COULD IT BE....PINK FROTH? GAME PLAN?

All the lovely SDB's and IB's that he has introduced.

Broken Dreams

Charmed Circle

Foggy Dew

Game Plan (This is mentioned above but I fear overlooked. Best brown iris I have ever seen or grown.

Inside Track

Spirit World

Star Fleet

Walter Moores

don't stop now anyone else
randall

Don't forget Kitty Kay, Telepathy, Quandary and Drama Queen.

I have both of the Drama girls that have grass-like foliage with no blooms. As mentioned before Happenstance, Quandary, and Sea Power have had multiple deaths here. KK has been here two years without any bloom.

Add Broadway, Caramba, Lovely Dawn, Musician, and Opposing forces to the must-have list.

I first saw Caramba in Lloyd Zurbrigg's garden at the 1974 convention in Roanoke, VA. I did a couple of back flips over that one. Then came Broadway and back flips all around the garden!

Walter Moores

Smiling Faces, Parisian Dawn, Oreo, It really depends on your definition of essential. It seems my top ten Keppel's have been mentioned here. If your looking for parent plants, Fogbound and Fancy Woman would probably fill your list.
Florentine Silk cuts a real pretty picture.
Undercurrent is one of my recent favorites.
Adoregon is nice.
Fashion Designer is breathtaking when at its best.
Alpenview has fantastic clump appeal to me.
Any "essential" list probably should include Rustler and Mulled Wine.
Tour De France seems popular.
Vienna Waltz and Venetian Glass.
While Twilight Blaze hasn't gottent the attention others have, It is one of my favorites.
If you count Finalist as a Keppel it's essential.
Among SDB's Devil Baby is a must have. Its form is unbelievable. Keith has some seedlings going with Marky Smiths' Panther X Devil Baby that look promising.

Paris Fashion is especially essential in my book. And though George already mentioned it, Parisian Dawn is the one I have been most excited to get my hands on. Been planning crosses for it ever since I knew it was going to be introduced this year.

Robin Shadlow
zone 5 NE

where Sirroco Mist has three blooms open today

Fancy Woman got frozen in the early spring each year and could not recover in time to bloom.

Aura Light, Blyth, is another very early bloomer but it is not affected by late cold snaps.

Walter Moores

That seems to be common to Luminatas. (Getting bit by early frosts) My Daughter of Stars had half of its stalks bitten by frost. I don't have Fancy Woman. (I have Flights of Fancy)
My point was simply that if you look at the parentage the last several years of Keppels iris it seems either Fancy Woman or Fogbound will be there somewhere in many of them.

Guess it depends on where you live, too. I remember Fancy Woman winning the Cook Cup in Detroit back in '97. This was mainly a median show, but FW was in bloom in several gardens, and most of the conventioneers were TB fanciers. So, Detroit may not be affected by late cold snaps.

The two tenderist irises for me have been Chocolate Vanilla and Skookumchuck. The least amount of cold in the spring after they had started to grow would kill them post haste, and there were no nubbins or small increases to try for a comeback. These accounts are not based on one season happenings. Both were replaced. I think I tried CV three times.

Walter Moores

That is interesting Walter. This year we had some warm weather in late winter that let the iris break dormancy, that's all. Just see some new growth. Then the winter frosts just kept coming for another month. We didn't have the terrible late frost I don't think, but Progressive Attitude, Exactitude and Daughter of Stars all took a pretty good jolt in my garden. Odd thing is none of the IB's or SDB's were affected. Well, possibly Death By Chocolate. For some reason it gave me two maybe three bloom stalks in two clumps. So why do some TB's seem more affected by late frosts than others, and why aren't the Medians affected too?

How about In Love Again? Beautiful pink. I think I posted a picture of it in the Gallery. Planted it last year and it bloomed, and it has a little bee pod on it. Miami Beach is a pretty yellow. One of my favorites is Beguine, Keppel 1987.

Shadow

I think the medians, since they are lower to the ground, are protected by radiated soil warmth whereas the early talls if they are far along in stalk development are in the cold, freezing air.

I have noted this on several occasions when the temp. dropped to 28o or thirty - early TBs zapped; medians fine.

Walter Moores

GMASON contact me offline I have something for you.Randall

Congratulations to Keith! Sea Power-2006 Dykes Medal Winner!!

Billy

SOCIAL EVENT, TRADE SECRET, RIPPLE EFFECT and his first Dykes Medalist, BABBLING BROOK.