Oncos 2011

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi I printed off your picture and took it up to that particular bed of aril crosses and compared - it has to be PT0010 which is Iris jordana x Iris hermona hybrid.

Thanks, Pat,
I'll re-label it when I can!
I don't think I can claim any success with these "sad, silken queens" [of the genus] till I get them to re-flower next year!
cheers
fermi

[Hans A.]

Very fine Pic, Fred!

And when I was up there I noticed this iris flowering for the first time. The tag says Iris basaltica ex Ian Mitchell, Victoria.
Is it correct or is it close?

Ian Mitchell grew different Hybridlines (Basaltica, Auranitica + Gatesii) which were very close to the original species. Think he used the similar species Iris basaltica and Iris calcarea for the Basaltica line. Iris calcarea is following Köhlein Iris susiana = Iris sofarana (Kew checklist lists Iris sofarana as synonym of Iris susiana).
He sent me a few seeds of this Basaltica-line and mentioned also the picture shown in the ASI yearbook 2006 is a plant of his linebreeding and not the pure species. When I remember well he wrote me he had lost the species, so I think your plant is not Iris basaltica, but very close (and very beautiful!)

 

[arillady]

Hans thanks for that info. I do remember Ian saying that it was close to Iris basaltica.
It is one of the most globular form oncos that I have.

[Lesley Cox]

While every iris shown on this amazing thread is a great beauty, I can't help being amazed - and entranced - by the black/grey/white combination of your Iris basaltica Pat. Who would have believed, not ever having seen oncos, that such a colour combination could be so outstandingly beautiful?

[arillady]

A few of the arils flowering today
Iris paradoxa ssp paradoxa x Iris kirkwoodii ssp kirkwoodii ex Hans - finally opened fully - took a couple of days.
PT0325 - very lightly coloured - clump then closeup
PT9841 with two different coloured flowers in same patch and closeups
PT0106 - a bit bottom heavy!!
PT0022 - another colour form in this very variable cross

[BULBISSIME]

Pat, I love your first pic ! this hybrid is gorgeous    ( but please don't repeat to anybody what I've told ... it's an hybrid  )

[arillady]

Fred you need to talk to Hans Achilles about this one as he did it

[WimB]

Wonderful Pat,

love them all, but especially the dark one in PT9841.

[Tom Waters]

Gorgeous - I especially like the paradoxa x kirkwoodii seedling and the PT9841 with the yellow standards.

I planted most of my oncos and other arils last weekend. The timing seems to be good; one paradoxa rhizome was sending up a leaf before planting (I was keeping them in sand in the house), and some of the others are showing signs of breaking dormancy.

[arillady]

Tom it is amazing how arils can break dormancy without sun, water. When I dig and store I have kept them in paperbags and when they show signs of breaking dormancy I plant them out. This method does not work so well with tiny seedlings that would need the sand.
PT9841 has in its background Iris hermona hybrid ex Shahak with a yellow tinge and very similar but with a smaller signal. The signal is huge in relation to the flower in this cross.

Just to show a line that I have noticed:
mother Iris hermona hybrid dark form
child 1 PT0444
child 2 PT0485
child 3 PT0449

[WimB]

Really nice strain, Pat. Love those big black signal patches!

[arillady]

A few more in flower or better pictures of some.
PT0425
tag has disappeared - I sure hope I wrote it down somewhere in my planting plans
Came as Iris haynei seed ex Shahak - and a closeup
This came as Iris hermona hybrid hermona form - Tom this is one of the parents of PT9841 (the yellowishbrown one with huge signal
Patch 12 western row - Assorted good hybrids
And another of the Assorted good hybrids - but with samariae in the background. (I have used this one as a parent a lot)
Yesterday I had some aril seeds from a very kind person seized by Australian Quarantine with a page with plenty of hoops to jump through. So I contacted them by email last night. This afternoon I was amazed to read that they were able to decipher the writing and all are on their way to me
Life can be good.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

F a b u l o u s plants Pat !!! 
Congratulations on your achievements !

[arillady]

Thanks Luc, Wim, Tom, Fred, Fermi, Lesley and Hans and anyone else who may have commented. The plants are doing it themselves - I feel a bit of a fraud saying thanks on behalf of the irises. The irises can certainly warm hearts and make life special. One day I will ( well it will take more than one day ) get to see the species in their natural habitats.

[fermi de Sousa]

Pat,
they are all amazing but I'm particularly drawn to the one from the s-e cnr! Lovely markings on the falls
cheers
fermi