It is always interesting to see what everyone's favorites are and the reasons for so. Alot of us point to the increases as one of the reasons. Growth is a funny thing. So much impacts it. Soil content and makeup, moisture, sunlight, disease prevention, augmentation. Even different locations with ones yard can be significant.

My three rhizomes are:

Feodosiya Sergey Loktev 2011
Jester's Robe Rick Ernst 2011
Pineapple Parfait Thomas Johnson 2011

I got all three at the same time. They were acquired at from my local Iris Society Picnic in late August 2012. It was just the luck of the draw that I got these three cultivars and only these three. I planted them in the same row. So how did they do this year?

Only PP bloomed. Jesters tried to bloom, but the stalk stopped and then withered away. What does 2014 look like?

Jester's Robe has 4 increases on it with one bloom possibility.
Feodosiya also has 4 increases on it with two bloom possibilites plus 3 small starts for 2015.
Pineapple Parfait has 5 increase on it with 5 bloom possibilities plus 21 small/medium starts for 2015.

If I were judging a plant solely on the increase, then PP would be a 10+!!!

Pictures tomorrow.

really yes! 'Janet Price '(Bushnell) had 5 increases the last time I looked. Bought this summer from superstition gardens, although hybridized in NJ.

Worked a 12 1/2 hr day (add the 3 hr total commute) and there will be no pictures today

I can't really contribute anything to this thread. It's totally impossible for me to choose three. I had about thirty new (to me) cultivars last year -- and I was thrilled with them all.

Mary Ann

I think you are missing my point. This is about how different cultivars react to the same environment. These three were not the only cultivars I got in 2012. But I did get them at the same event (my local Iris Society picnic) and got them from a pool that the whole group picked from (ie "luck of the draw"). I then took them home and planted them side by side by side. None of them would have made my personnel wish list, but they were there and free and large. Can't pass that up. The reason for the thread was the discussion of late about how cultivars do around the country or around the yard because of different conditions.

What is neat is that I got them at the same time. I planted at the same time in the same place. In a newly "dug" bed with new soil and peat moss. And they are all 2011 intros.

The first sentence in this thread does talk about "favorites" but is done so in general terms with the idea that how a plant increases may be a factor on someone buying it.

The circumstances let me delve into this exercise and track these three on their propagation journey. Based on my years of iris growing, I can say at this point (which I agree is still early) that I got, " A dud, A stud, & an average" !

Hope to get pictures today!

Here is a link to a picture of "Feodosiya"

http://www.stoutgardens.com/se...

Ah -- I thought you were asking what our three favorites were, and why...................

So here are the pictures:

Jester's Robe (aka the "dud")



Feodosiya (aka the "average")



Pineapple Parfait (aka the "Stud")



Picture of all three