That is beautiful. More pictures please!

Thank-you anjap. The word "here" in my above post should serve as a link to my latest uploads page, but I'll add it as a link at the end of this post to be sure it works.

There should be more photos there than you care to look at and I'm processing hundreds more for upload.

Did the thumbnail link properly for you? It shows me an error page.

Thanks again.
Brock

Here is a link that might be useful: Latest Uploads

Hi Brock,

No, the thumbnail did not work for me either, but the 'Here' and 'Latest Uploads' links work fine.

I'm sure I will get much enjoyment out of the many pics in the wintry months that are fast approaching us.

Thank you for the pics.

Sue

Hi Brock,
the Here and Latest Uploads work fine for me. The pictures are so gorgeous.
Anja

Thank-you Anja and Sue. I'm glad to hear that you are and will be enjoying them.

Just to let everyone know I'm in the process of adding the rest of the Japanese Iris photos I took at the SJI National this year. The photos I had up already were from the same convention, but those were only the images I added to davesgarden. These are all new photos, some duplicates of the other varieties, but mostly seedlings and gardens.

There are alot of Hiroshi Shimizu's pseudatas in the images I'm still adding too. So, if you like them you'll see alot of things most of the world hasn't yet seen.

Still 500+ to go (not all from the SJI Convention) and I'll be at the MGLI tomorrow, so I hope to have something worth sharing from that too.

Brock

P.S. I'll try another thumb. This is a maiden bloom on one of Jill Copeland's pseudata seedlings.

It appears the thumb still didn't work. I even tested it in the preview and it worked until I posted it. Sorry, I thought it was going to work this time. The thumbs I've posted elsewhere have worked.

Thanks Brock! Awesome pictures. Looking forward to the rest of your JI pictures too. It is so wonderful to have younger people doing what you are. Maybe some day you will be one of our favorite hybridizers, since all of the great ones are getting ready to retire. Your new property is really going to be something to see in bloom. I know I will never make it out west to see the beautiful gardens, but maybe within the next few years I can drive down state to see your iris in bloom!

Shadow

Shadow

Thank-you for your kind words Shadow. I would like it if you did come visit once things are established. I've actually been considering/planning becoming a regional/median display garden by 2010. There are more JI photos. I haven't made it to the second day's photos.

To let everyone know, I've uploaded my favorite images taken yesterday at the MGLI. I realize this isn't a horse forum, but I believe most here are Naturally inclined and might enjoy them. Apparently, I can process images much more quickly while they're still interestingly new to me.

Here's the link: MGLI 2008.

I hope they brighten someone's day, but as I've said many times, if an off topic post is offensive to anyone I won't post another.

Brock

I almost forgot to post a thumb to show a sample. It won't work, but it also won't bog down the post with load times.

Hi Brock,
the Pseudatas are lovely. What is the parentage of the pseudatas (I suppose Iris pseudacorus x ? )? It is a shame they are not available here in Germany.
Also love the horse picture.
Anja

Hi Anja,

Pseudatas are I. pseudacorus X I. ensata and are relatively new to the iris world. There was an article on them in the AIS Bulletin within the last few years, but I don't know if you're a member.

Hiroshi Shimizu of Japan is at the forefront of their develpment having managed successful crosses from a pseudacorus plant he started from seed then later introduced under the name of 'Gubijin'. You can see his latest introductions made available by Carol Warner of Maryland here: Draycott Gardens

Jill Copeland (here in Michigan) is also actively developing them, as you can see by her seedlings. She informed me that she uses purple JI parents, to get the brighter colors, and that a blue parent would get those smoky creations I'm crazy about. She's not so crazy about them and said "smoky" was a nice way to put it.

Here are two smoky beardless irises that are some of my favorites and not everyone's taste.

'Here Be Dragons'

'Uncorked'

I'm certain there are plenty of other people working with them now, I just mentioned those that came to mind first. The next step in their development will be in the realms of fertility as most are sterile. I was looking into this more a while back and did find several pseudatas listed as parents of introduced varieties.

I think "crash" is the best word to describe this "course", but I hope it helps you somehow. Everyone is still learning about them. The judges' training course Jill put on at the SJI Convention is one of the first I know of and we were only able to discuss them under the SPEC-X class as they don't have their own section in the handboook yet.

Brock

I love the 'smokey' pseudatas. Do you know if they are invasive?

And are the unlabeled Japanese seedlings also?

Thanks for posting all these ~~ and taking them!

Hi iris gal,

I'm sorry I guess I should have been more clear. When I said those two I posted were smoky beardless irises I should also have said they were Siberians and are already available introductions (in fact I added HBD to my garden this year). I just wanted to show the color range I was referring to.

Regarding the unlabeled photos, that gets tricky. Many of those are seedlings, but after I had photographed one of the full fields of plants I discovered that they were introduced varieties and their names were on labels placed inside of pvc pipes driven into the ground beside them. Unfortunately, I didn't have the energy or drive to go back through and get all of their names.

I took the safe and easier route to leave anything I was unclear about without a name. If it had a label in plain site beside it, it has a name on the photo.

Because they were once believed to all be sterile a lot of people say pseudatas won't reseed, so they shouldn't be able to spread by floating downstream or across a lake. But as I mentioned I did see some listed as parents in the registrations. They will still grow large if given enough water, but I've been told that they aren't in the same ranks as a pure pseudacorus when it comes to invasiveness.

