INTERNATIONAL NEWS

George .and Margaret Sutton
with Bruce Filardi

As you will note the International News Column now has a collaborator in Bruce Filardi of Oregon. Bruce has volunteered to help with the column, and to that end has joined the French and German Iris Societies. Since he is fluent in those two languages as well as Spanish, he will be translating articles from their publications that should be of interest to iris lovers who read the AIS Bulletin. We are most pleased to have his help, and thank him very much for his offer. Most of this issue s material is the result of his collaboration.

BRITISH IRIS SOCIETY GOES TO PRAGUE
by Clive Russell

The Botanical Garden at Pruhonice, about nine miles outside Prague in the Czech Republic, probably has the world's largest collection of species iris, as well as quite a few TB hybrids. This will quite probably be the last year the collection will be housed there, and after this year s bloom everything will be dug and split/separated/composted. The Kent Group of the BIS has organized a trip to see this historic garden, plus the surrounding area. It will be a week's visit, leaving on Monday June 7 and returning on Sunday June 13. Milan Blazek, the person responsible for the upkeep and control of the iris collection, will act as guide, and is organizing visits to the Botanical Garden as well as excursions in and around Prague. The price is expected to be a little over $450.00, which includes round trip flight to Prague from England and six nights B & B accommodation in pension-type hotels. Single person, single occupancy may be higher. Lunches and dinners are extra, and can be arranged on an ad hoc basis, so that those adventurous types can try out the local cuisine. Meals are very reasonable, about $3.00 each or $6.00 a day, since breakfast is included with your accommodation. Evening entertainment is also very reasonable and includes symphony, opera, jazz clubs and classical music events. ln addition there are guided tours to museums, castles and buildings in Prague.
....While official cut-off date is March 6 th, Cy Bartlett, BIS president has extended this deadline for registration to mid May. So, if you are interested, contact either of the following two people as soon as possible, with your name, address and telephone number and any special requirements for accommodations:

Mr. J .R. French	Mr. Cy Bartlett
Castle Reach	The Old Mill House
Rayleigh	Shurton
Essex SS6 9T1	Stogursey, Bridgwater
England	Somerset TA5 1QG
	England

Note: Prices quoted above are U S. dollars.

CAN YOU HELP?
by Bruce Filardi

The following is a list of plants the French Iris Society is hoping to locate for their display gardens at their big millennium iris festival "Franciris 2000." In addition, the irises will thereafter be part of; for lack of a better term, the French National Historic Iris Collection. The FIS would appreciate any help we can give, and I hope we might be able to find a few of these that they haven't been able to locate in France. If you grow any of the following, or if you know a source for any of them, please contact:

Monsieur Gerard Briere

Les Jardins de Broceliande

Route de Montfort

35310 Breal-sous-Montfort FRANCE

Older French irises:

ALICE HARDING (Cayeux '32)	EVIAN (Vilmorin)
ALTO (Vilmorin)	FREJUS (Vilmorin)
ANNE-MARIE CAYEUX (Cayeux 28)	FRIVOLITE (Cayeux 29)
ANTIGONE (Cayeux 37)	GIEN (Vilmorin)
ASTEQUES (Vilmorin)	GUSTAVE COURBET (Cayeux 27)
AURACANS (Vilmorin)	HOSSEGOR (Vilmorin)
AURORE (Vilmorin)	HURON (Vilmorin)
BLOIS (Vilmorin)	ISOLINE (Vilmorin 04)
CARAIBES (Vilmorin)	KIDAL (Cayeux 32)
CARIOS (Vilmorin)	MIRIAM (Vilmorin)
DAKOTA (Vilmorin)	OLYMPIO (Cayeux 36)
DAX (Vilmorin)	POMPEE (Cayeux 59)
DEJAZET (Vilmorin)	SEMIRAMIS (Cayeux 29)
ELDORADO (Vilmorin)	TORANQUOS (Vilmorin)

Recent French irises:

AQUARELLE (Fedoroff 93)	MARGINAL (Anfosso 87)
BOULE DE NEIGE (Cayeux 62)	NUAGE ROSE (Cayeux 79)
ECUME (Anfosso 86)	PREMIER BAL (Cayeux 78)
EVENOS (Fedoroff '75)	RIVIERA STOP (Anfosso 90)
FRIVOLE (Fedoroff '75)	ROUGE ROYANS (Lanthelme 97)
GURLI (Cayeux R. 78)	THEO D'OR (Lanthelme 97)
JOLI MAI (Cayeux 60)	UBU BLUES (Anfosso 94)
KARU (Fedoroff 74)	VIREVOLTE (Cayeux 90)
Mme. ROBERTE HUET (Cayeux 57)

