I agree. Not quite right for 'Joyce Terry'. Does 'Sunmaster' ring a bell? It's listed as early at 30 inches.

My granddaughter and I have looked and compared our iris with Joyce Terry, First Interstate, and Sunmaster. We believe the iris we have is First Interstate.

Any thoughts from any body on the purple and the multicolor?

Does 'Battle Star' ring any bells for this last one?

Thank you so very much, lynch49. As soon as I read 'Battle Star,' I remembered ordering one a number of years ago. Looked at a picture and that is it! Yeah!

Thats great. So glad it helped. We can't get 'Battle Star' here in New Zealand, but I remembered it as being a parent of one of my space-agers 'Gladys Austin'. Cheers

Just looked at 'Gladys Austin;' it is beautiful! Am so glad that you remembered the parentage. Curious about 'Battle Star' not being available is New Zealand. Is there a reason that you know of?

Hi Walnutcreek. Due to our country's agricultural restrictions, we have not been able to import any irises at all into NZ since the end of 2005. Although 'Battle Star' was hybridized long before that, there are a number of plants that were never imported into NZ, and it appears 'Battle star' is one of those never imported. Over the years, myself and another member of the NZ Iris Society put together our own individual databases of known irises in NZ. Since then we have combined our work and creating a database for the use of all iris lovers here. It is a great resource for identifying irises with lost names and though we have managed to trace over 3000 varieties - Battle Star is not amongst them. I have specifically searched for 'Battle Star' as it is one I had wanted after purchasing 'Gladys Austin'. Another I have especially wanted is Cayeux's 'Chevalier de Malte'. This one was apparently imported at some stage and made it to a nursery 2 hours drive from home - so close - but that one died! Have not been able to trace any more in NZ. However - I still live in hope!

The second, purple one looks a lot like Burst of Joy; the 3rd one almost looks like Springhouse. I have a lot in my yard I am trying to id. People gave me rhizomes with no tags and weren't sure what they were since they had quit blooming in a shady woods setting. Need a place to put in a search like yellow falls, orange beards, 36" tall.

Thanks, Mary. I looked at Burst of Joy and don't believe that is it. There is no yellow on the petals of mine and the color is a bit different. The bottom picture is most definitely not Spring house; I am convinced it is Battle Star. Thank you for looking - I appreciate it. All input is welcome.

Are Battle Star & Springhouse kin? I am comparing photos between yours and the one here: http://garden.org/plants/view/115411/Tall-Bearded-Iris-Iris-Springhouse/  and it is VERY hard to differentiate. Since no one sells Springhouse, I might have to find who sells Battlestar as a substitute. I know it will grow in Winchester, VA, 20 miles away, so I will try it. Isn't this fun??

They don't share parentage according to the descriptions at American Iris Society:

'Springhouse' ( Sterling Innerst, R. 1990) Sdlg. 2632-1. TB,
36" (91 cm), Early midseason bloom. Butterscotch, large blue waterfall
blaze under beard; beards bronze, tipped gold; slight fragrance. 2152-1: (
'World News' x 'Show Biz') X 2150-1: ( 'Show Biz' x 'Warmed By The Sun').
Innerst 1991.

'Battle Star' (Manley Osborne', R. 1979). Seedling 3-32. TB,
height 35 1/2" (38 cm), midseason bloom. Standards cinnamon (RHS 170C);
Falls rose-violet (81C) with ruffled cinnamon (171C) border; gold beard with
violet horns. 'New Moon' X 'Spooned Blaze'. Cordon Bleu 1979.

My eyes see some similarities, but they do not look at all alike to me. Isn't it funny how we all see things differently. And that is a good thing. Thanks for following up, Mary. And you are so right - it is lots of fun. I am still trying to identify the blue light purple iris and have spent hours loving the search.