It has indeed, Lucy.

You're exactly right Jolana -- introduced in 1986. Thirty years later, it is still going strong. Not many Irises can make that claim!!

Oh -- I hope so too, Jolana -- but probably not. She was notorious for changing her Ebay name every year or so, so that she could not be tracked down. I had the receipt for my purchase, and Ebay could do nothing about it because the transaction was too old -- they purge their records after two years. There was a lot of conversation about her on one of the Iris lists (probably Dave's Garden) -- that's where I learned that there were many people taken in by her. They even had a satellite image of her very small house and yard -- and not a single Iris plant in sight. It was speculated that she bought ditch Iris by the car-load on Ebay, and then turned around and sold them as named cultivars. There were many, many complaints -- and Ebay did nothing. For all I know, she's still on Ebay stealing from people.

My grandmother loved flowers. As a child of 10 or12 I mowed the lawns up and down my road if I mowed and you had iris it became part of the deal I collected her 14 . she died 20 years ago and I came for a keepsake of thimbles ID gotten her from around the country as she was an avid quilter it was spring and the iris were in bloom they left with me. I have since brought the iris back to the old home place each year I add more and hope she can see them. My favorite one is a white from no later than 72 I'm told by local irisarians it came from a local hybridizer in the 60s it has a modern form I had never thought to breed with it but last season caught a seed pod on it. This season I intend to use every bloom most likely with haunted heart.

Nice story arilbred, You will have to post a picture of it when it blooms this spring.

Muddymitts said:It has indeed, Lucy.

You're exactly right Jolana -- introduced in 1986. Thirty years later, it is still going strong. Not many Irises can make that claim!!

Oh -- I hope so too, Jolana -- but probably not. She was notorious for changing her Ebay name every year or so, so that she could not be tracked down. I had the receipt for my purchase, and Ebay could do nothing about it because the transaction was too old -- they purge their records after two years. There was a lot of conversation about her on one of the Iris lists (probably Dave's Garden) -- that's where I learned that there were many people taken in by her. They even had a satellite image of her very small house and yard -- and not a single Iris plant in sight. It was speculated that she bought ditch Iris by the car-load on Ebay, and then turned around and sold them as named cultivars. There were many, many complaints -- and Ebay did nothing. For all I know, she's still on Ebay stealing from people.

Well, there will be a special place in you know where for her

Now there's an idea I can get on board with!!

It is sad that some people just prey upon others with no intentions of doing the correct thing.

I had a similar experience years ago too. Not on Ebay but with a plant trade on the Gardenweb site. It made me very wary. How could anyone look at my plants growing and not think about yourself not fulfilling a promise?

That's beyond me, I went to a swap near Fort Worth years ago and a lady flat out tried to steal plants from me and others and the worst part of it, she had her kids helping her.

Oh no, now that is really sad. I have given a truck load of plants away, I had much rather someone just ask me for some.

On a more upbeat note, I have met some of the most generous/kindhearted people in the gardening community.

Yup -- and those people are right here on ATP!!!!

I know someone whose wife had irises. When she passed away, all of her irises were given away. A few years later, a memorial iris garden was planted in her honor. Someone came to his door one day asking if they could have some irises. He said yes and that person dug them all up and took all of them. I offered him irises on different occasions, but he did not want them anymore.

In other sad news, last weekend, he joined his wife. May they both rest in peace.

May he rest in peace. & may the people who really stole the iris plants from him lose them all. I am feeling nasty about that sort of thing.

shame on them!

Perhaps not such a sad occasion for him, Rob.... just for the ones left to miss him.

I once bought an old home place to add land to my existing small holding. The very nice lady who had lived there said she would miss her plants and could she come back when they came up and take some starts. I said of course. My task later was to fill in HUGE holes all around the foundation of the old house and sheds/barns. It took truck loads of soil to manage that task. If I had know that she was going to excavate the site and make it dangerous for livestock........

Some people need supervision.

Lucy, that's so true.

No kidding........................

When I flip through the forum and see "what iris made you love them" I always think of the second meaning - that iris in your garden that did something just special enough to make you love it specifically (and not just iris in general). We all have favorites so you must know what I mean. Like the display of color so much more dazzling in person, or the scent, or it's growth. Something that made you take notice of IT.

After reading the above post by Leslie I quickly thought of:

I will never be without this Iris in my garden...