Dykes and Florence Medal winners

BEWITCHING (Lyon FM 68)	MIDNIGHT WALTZ (Burbridge FM 64)
CHRISTIE ANN (Gaulter FM 67)	MISSY YORKTOWN (Innerst FM '87)
DANCER'S VEIL (Hutchinson FM 63)	QUEEN OF FLORENCE (Mallory FM 75)
FIRST VIOLET (DeForest DM 56)	ROSSO FIORENTINO (Specht FM 73)
FOGGY DEW (Keppel FM 71)	STEADFAST LOVE (Carr FM 94)
IKAR (Volfovitch-Moller FM 95)

 

Ten TOP Cultivars
by Bruce Filardi

The results of a recent poll of French Iris Society members indicated the following ten top favorites, in the order given: MARY FRANCES, VANITY, BEVERLY SILLS, OVATION, THEATRE, VICTORIA FALLS, MYSTIQUE, BABBLING BROOK, ECHO DE FRANCE, SAPPHIRE HILLS.

 

NEWS FROM THE RUSSIAN IRIS SOCIETY

Sergey Loktev reports that the Russian Iris Society had 152 members at the end of 1998, including 14 foreign ones (two are from the USA). In 1998 they registered 50 cultivars (35 TBs, 5 SDBs, 3 BBs, 3 JIs, 2 IBs, 1 MTB and 1 AB) by ten hybridizers from Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Slovakia (37 cultivars among them are Russian ones). They had four iris shows last year, in Moscow itself; in a town in the Moscow region, in Krasnodar in the North Caucasus area and in the Far East in a small town not far from Vladivostok. There was judging only at the Moscow show. The top ten winners were COPATONIC, CELEBRATION SONG, AVALON SUNSET, DELTAPLANE and VISUAL ARTS, HELLO DARKNESS, TIGER SHARK, EDITH WOLFORD, ART CENTER, and SPINNING WHEEL.
....They are continuing their Moscow International Iris Competition (TBs). During the first two Competitions in 1996 and 1997, only varieties by hybridizers from the former Soviet Union (Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan) were judged. ln 1998-99 they will judge only foreign varieties especially picked by the Presidium of the Society. Varieties entered in 1998 had to be newer than 1980; this year they will have to be newer than 1985, and newer than 1990 next year. Starting in 2001 they hope to judge varieties sent both by Russian and foreign hybridizers. ln 1998 they received irises for the 2001 year Competition from four American hybridizers, and will be happy to have their continuing participation. Ten judges took part in the 1998 Competition judging. The results were as follows: 1) BE A DREAM (Niswonger 92), 2) MUKADDAM (Muska '94), and 3) RARE OCCASION (Gatty 94). Special medals were sent to the hybridizers.
....RIS awards are only for TBs at present. All of the 16 judges (nine of them probationers) took part in last year's voting. The results: High Award (not yet named) had no claimant, nor was there an AM awarded. HMs were awarded for MUKADDAM (Muska) and OKAVANGO (Muska); and an HC for seedlings to GUSARSKAYA BALLADA (Loktev).

....Also last year there were two Symposiums (popularity polls), one for TBs and the other for Medians which included SDB, IB, BB, and MTB.
Top favorites in their seventh TB Symposium were:
1 COPATONIC
2 BEVERLY SILLS
3 THORNBIRD
4 SILVERADO, SUPREME SULTAN (tie)
6 EDITH WOLFORD
7 SUPERSTITION
8 MASTER TOUCH, CELEBRATION SONG, HELLO DARKNESS (tie)
11 BEFORE THE STORM, CONJURATION (tie)

....The most popular variety among those registered by the Russian Iris Society was TASHKENT.

In their first Median Symposium, the top varieties were:
1 BROWN LASSO (BB)
2 BATIK (BB)
3 ZING ME (IB)
4 CALIFORNIA STYLE (IB), CURACAO (BB) (tie)
6 JAZZAMATAZZ (SDB)
7 APRICOT FROSTY (BB), BALLET LESSON (SDB),
KADAICHA (IB) (tie)
10 BRASH (IB), GINGERBREAD MAN (SDB), EYE MAGIC (IB), LEMON POP (IB), LUNAR FROST (IB), PHILANDERER (IB), SOLNECHNY ZAYCHIK (BB) (tie)

