Wowee. You hit paydirt. Gorgeous Japanese (ensata) and only 18 inches!

Was it a private seed trade? How long from germination to bloom? TIA

The seeds were sent as Siberian Iris, Double White and I winter sowed them in 2005-2006...after two years of patience, I was very excited to see this!

Please tell me how you know that it is ensata? I had looked on ensata.com and could not see any definitive characteristics for either Iris (sibirica or ensata)....

The closest I got to a possible match was I. sibirica 'Galadriel'

Here is another that I winter sowed the same year...bloomed for the first time this year...it is an Iris ensata and quite tall.

Definitely an ensata. Feel the leaves and if they have a rib that is the difference between sib and JI, but just looking at this one you can tell it's JI.

Usually first year bloom is shorter than normal.

Good job getting those JIs from seed!

Siberians have a different pattern around the signal (the yellow 'arrow') area and there is a drape to the these falls with almost crepe texture that denotes ensata.

There has been some success with inter-breeding --- I'm not up on it. Never say never. Maybe there is Siberian in its parentage?

Thank you for the clarification!

I would have loved to attempt a cross-breeding on the two above or others, but they are not cooperating with bloom time...

Does anyone know if pollen can be stored and how?