,
ph:
WHAT OUR ABBREVIATIONS MEAN
Rebloomers - RE - varieties that produce more than one crop of bloomstalks in a single growing season.
All Season Rebloomers - ASRE - varieties that can send up bloomstalks throughout the growing season.
Cycle Rebloomers - CYRE - varieties that complete two distinct cycles of growth, blossoming and increase in any one growing season. The second new increase does not require vernalization (chilling period) to produce bloom stalks. Has a predictable and dependable second period of flowering, usually in late summer and (or) fall.
Repeaters - RE r - produce additional bloomstalks on old growth immediately following the initial production of spring bloom. It is not unusual for these varieties to extend the spring bloom season for four to eight weeks.
X before the Re - XRe - means it has rebloomed for us in zone 6b in Cross Junction, VA (minimum temperature -5 degrees F). Late season rebloomers have to completely open at least one flower before freeze damage.
z-6 etc. - zone - the coldest zone, defined by its lowest winter temperature, which the iris is reported to rebloom {much of California is zone 9 (20 to 30 degrees for a minimum temperature) but does have zones 5 through 8 and 10}, Arizona has zones 9 through 5(some higher altitudes can even be colder to zone 4 and 3), coastal parts of Virginia are zone 8; then, moving northwestward it becomes colder changing to zone 7; then, to zone 6b and 6a (minimum temperatures -10 degrees); and even colder in the highest Virginia mountains to zone 5. This does not necessarily mean that if your zone is warmer that a particular iris variety will rebloom for you. Rebloom could depend on your cultural conditions; if you water when dry or apply extra fertilizer, etc. Sometimes a microclimate in a colder zone could still have rebloom. Also, hot summer night time temperatures can trigger dormancy that curtails rebloom, as does frigid winter temperatures. The best thing to do is just to give them a try. Don't give up after one or two years since some rebloomers need to be well established before they rebloom. Also, some rebloomers are sporadic with only a tendency to rebloom, yet may rebloom now and then even in cold zones.
z-6*10 etc. - that means that it reblooms in zone 6b in October, a *7 would be July, a *9 would be September, etc.
Rebloom Carriers - RE c - while it does not rebloom, they have produced reblooming seedlings when crossed with a rebloomer, which is valuable information for hybridizers. They carry genes eliminating the need for vernalization.
Types of bearded irises:
SA - Space Age irises, have something extra, beard appendages called horns, spoons or flounces.
His - historic iris cultivars are any iris introduced over 30 years ago.
MDB - miniature dwarf bearded, to 8" (20cm) tall, the first beardeds to bloom in earliest spring.
SDB - standard dwarf bearded, 8" to 16" (21-40cm) tall, blooms in early spring.
IB - intermediate bearded, 16" to 27.5" (41-70cm) tall, blooms after SDB's and before TB's.
MTB - miniature tall bearded, 16-27 1/2" (41-70cm) tall, flowers no more than 6" (15cm) combined width plus height, blooms with the TB's.
BB - border bearded 16-27.5" (41-70cm) tall, blooms with the tall beardeds.
TB - tall bearded more than 27.5" (71cm) tall, blooms in mid to late spring.
AB - Arilbred, an iris that is part aril (at least 1/8) and part bearded iris.
Spe - species iris, as originally collected from or found in the wild
Median - All bearded iris classes (SDBs, IBs, BBs, and MTBs) shorter than 27.5," except the MDBs.
Novelty - can have more than three falls, flat-shaped flowers, irregular color patterns, such as variegated flowers and foliage, and have too many or lack flower parts, such as standards, beards, style arms, etc.
BC – broken color, the petals have irregular splashes of color
Parts of an iris flower:
S - standards - The upturned three petals, (technically called petals) that surround the three style arms.
F - falls - The downturned (can be horizontally flared) three petals, (correctly called sepals) that possess beards.
Petals – A term sometimes used for convenience lumping standards and falls.
B - beards - Elongate groups of fuzzy hairs in the middle at the upper base of all three falls.
Spoons - Appendages extending from the tip of the beards that widen into spoon shaped petaloids.
Horns - A protrusion or extension of the beards, often ending in a point or may be hair covered.
Flounces - Wide, folded, often canoe or fan shaped appendages extending from the tips of the beards.
Style Arms - The three double crested structures inside the three standards, whose horizontal stigmatic lips are pollinated. (The stamen arise at the base of the style arms extending vertically up their centers.)