....Last year RIS held their first Convention, and will try to have one each year. With the present financial crisis in Russia it will be difficult. However they welcome American visitors in Moscow, especially during the bearded iris season from the end of May to the end of June. 36 persons took part in the Convention, two of them from abroad (Ukraine and USA). The Convention lasted from June 11-13. The first day they visited the main botanical garden and two other places in Moscow where botanical organizations grow other plants in addition to irises. The second day they visited Sergey's iris garden with more than 1000 varieties from the 80s and 90s of which about 85% - 90% are TBs. At this garden they carried out judges' training. On the third day they visited the Moscow Iris Show and had their meeting where they discussed questions concerning irises and iris culture in Russia. That day they also had a banquet, at which each participant received a special badge and other small souvenirs with the Russian Iris Society emblem on it.

BELGIUM REPORT
by Willy Hublau

Here in Belgium we had a very wet bloom season, but the irises flowered like never before. Bloom time for the bulb and dwarf iris started very early. Outstanding were SERENITY PRAYER, JUNGLE WARRIOR and MAKING EYES (all SDBs), which were in full bloom at the same time as the springtime perennials. ln the MTB category, REMINISCENCE was outstanding in the rock garden. In the IB and BB categories, MAUI MOONLIGHT, SONYA'S SELAH, and HONKY TONK HUSSY were the favorites.
....Then it was time to go to the 42 nd International Concorso in Florence, where I was a judge. The hospitality of the Italian Iris Society people was excellent. We saw a garden in full bloom, where the combination of old olive trees, climbing roses and the most beautiful irises was breathtaking. From the garden you have the most beautiful view of the city of Florence. To work and judge irises in this garden with other judges was very interesting and a good learning experience for me. (See Hublau's report below.)
....Back home in Belgium the TB flower time had started. The broken color irises from Brad Kasperek were new to me. The Zebras have received a lot of interest from the garden visitors, and most of them liked the special color patterns. The space age irises from Sutton's were special too. I love the spoons and enormous flounces. BYE BYE BLUES, ALABASTER UNICORN and RINGS OF SATURN were real show irises in my garden. But the most striking iris was a three-year-old clump of SUKY. It carried 16 flower stalks with 156 flowers. Most of the iris lovers voted for it as garden queen!
....It was fascinating to see it in combination with the dark red poppy "Turkenlouis".

 

REPORT FROM FLORENCE
by Willy Hublau, Belgium

 

Last winter I was invited to be in the judges panel for the 42nd Concorso del Iris in Florence. It was one of my great wishes that came true. My wife and I landed at the Florence airport on Saturday evening. Valeria Romoli, one of the hard workers for the society, met us. After her kind welcome words she drove us to the San Remo, a nice hotel close to the splendid city center and walking distance from the iris garden. Next morning after breakfast the official program started. with a meeting with the international judges. They were Margaret Longo and Valeria Roselli from Italy, Isidore Golob from Slovenia, Joe Ghio from the USA and me. It was a pleasure and an honor for me to be a part of this judges' panel. I enjoyed working in the enormous iris field with Joe Ghio, team leader, and the other well qualified judges.
....For the Concorso we had to judge 15 BBs and 89 TBs. The flower season was early and most of the BBs were finished, but the judging work had been done by Margaret Longo and her very competent Italian judges. Most of the judging we had to do was on the TBs. Three sunny days were taken to do the selecting. The group of irises were of a very good quality, with splendid new color combinations and well formed stalks with many flowers. The selection was difficult but we found the prize winning irises.
....The Italian Iris Society offered us a very interesting agenda which included a visit to the Festa del Iris at the Farmaseuthica Di Santa Maria Novella, one of Europe's oldest Farmaceuthic Monesteria. The Rotary Club of Florence invited us for a supper in the Grand Hotel Minerva. Most special was the visit to the Villa la Magio for a lunch offered by the Contessa Amati Cellesi. The lunch was superb and the irises in the garden were breathtaking. On the all day trip to the Chianti area we saw fields with thousands of Iris pallida. Both the view and the scent of this mass of irises were overwhelming. The visit and lunch at the Castello da Verrazano was outstanding. At the Guido del Innocenty's nursery at Barbezina val d Elsa we saw many irises in a beautiful decor. In addition the Tuscany cheeses, breads and other traditional foods and wines were superb. Joe Ghio declared that this must be heaven!
....The award ceremony at the impressive Palazzo Vecchio was one of the high points for me. (Click here for the results)
We had a very good and instructive time in Florence. The city of Florence, President Sergio Orsi, Margaret Longo and all the hard working society people can be very proud. They did great work to promote the irises!

 

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