Orchids and Mauve 
Frieda Mohr was long a standard in this color class. New additions include Dreamcastle, 
Fantasy and Gay Orchid to mention only a few. If you want Wide petals—Dreamcastle looks 
like a real breeder. For smoothness Lynn Langford, Gay Orchid, and Harriet Thoreau should 
be useful. The new pinks throw a lot of these orchid and mauve colors as witnessed by Fantasy 
Gay Orchid and Pagan Princess. 
Plicatas 
So varied have the plicatas become that we might expect almost anything. Interest seems 
to have been centered on the yellow-ground plicatas, however, since the advent of J. Sass’ 
Siegfried, Tiffany, Orloff and Bonanza, and nearly all of the advances in this color come 
through them, although Mary Geddes has played a part in some. Many iris carry plicata blood 
and we must look to these carrying the recessive plicata blood, very often, if we choose this 
class for hybridizing. For instance | used Gold Ruffles and Salar (both plicata carriers) and 
produced one yellow plicata—this in turn crossed on Rare Marble gave me a red plicata of 
size and quality that may be named. The lemon-whites from plicatas are of course plicata 
carriers and very often produce bright seedlings—some are: Elsa Sass, Moonlight Madonna, 
Belle Amie, Jake, Snow Velvet, and Cool Lemonade. In the blue and white plicata class Aldura, 
for form and substance is a wonderful parent and its newer child Blue Rim is exciting in the 
blue and white class. Blue Shimmer, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Snow Crystal all look 
good in themselves and for breeding. In the red and yellow plicatas Rare Marble, Firecracker, 
Fire Dance, Vision of Mirza, Royal Scot and Tiffany should still be useful. There are some new 
ones coming on the horizon from DeForest, Craig and possibly others. 
The Lemon Yellows 
This class should almost be coupled with the yellow-ground plicatas, as previously mentioned, 
for they come from them. They are a clean-looking group of iris. Lugano, a new one from 
Cayeux of France looks interesting since it has such fine branching and blooms over a long 
period of time—it is said, likewise, to have a re-blooming tendency. Mattie Gates is a big 
flower with sharp contrast in its coloring, but for me it has had a strong tendency‘to bloom too 
heavily. Although not tall or large | think Cool Lemonade has a particular charm in that it is 
a complete self—even to the beard, and the fact that it starts the tall bearded season makes 
it especially welcome. Carl Larson used Cool Lemonade on his Celestar producing some fine 
seedlings—one an improved Cool Lemonade which we hope some day to introduce. 
The Reds 
We're still looking! Hoping! Who knows where the break may come? Some advances 
have been made—mostly toward giving our ''reds'' a finished look. We have eliminated striations 
or haft markings. With such varieties as Garden Glory and Burmese Ruby we have real 
smoothness of finish—and the latter has achieved one sought goal—it is a complete self—the 
standards being the same color as the falls. In 1945 there appeared in my seedling beds two 
iris No. 45-116: sister to Brown Stain and 45-105: E. B. Williamson x Charm—both quite red— 
the latter almost on the order of Radiant so it was on the copper side. These were crossed 
from them came a seedling No. 47-125 with the reddest velvet falls imaginable—this has been 
crossed with Velvet Mantle and Burmese Ruby—we will watch the seedlings with keen interest. 
Undoubtedly both Red Gleam and Red Valor are to be good parents in this color class, with 
Red Torch, Garden Glory, Garden Flame proving their worth. Garden Magic has produced some 
fine seedlings among them Ranger (a rather difficult parent), and Garden Glory. | had a red- 
purple seedling from Rubeo x Garden Magic which crossed to Garden Glory gave me two 
splendid seedlings—both keenly reminiscent of Garden Glory and both on the short side—the 
best, 48-118 A, was crossed on Velvet Mantle, Burmese Ruby and a seedling from E. B. Wil- 
liamson x Ranger. Campfire Glow, while primarily a deep rich blend appears to me to have 
considerable red in its makeup and should be a fine parent here. About the best of the intro- 
duced reds as they have grown for me is Redwyne—a real standout. It is the only Christabel 
derivative | have seen to show such quality. Perhaps it is a bit on the short side, as most of 
the better reds have been. Oh, yes, and we cannot overlook the rich Solid Mahogany, Apex, 
and Orelio. 
The Blacks 
Like the reds these have been, very often, on the short side. Bob Schreiner had to tell me, 
when | commented last year on Black Forest producing seedling on the small side, that | had 
better not get myself out on a limb then proceed to cut the limb off—a good warning for it 
appéars no such statement can be made, flatly, regarding any iris for very often with the right 
things they produce something we hardly expect in size or color and our claims are proven 
wrong. The Schreiners evidently have a series of seedlings from Black Forest that are both 
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