Very, very difficult to id these beardeds by photo. For instance the apricot may be Beverly Sills, but maybe not.

They are certainly lovely.

HI Iris Gal,

Thanks for the feedback. You are right it will be difficult to id these irises from photo's. I was thinking that even if I got some ideas or leads about what they might be I can follow these up.

The apricot iris is certainly the one most commented on. I thought it might have been "Beverly Sills", but I do not think it is quite as pink as that. It has no pink tones whatsoever.

The white one with purple stitching I think might be "Rococo".

Regards Di

Here is a link that might be useful: Di's Place

Rococo has older form than the iris you have. Your blue plicata is more modern. I think Smoke Rings is a fairly safe bet. The others i can't help with, but most are fairly old.
If you can purchase a rhizome of Beverly Sills and grow it side by side with your apricot, then you can compare the blooms. My Beverly Sills was a malingerer, yours sounds a lot more robust, but growth can vary from area to area.
Old catalogues might help. Don't go too much by US web pages, because a lot of irises never came to Australia from the US. I have several Errey Bros catalogues, listing what they imported. They grew irises at Camperdown, in southern Vic. They might be of help if you find a name and need to know if that iris ever made it to Aus.
I will do some research and see if I can come up with some ideas.
BTW - I am in Creswick, north of Ballarat in central Vic. I know a few people who grow older style irises so i will keep an eye out. I am still trying to identify some of mine. Unfortunately some of the nurseries have been selling misnamed irises for several decades, which doesn't help.
Cheers, Jan

HI Jan,

Thanks so much for the feedback. Our house was apparently the first in town (southern nsw) and had the same owners until we bought it - which makes me think it quite likely that the irises are old.

I am enjoying the detective work involved in identifying these irises - such a difficult task to "have to" look at irises everywhere!!

There seems to be quite a lot similar to the Rococo - it will be hard to identify positively - probably easier to work out what it is not rather than what it is.

Regards Di

Di, you will find it both harder and easier as you go along. If you are interested you will read more about irises on line, and learn more about your plants. You will realise how many different introduced varieties there are so understand more how difficult it is to find the right names. You will also learn more about flower form, colour patterns, bloom season etc, and that will help you more easily eliminate the wrong choices. With any luck you will find the names of at least a few.
My "Indiglo" was a classic case of detective work. I received it from a friend under the name of "Aulds Blue" which I understood to be a mis-interpretation of "Old Blue". I knew the nursery from which it came, and I knew they had originally got it from an elderly lady who grew a lot of lovely irises.
When I joined the Victorian iris society, I made several good friends, one who grew a few irises that had originally come from an old lady in the area where i previously lived, who gres a lot of lovely irises - LOL.
When my Old blue bloomed I took a flower to her house in melbourne, and it was a perfect match for Indiglo, one of the said irises. I was thrilled!
The rest of my friends irises were listed by the nursery in their "layby book" as my friend had paid them off. They gave me the full list of names, which I matched up as they bloomed. A few of them that I still grow are: Pinnacle, Helen Collingwood, Wabash, Eleanor's Pride, Sable Night. Lovely old things!
Good luck, Cheers and happy iris growing, Jan.

Your dark pink looks like MISS CALIFORNIA. I will try to find a decent picture of 'Miss' and post it tonight.
The light pink does not look like BEVERLY SILLS to me; it could be, but the shape just doesn't look right. There are so many light pinks of that era, it is almost impossible to distinguish them.
Laetitia

upper right may be Indian Chief.

Here is a link that might be useful: Indian Chief on HIPS Site

Here's a link with a couple of photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Iris Afterglow

After looking at Miss California, I think your dark pink iris is NOT MC. However it might be 3 OAKS.
Top is MISS C; bottom is 3 OAKS, which unfortunately took a beating in the rain. 3O is a little lighter when not drenched.
What do you think?

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Hi njiris - thanks for your feedback!! I think you may be right about Bev Sills, it's the closest I could find, but I am not 100% satisfied that it is the one. Definately not MC but could be 3 Oaks, looks like the closest I have seen so far... Thanks for the suggstion and pics.
Regards Diane.

HI sylviatexas,

Thanks for your postings and links. I am convinced you are right about Indian Chief, but am not sure about Afterglow. I have also listed another iris that has just opened up, which is a brown one - absolutely love it, but have no idea of what it could be.
Thanks again, Diane

Here is a link that might be useful: Di's Place