Silverado does not do well in MA & neither do its children.

Bonnie, eager to see the Silverado you sent to me.

Janie...you are going to have to have your own enabler icon...sigh...because of that photograph, I just ordered Royal Birth from Comanche Acres, even though I had no intention of ordering from them this year...sigh... ...

Debra:
Glad to hear it - Ernie Royal is a super nice guy and named this one after the birth of his first child or grandchild. He judges some of our shows. I just LOVE his iris Royal Birth and you can see how many blooms it has at once.

There is something about the tiny yellow patches, combined with that warm white that said, "You have to get me. HAVE to." Thank you for posting the photograph.

Mika, I have very sandy loam soil here. Silverado is planted in full sun and has been since Mary Ann shared it with me. I have given some of it to a friend who lives a few miles from me, and her's has bloomed on a regular basis. It has never had any rot issues, so I don't know what the deal is with it. Maybe this will be the year.

Let's hope so!

gemini_sage said:Silverado seems to do well in many climates, which makes Tom's all the more odd. I think Mary Ann has a big clump doing well in western KY ( @Muddymitts , am I recalling correctly?).

Neal -- you are remembering very accurately. Silverado is a super-star for me -- increases so heavily that I have to thin it about every other year -- and is a sight to see when in bloom!! It is in a micro-climate -- south side of the house backed by the concrete porch wall, and flanked by a large grass plant on it's left, a large Yew on it's right, and daylilies in front. I'd say that it loves a sunny, hot spot!!

That's really strange Tom -- that it hasn't bloomed for you...................

Mine didn't bloom last year either. Hopefully it will this year.

Didn't bloom over here either.

Probably because I don't have it.

That is an amazingly good reason Rob!

Well, if it doesn't boom this year I'll fine a new spot for it. I should have about a zillion rhizomes to share if I do, it's growing like crazy just hasn't bloomed yet.

We have some iris that we basically ignore. The one that grows and increases and bloom the best is just outside your 30 year limit-Skating Party.

Dusky Challenger (purple) was first in the AIS popularity poll last year & Jesse's Song was 2nd.

Well,Lucy, I think DC and JS have been around for a while. I'd imagine that even though they
have superior characteristics, that a lot of voting folk own these two.

I suppose it takes a few years before a cultivar is widely grown enough to make an assessment, some Dykes winners are nearly 10 years old when they win.

Carl, Here's 'Skating Party':


When you go to the database and search which iris you want, select a picture. At the top of the picture, it should look like this:


Highlight the ATP BB code, as shown.. copy, then paste into the message window, and Voila!

'Skating Party' is also very high on my list..

I just read that Dusky Challenger has been on the top of the AIS favorites list for more than 20 years!

yes & it takes time to go through the awards system to get to the Dykes. Color & growth are what appeals to most people who are not experimental gardeners.

Looks like this thread made the top of the list this week, along with 2 others from this forum. To top that off, all of the top pictures were irises! Way to go with those thumbs on the pictures.!