Dominion Veloetiness 
Ghalactekizes These 
The most important landmark, to date, in the 
history of iris hybridizing was the production in 
1912 (and introduction in 1917) by the late A. J. 
Bliss of the famous variety, Dominion. This deep 
violet seedling, produced from a single viable seed 
secured from a cross of Cordelia x Aynas, was the first 
iris introduction to possess extremely heavy sub¬ 
stance and superbly lustrous texture. Dominion had 
three faults, however: it was a difficult grower, it 
had poor branching, (having a tendency to knuckle 
in and thus crowd the blooms), and its stems lacked 
height. Dominion proved an invaluable breeder, 
however, giving its wonderful substance and texture 
to seedlings which inherited better height, branch¬ 
ing, and habits from other parents. Many of these 
first or second generation seedlings introduced by 
Bliss in the early 1920’s were the sensation of their 
day. Several of them, as Cardinal, Bruno, Duke of 
Bedford, Swazi, etc. are still relatively excellent and 
are widely grown and admired by iris fans all over 
the world. These early Dominion seedlings have 
been superseded, however, by more recent produc¬ 
tions as much superior to Cardinal and Bruno, for 
instance, as these were to the original Dominion. 
Indeed, the only Bliss iris remaining in our First 
Hundred today is Mrs. Valery West, one of his last 
and his greatest production. 
We thought it would be interesting to see how 
many of our Hundred Best Iris represent develop¬ 
ments of the Dominion strain. A careful check-up 
indicates that all of the following (thirty in num¬ 
ber), and perhaps a few more, can trace their pedi¬ 
gree in part to Bliss’ famous introduction of 1917: 
Venus de Milo, Persia, Black Wings, Blue Velvet, Mel- 
doric, Mrs. J. L. Gibson, Royal Beauty, St. Louis, 
Tenaya, Serenite, Rameses, Rose Dominion, Directeur 
Pinelle, Legend, Itasca, Motif, Red Dominion, Burning 
Bronze, Cheerio, Dauntless, Grace Sturtevant, Indian 
Chief, War Eagle, Depute Nomblot, Mrs. Valery West, 
El Tovar, King Juba, Vision, Picador, California Gold. 
In addition, about an equal number of the second 
hundred are also of the same ancestry. Capri, Beo- 
wulf, and Marco Polo among our introductions of 
this year, are newer additions to the Dominion strain, 
and like all the recent Dominion varieties, of a rugged, 
hardy constitution. 
On the opposite page we have pictured three of 
the Dominion derivitives. Klamath, an enormous 
new giant (deep violet with tints of brown-purple 
in the falls) is one of the few iris pictured in this 
catalog which are not in the First Hundred. Its 
fine quality, size, and color is illustrative of the fact 
that there are many excellent iris in the Second 
Hundred as well — not quite so fine as the first-line 
Deep Bluet anc) Blue-Violets 
iris, but still deserving of a place in the fancier’s 
garden. . . . Introduced without fanfare, but so 
large and fine that a position among the superlative 
could no longer be denied it is Cayeux’s Samba Diouf. 
It is a giant deep blue-violet self with a fine silky, 
velvety sheen. . . . Winneshiek, from the originator 
of Elizabeth Egelberg, is lustrous, imposing. A touch 
of ruffling augments its graceful form, while a mar¬ 
gining of slightly lighter tone makes its coloring 
distinctive. 
In the glorious pageant of deep blues and violets, 
one of the finest, bar none, is Mrs. J. L. Gibson, 
Rich, velvety, tall, of copious substance, regal form, 
and excellent carriage, it is perhaps the finest Do¬ 
minion violet seedling thus far produced. Very 
nearly a self, with inky-black, crepy standards, lus¬ 
trous and silky, — and glossy, slightly flaring falls 
of fine breadth, it is an iris which has carried the 
deep-violet section to new heights. ... A bluer 
type and more of a bicolor is Blue Velvet, a Dominion 
iris of great individual beauty. On established 
clumps we have had beautiful branched stalks well 
above the foliage. . . . Black Wings, a midnight- 
blue self with a darker sheen is splendid for front 
plantings, its height being just right for such a 
location. 
We have always been extremely fond of Sir 
Michael. Those rich clear blue standards with lux¬ 
urious falls of deep velvety brown and plum-purple 
are most striking. The beard is bright red-orange. 
Sir Michael still maintains itself as one of the finest 
Iris and one which evades an honest description of 
its beauty. . . . Tallest of this color group is the 
stalwart Valor, a bicolor with blue-violet standards 
and indigo-purple falls. . . . Another handsome 
bicolor is Royal Beauty, whose standards and falls 
are of markedly different depth of color but of equal 
shades of blueness — producing a dual color effect, 
rich, fresh-toned, and vivid—making this Iris ideal 
for featured plantings in the finest iris gardens. 
I have saved until last an Iris for which I have a 
strong personal liking: St. Louis. I believe I would 
rank it very near the top among the deep blue- 
violets. It is a rich indigo color, practically a self, 
and with the most brilliant lustre of any of the iris 
in this class (excepting The Black Douglas and our 
new black seedling Ethiop Queen). It is not quite as 
large as Mrs. J. L. Gibson nor quite so broad in the 
falls, but color, height, and branching are even finer 
than with that great variety. St. Louis has a beard 
of an old orange color — just marked enough to 
give it a well-groomed appearance. Its height makes 
it admirable for use in landscape plantings. 
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