Observations of
1999 Symposium Participants
A number of those voting offered comments on various irises and their growing experiences. Some were:

I love KENTUCKY CAJUN, a Tet, more each year. Vigorous, good branching and bud placement, incredible blooms with great form and depth of color. I’ve shared it with several society members and they love it.

-Ron and Eugenie Betzer,
San Martin,California

CAJUN SUNRISE was the star of the Louisiana iris bloom in our garden this year. It was greatly admired by all who visited the garden.

-Barbara and David Schmieder, Concord, Massachusetts

I grow all plants in sunken containers. They include: PROFESSOR IKE, a majestic plant, sturdy and long blooming; BLACK GAMECOCK, durable, floriferous, good increase; MARIE CAILLET, great plant, durable; SINFONIETTA, good bloom and increase.

-Mark Cook, Dunnellon, Florida

Last year I had problems with GULF SHORES. The drought hit it hard. Maybe I didn’t keep it as well watered as all the plants around it, I don’t know. But the dang thing was hit by one plague after another - insect attacks, spotted leaves, Southern blight (that mustard seed fungus). Finally, I got sick of trying to save it. Even Heather Pryor suggested it was time to give up. I yanked it up and tossed it over by the trash cans, in dry shade. But I forgot to put it in the trash cans. Three months later, I happened over there and what was growing like Topsy on top of the bone-dry ground? GULF SHORES - and looking better than it ever had. So I yanked it up and hauled it back to the LA row, and what did I find growing in GULF SHORES’ vacant space but another equally vigorous clump of GULF SHORES! Now, I have two of them.

-Celia Story, Little Rock, Arkansas

BAYOU VIXEN, a beautiful smallish brick red, had lots of nice bloom stalks as usual. The first blooming of OUR PARRIS was a very nice blending of colors that is so attractive. SEA CONSUL is really nice with it’s serrated edges.

-Brian Wendel, Ossian, Indiana

We have had wonderful bloom the past two springs - but we had Zone 7 winters instead of the normal Zone 5 winters. I hope we have good bloom when we have good old Michigan weather.

-Jill Copeland, Lawton, Michigan

The cultivars from the Arkansas hybridizers have done best overall in my garden, although I have not lost many due to hardiness considerations. Even those planted 200 miles north at the farm in Zone 5 have mostly grown (when planted next to the air conditioner which leaks extra water to them.

-Nyla Hughes, Webster Groves, Missouri

NEWSBRIEF performed best this year in our garden, even though it has been neglected for several years. INNER BEAUTY is new to us and we love it. It is aptly named, has an unusual color pattern and was admired by garden visitors. If it continues to perform well, it will be a favorite for us. We have a clone of pale blue I. brevicaulis which our daughter collected in Georgia some years ago. The last bloom on it closed on July 3rd . I can’t remember such late bloom on this I. brevicaulis in past years.

-Jean Morris, Ballwin, Missouri

Many of my varieties are inconsis-tent bloomers. They bloom every other year, but do increase.

-Marlene Woleniski, Brooklyn Park, North Carolina

I reset all of my Louisianas last fall and added Humalfa to the soil. The plants look great. I did not have a lot of bloom, but the bloom I had was excellent, especially CAJUN COOKERY and CLARA GOULA. Since May 1, we have had a lot of rain here in Tulsa, and we were about 12-13 inches above nor-mal on July 1. The plants are growing and looking great.

-Paul Gossett, Tulsa, Oklahoma

My three “professors” seem to really crawl, but they multiply. I have learned over the years to space the LA’s far away from each other but among other iris. Otherwise, what is who?

-Jim Coward, Waxahachie, Texas