They are supposed to have amazing bud-counts and Jill said you can't count them until they've finished blooming. She said she's had stalks with 20+ blooms (I can't seem to find my notes with the actual number from the JT) that just kept producing buds. Keep in mind this is not Oregon, and they're even colder on the west side of Michigan than here. A TB with 7 buds is a pleasant surprise in our gardens. 4 or 5 seems to be the average.

I'm just trying them myself this year, including 3 of Shimizu's 08's and the older 'Kinshikou'. A friend has an even older intro by Jill named 'Pixie Won' that's much smaller and I've been told I can try that when it's safe to move next spring.

I'm glad you're enjoying the photos. Trust me the, the taking is not the hard part. :)

Brock

Here's a thumb of 'Pixie Won', if you're interested in trying a pseudata and you're afraid of it overrunning your garden.

I've forgotten to mention many pseudatas have gorgeous chartreuse foliage. Here's a comparison to the JI's around PW (in the lower left corner).

I'm sorry the thumbs aren't loading properly, but I haven't changed my process, so I'm assuming it's an issue within photobucket.

Hurray! Last 2 pictures loaded. Love the chartreuse foliage. I think I need some pseudatas! :)

Shadow

Hi Brock,
I will not be able to sleep this night because I will always think "where can I get these beautiful plants"? A member of the German Iris Society told me he grows some pseudatas and hopefully he will be able to share them in the next few years. Do they like acid and/or damp soil (I forgot to ask him)?
I bought the Siberian iris Here be dragons last year from the hybridizer and although it was very expensive to import plants to Germany (you need a phytosanitary certificate and must pay customs fees and taxes) it was well worth it. HBD is my favorite Siberian and I crossed it with the Siberian So van Gogh. I have about 30 seeds from this cross and I wonder what will come out of this. But I suppose I will have to wait until 2011 until I see the seedlings bloom.
Anja

Hi Brock,

Great info on the pseudatas. I just love them.

I just wanted to mention I have the pod parent Mr. Shimizu is using for his pseudata crosses, Gubijin, and so far no viable seeds on it's own. So I don't think it's invasive at all. I hope to use it for hybridizing some of my own pseudatas just for fun.

Thanks Brock. I thought I recognized some of the un-labeled ensatas so that's why I asked about them in particular. Sure love Bauer-Coble's seedlings.

I loved pseudocorus but read the warnings. So the pseudatas are great news. I remember Pixie Won from before.

Your pictures of beardeds Before The Storm and Blackalicious (sp?) are stunning captures of their deep color. Really excellent. Which camera were you using?

I'm glad to see the last two thumbs worked. I'm still not sure what was going on. I'm also glad to hear more people are getting hooked, because they really are stunning in person.

Anja,

I'm happy to hear that you could be able to find them after all. They do require moisture. That could just be in the form of mulch and a deep watering if it doesn't rain for a while. I believe they say the same for them as JIs, about 1" a week (some say less). As far as pH goes, I'm finding mixed answers. They like things more acidic than, say bearded, but I can't get a clear answer.

Davesgarden suggests 5.6-6.5, where they suggest 5.1-6.5 for JIs. But they also say that JIs are only hardy to zone 6a and Ensata Gardens is supposedly the largest JI grower in the world, outside of Japan, and they're zone 5 ( I believe). So, I'm hesitant sometimes to take everything I find to heart.

Carol Warner says JIs need less acidity than the pseudatas, so now I really don't know. She says JIs need a range of 5.0-6.4 and pseudatas need 5.0-6.0.

I sincerely hope you'll share your results from the SVG X HBD cross. Those are two of the most incredible SIBs I've seen.

iris_gal,

You have a better eye than I, because I can't place any of the no-names. I have plenty more of John and Bob's seedling to get to. The next batch will be from the trip to their garden.

Thank-you for your compliments, but it was all the camera. If the image has a P........ name it's from my old Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K (which was a miracle worker in its day) and if it has an IMG...... name it's from my new Canon Rebel XSi.

I told my Mother I thought the latest batch of MGLI photos are the best I've taken, but I don't know if that makes me happy or sad. The only difference in the photos was the equipment (not me) and that just strengthens my belief that your photos are only as good as your equipment and anyone can take good photos.

I'm getting long-winded again, so I'll finish by saying 'Blackalicious' was the second to last bearded to close this year and actually stood out in the blacks.

Brock

I guess I could have just said the two images you asked about were from the Canon. Sorry, I wasn't thinking.

BTW I've failed to mention all along, one of my favorite parts of the story on pseudatas is that Shimizu did it all on his balcony and in pots!

I'm growing the pseudatas I have just like I grow the Japanese and siberians. In regular garden soil, and I use miracid on them every three weeks or so. Kinshikou and the others have done great like this. No special treatment at all. Plenty of water, and mulch, but no special soil amendments.

I suspect they are hardy to Z4. Japanese can grow in zone 4 with no problem, and the pseudatas would be as hardy as their least hardiest parent, which would be the Japanese.

Your XSi and You are a great team. I'd forgotten what your new camera was. Thanks for responding. I'm seeing some beardeds shot with a Nikon D300 and very disappointing. Since I popped for a laptop this year the new camera's on hold.

Great story about Mr. Shimizu's balcony. Dedication.

Just added another 60 from the SJI Convention. They're all edited now, but the last 100 still need to be resized and labeled. Before you know it I'll be caught up with my photos. Well, after I edit the other 500 that have been put on the back burner. I could actually finish before things start blooming again. :) I think my photobucket gallery is going to roll over the 9,000 photo mark when I do finish.

The new additions start on this page with this photo (another pseudata, but I don't know its name):

I'll be sure to let you know when the last SJI photos go up.

Brock