in the summer. Beauty! $11.04
Lady Emma F. Jones 86 M BB 24 in. HM Primrose yellow. Yellow beards. Lady Emma reblooms profusely in our gardens and does a great performance in the spring as a border bearded. Highly recommended. Vigorous grower and very resistant.
Barefoot Boy M TB 36 in. Light blue standards and falls. Vigorous grower. This is an aggressive grower that is virtually carefree and can hold its own against weeds. An older variety but one with lots of crowd appeal and road site viewability. Excellent for bank stabilization. We have used it on steep sandy ridges to hold the soil. Iris are useful for many things!
Pansy Grape M TB 35 in. A traditional purple grape solid with lighter petals. Strong performer year and after year with prolific blooms. Beautiful smell.
Irises are wonderful garden plants. You can certainly find some that will grow for you, if you just give them light. Some grow in deserts, some in swamps, some in the cold far north, and many in temperate climates. Iris means rainbow, and that's because irises come in so many colors: blues and purples, whites and yellows, pinks and oranges, browns and reds, and even blacks.
The Genus Iris
The genus Iris and related genera
Linnaeus placed a great variety of plants in the genus Iris and a great number of species have been added since his time, the total now being over two or three hundred species. Later classifications have removed many species into separate genera and divided the species remaining in the genus Iris into sections and other subclassifications.
By the ninetheenth century botanists had created new genera such as Evansia, Hermodactylus, Moraea, Oncocyclus, and Xiphion. Opinion was divided whether to split the genus into several parts or lump them back into Iris. For instance, J. G. Baker separated some such as Moraea and Xiphion from Iris in his Handbook of the Irideae published in London in 1892.
W. R. Dykes clarified the situation by a compromise in his monograph The Genus Iris (Cambridge University Press, 1913; reprinted in 1974 by Dover). Some groupings of species previously made separate genera became sections within the genus Iris. These included Evansia, Oncocyclus, and Xiphion. (Dykes further divided some of these sections of Iris into groups of species.) Others groupings of species remained outside the genus. The Snake's Head Iris, which Linnaeus had called Iris tuberosa, was left in the genus Hermodactylus, and the many moreas (south African irises) placed in Iris by Linnaeus remained the genus Moraea.
L. Diels' classification of the Iridaceae (in Engles and Prantl's Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien, 1930) updated Dykes classification. Subsections were named in the Apogon section (beardless irises).
G. H. M. Lawrence reclassified irises in 1953. An updated classification by Randolph appears in Garden Irises (L. F. Randolph, editor; A. I. S. 1959). Dykes' sections and subsections were shifted up and down into subgenera, sections, subsections, and series, but no irises were shifted into or out of the genus Iris. This classification is used by the American Iris Society.
Rodionenko's 1961 reclassification in The Genus Iris (in Russian, Moscow, 1961) was more ambitious in that he split the genus into five genera: Iris (includes rhyzomatous irises), Xiphium (bulbous irises like Dutch and English irises), Iridodictyum (bulbous irises like reticulata), Gynandriris (just what Linnaeus called Iris sisyrinchium), and Juno (bulbous Juno irises). Below is a summary of Rodionenko's classification of Iris, the other four genera mentioned above, and Hermodactylus. In this classification, a genus may be divided into subgenera, a subgenus into sections, a section into subsections, and a subsection into series. Several species may be included in a series.