sucrose said: Thank you so much for my gardener friends here help me identify the two no IDs. Here is another one. A friend gave to me and she has no idea what name it is. Light blue standards with deep blue purple veins, deeper blue falls. Beards are blue with a small part in orange ( inside the standards, hard to see from outside). Purple base.

Could it be Mariposa skies perhaps? Not sure if it has PBF as I don't grow it.

Mariposa Skies has white striations near the beard, your NOID has a white zone, very different. It's nearly impossible to ID an iris with pictures. Too many variables with cameras, light, etc.

Thank you Belle and Tom for your input. It is especially hard to ID a blue or purple iris. As everyone seems to have a "grandma's purple iris" in their garden.

Thanks Monty and Lyn help identified my two unknowns, butterlicious and Secret Service. The would-have-been-NoID Secret service and Starring are perfect together in the vase. The name Secret Service makes so much sense to me as I can now image a young beautiful spy wearing a khaki raincoat and long shining leathery boots, who once in range will show off her lethal weapon— orange short guns.

I've been growing this for several years, but don't have the foggiest idea what it is or where it came from. Tall violet self with a light patch around a yellow beard with a white tip. Brown veining next to the beard. Mid to late season bloom .

Pleases let me know if I have IDed these correctly:

Mariposa Autumn--One had a marker saying Mariposa Autumn and the other one did not.

Aunt Mary--bloom from 2 different clumps. Is it a yes or no?

NOID---need help with this one.

Could this next one be Obi-Wan-Kenobi?



Could this be Cobra's Eye?


That's all for now. Thank you for any feed back.

Dusky Challenger
Can anyone who grows dusky challenger tell me is her purple or blue? I am so confused by the database photos, some are purple red tone, some are deep blue. Mine is purple with red tone, purple beard.

Sucrose, your camera may be off. I have DC, and I'd call it a dark blue-purple, not reddish.

I'd say the true color is somewhere midway between this

And this

Here is my Dusky Challenger. It is a bluish purple.



It also has very wide bluish leaves and very thick stalks, moreover even of newer cultivars.

Daisy, your dusky challenger is so beautiful! Mine has strong red tone with naked eyes.

DaisyDo said: Sucrose, your camera may be off. I have DC, snd I'd call it a dark blue-purple, not reddish.

I'd say the true color is somewhere midway between this

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Dusky Challenger')
• Uploaded by csandt

And this

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Dusky Challenger')
• Uploaded by DaisyDo

Andrea, your dusky challenger is very beautiful as well. Yours color is kind between mine and Daisy's, but more closed to daisy's.

IrisLily said: Here is my Dusky Challenger. It is a bluish purple.



It also has very wide bluish leaves and very thick stalks, moreover even of newer cultivars.

IrisLily, what gorgeous clump shots of Dusky Challenger!

I still have not IDed several Iris. Any ideas are appreciated.

Sucrose: loved your visualization of your secret agent!

All: Thanks for giving me ideas of where to look for differences in blooms as I'll be needing to ID quite a few. I've taken everyone's suggestions from last year for growing conditions and I'm happy to report I have some healthy looking plants setting buds on. Hopefully soon I can pick everyone's Iris brains with my NOIDS. Thank you again!

This opened in my garden today. Any ideas on a name?

This was supposed to be 'Wild Vision' but it sure is not....

Iris are starting to bloom at my house and since I put more work into space for my blooms and split them last summer, part of that is trying to figure what may be growing in my yard and I'd appreciate if you can take a look and help me out with my beginning bloom.

For some of these plants it's been years since they last bloomed for me, I have an idea of what colors I may have, but unsure the names. If I subscribed to my mom's theory on naming then I'm to leave them as NOIDS and enjoy, but part of me would like to know what I have. Growing older has taught maybe to finally be a bit wiser on how I do things, which includes being wiser about plant names.

This is one of my first blooms always and came from my moms yard (probably added at her house in the 1990s):



Bloom stalk measures: 34-36"

light fragrance

In my world, I'd describe this as a red, but I'm not totally skilled how this would be color named in the iris world.

Appreciate the help! Hope to have others to ask on as the bloom continues at my house and you'll be willing to take a look or at least point me in the right direction of what to look at and for.

Nice looking red iris! It's nice to have something your mom grew.
Maybe Ida Red?


You could search the historic iris preservation society for reds--there are quite a few!

So, I saw some nice unmarked Irises at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Any ideas about some of these?

Laurie: thanks! I'll have to take a look and read on Ida.

Hoping today to see a few more blooms. We are to have wicked weather today and it's interrupting me getting the dahlias in the ground.

Stay safe all with todays weather!

Because I haven't had time in the past to study irises as much as I have my dahlias - time of year (end of school, travel etc) and all. I have one pressing question this morn:

Can I ask: why does it seem the plants can go from a fan of leaves one day to the next day with a stalk and bud? I'm serious, I could have sworn last night I just had leaves on about 10 plants and today here they all have stalks w/buds. What am I missing, what should I be looking for? Still learning here! Maybe the rain was magical and I am blind!

I have just tagged all my bloomers with names so I can look and see and rather than waiting until the blooms are done and scratching my head yet again.

Hoping by the weekend to have more to ask for ID help on. A bunch from the one vendor I bought from have become some not as named varieties. Some of these have never bloomed in the 3-5 years of being planted and I'm hoping with some focus on the plants they will bloom. I'm hopeful when they do open, you can help confirm or give me ideas on what to look at for possible correct names.

Happy day all!