Hafts - Areas on each side of the narrow base of the falls, on each side of the beards.
Shoulders - The areas on the arching upper middle part of the falls on each side just beyond the haft areas.
Pistil - The style arms with stigmatic lips connecting to the ovary. The female flower parts.
Claw - The narrow base of the standard and fall, the expanded leaf-like part is called the blade.
Ovary - The enlarged green, three-chambered structure enclosing the ovules where fertilization occurs.
Spathes - The pair of modified green leaves that enclose the flower bud, usually turning tan after it blooms.
Stamen - The anther plus its attachment filament. The anthers contain the granular pollen. The male flower parts.
Descriptive terms:
self - standards, style arms and falls are the same color, as a complete self they have the same color beards.
amoena – white standards with anthocyanin and/or carotenoid pigmented falls.
reverse amoena - anthocyanin pigmented standards and white or lighter colored falls, also called a darktop.
Emma Cook pattern - an amoena pattern with white, yellow, pink, peach, or orange standards and narrow, anthocyanin pigmented bordered falls. The border can also be broader grading from darker at the periphery.
bicolor - standards are a different color than the falls.
bitone - standards and falls are a different shade of the same color, falls are darker.
neglecta - blue or purple bitones with standards a lighter shade of the color of the falls.
reverse bitone - a bitone with the standards a darker shade of the same coloras the lighterfalls. blend - combination of two or more colors, can be smoothly or unevenly mixed.
variegata - yellow standards and maroon or brown falls.
plicata - stippled, dotted, or stitched margins of anthocyanin pigmentation on lighter ground color.
luminata - the reverse pattern of a plicata, with darker ground color and white edges, veins and around beards.
glaciata - these lack all anthocyanin pigments and are pure whites, yellows, pinks, or oranges, formerly called ices.
substance - thickness and resilient tensile strength of the flower parts.
texture - surface sheen or finish, such as velvety or satiny of the petals.
diamond dusted - tiny, conical raised areasacross the petal surface which shine like diamonds in the light.
silver lining - standards and falls have raised areas on the edges that reflects light in a shining line.
wash - obvious or definite overlay of one color on another.
infusion - faint or subtle overlay of one color on another.
sunburst - white or light streaks fanning out on the falls around, and sometimes beyond, the beards.
spot - darker area around and below the beard on lighter or different colored falls.
signal - an area or patch of contrasting color below the beards (usually on arils, and some beardless varieties).
zonal - a distinct white or light area around the beardsin the middle of the falls.
Awards: All AIS awards except ECs are based on voting by AIS judges on performance in the garden.
HC (Highly Commended) for a non-introduced seedling as judged in the garden and receiving five judges votes.
EC (Exhibition Certificate) awarded to the best seedling in an iris show or receiving five votes from judges present.
HM (Honorable Mention) award for an introduced variety, eligible the second year after its introduction.
AM (Award of Merit) required award for eligibility for all yearly awards (eligible the second year after receiving HM).
Yearly awards: given to the top voted cultivar. In the catalog given with the year awarded, such as DM 98.
WMM (William Mohr Medal) - award for arilbreds having at least 1/4 Aril ancestry.
CGW (Clarence G. White Medal) - award for pure Arils and Arilbreds with Aril traits and at least 1/2 Aril ancestry.
SM (Sass Medal) - award for Intermediate Bearded irises.
CDM (Cook-Douglas Medal) - award for Standard Dwarf Bearded irises.
CWM (Caparne-Welch Medal) - award for Miniature Dwarf Bearded irises.
KM (Knowlton Medal) - award for Border Bearded irises.
WWM (Williamson White Medal) - award for Miniature Tall Bearded irises.
WC (Walther Cup) - award for the most Honorable Mention votes.
WM (Wister Medal) - award for Tall Bearded irises.
DM (Dykes Medal) - the highest award an iris can receive, any class of iris is eligible, must have won an AM award.
Season of Bloom:
VE (Very Early)
E (Early)
M (Midseason)
L (Late)
VL (Very Late)
We update our catalog each year, adding an X in front of the Re if it rebloomed for us (in zone 6b). Newer introductions with a zone 7, 8, or 9 after the Re may rebloom in a colder zone (4, 5, or 6) when they become more widely grown. Rebloomers have a sort of magic, and they can delight you with their extra bloom times.
Copyright 2011 Winterberry Gardens. All rights reserved.
,
ph: