Arlyn...I would love to see you start a new thread..."But Ugly" favorites... But seriously, I'd be very curious to see pictures of some of the ones you are describing!

Mary Ann...after hearing your glowing review of your purple plicata NoID I was inspired to go back through the database pictures....and I found one that looks extremely close to yours. There are some minor differences, but those could be due to climate/culture issues. I did not see any others that were even close IMHO. See what you think...

vs

Teresa,

My favorites would be...

Sea Power


Social Graces


Fancy A Flutter


and a new one this year...

Sordid Lives


All of these have lovely long lasting blooms and are strong plants. The only thing is that Sea Power is not the fastest grower...at least for me.

Sea Power is not an enthusiastic iris in my garden either. It wants things to be just right to bloom and then it takes its good time about making increases. But it is certainly worth it.

I'm so glad it's iris week. Now I have an excuse to stay inside part of the day and "get educated' at ATP. Besides it's raining out today, and I can't think of a better way to enjoy some down time. I got into irises when my beloved "Daddy" put me to work in an iris/peony nursery at the tender age of 14, and continuing all through high school. He said the weeding, hoeing and sweating would build character and make money! I am now a retired senior citizen, and he will always be "Daddy" to me: He was the smartest man I ever knew. Anyway that was a long time ago, but the pain of working in the hot sun all day was truly a character builder. It made me wonder why anybody in their right mind would ever buy an iris or peony: They just meant more work!

To make a long story short, Here I am today with three grown kids, six grand-kids, two cats, six chickens and about 200-300 irises! And I have a loving spouse who tells me what irises I can and cannot get rid of! The first one is Different World from the late Richard Ernst; and I am not permitted with a shovel near it. (I might as well make this as entertaining as I can.) Different World is hers: All four clumps of it! I can't say enough good about this iris!

The next one we picked to keep is Vanity: A soft feminine bloom of Dykes Medal fame created by the late Ben Hager. If you're into soft pastels, then this ones for you. Good in every way and then some.

I need to watch my mouth here, because there are some (late, fancy, sophisticated, must have, upscale,) irises I wouldn't let somebody pay me to grow! Maybe they grow in Oregon or California, but they do not grow well, or at all here! Not naming names: Just my experience! I have thrown out at least one $50 iris: Won't bloom, won't grow, won't increase, rot easily, winter kill, etc. etc., etc. Here is my third and final "cannot live without iris": Modern Classic! This was introduced by Frederick Knocke in 1975. It is impeccable in every way, except one: It grows up to 44" and the wind will knock it down! That is the only fault I can find with it: Pictures speak louder than words.

Teresa, Thanks for an opportunity to name our favorite "can't live withouts": Hope I didn't wear out my welcome. The rain has stopped so I'll make myself less visible. And thanks to all the others who shared their favorites!

I second all of Marilyn's choices. I do not always get a bloom from Sea Power but it is so lovely. Social Graces is the most photogenic lacy flower I ever imagined. Our iris society always uses my picture of it on our website. I would add to that Mary Frances which is so reliable and increases yearly. Dusky Challenger is an all round great flower and huge.
Clump of Mary Frances

I agree about Vanity, Leon. I have s soft spot for pink irises but there are a very few that I will not move out to make room for something else and Vanity is one of them..... rainy here so I will keep 'getting educated' about irises. LOL

Great photos everyone! And I like knowing why a particular iris is your favorite one. smiles

Jane, it was nice of Mary Frances to line up for their photo.

How is the foliage on your Vanity. Good grower in our area, but foliage gets ratty. Vanity was at the top of the popularity poll for years.

@TBGDN Do you grow Afternoon Delight or Competitive Edge? They both look like Different World. I grow AD and CE, they rarely bloom, maybe once every two to three years. I've been looking for a brown one with purplish falls that performs good. I recently bought some newer Iris, I've had them for three years, more than a couple died and some were wrong, some haven't bloomed ever. I haven't had much luck with newer Iris.

My favorite irises that preform well and bloom every year.
Acoma

Lullaby Of Spring

Vanity

Sweet Musette

Lucy, Vanity's foliage is fairly clean & healthy. We get a little leaf spot during rainy spells, but that happens to about any of them. No rot at all.

Ashton, I used to grow all three years back, but they were all from Rick Ernst and looked quite a bit alike. I feel he used the same line of breeding for all three. Different World was (seems) the strongest of the three. So when we downsized we eliminated CE & AD. Different World is a great iris. I was sad to see the passing of its hybridizer.

My Vanity foliage seems to be on par with the other irises.

Thanks everyone for posting. I think my list is growing instead of just a few, I like a LOT of them lol.

I am enjoying the stories and pics. Vanity looks like a perfect baby pink one.

It is a sweet pink one.

If you stay on here long enough, your list will get very long!!! So many beauties!

Leon, I love, love, love Different World! It immediately went on the wish list that I have been diligently paring down (it's still ridiculously long...but I'm making progress )


It's fun to see everyone's favorites, there are a lot of wonderful irises listed here!

Marilyn, it is a very nice iris. It tolerates some of our hottest summers and coldest winters.
Best of all it blooms beautifully.

Glad that Vanity behaves itself.

Leon, your Different world is lovely! It also reminded me of competitive Edge which is one of my favorites (and does well for me).

I have to agree with Ashton about Acoma. Yes, it is your general purple and white plicata, but it always blooms, always increases, and has my favorite scent of all irises. It was neglected for 15+ years at my house, then planted in real garden beds, and has taken off.
I will always have some of it where I live because it was the first iris I had at my house; until I found the Quaker Lady buried under ivy and periwinkle that had been there for decades (a different long story).

Quaker Lady btw is a very fast grower if you want a clump of old form iris for contrast in your garden.