Showing posts with label Rick Tasco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rick Tasco. Show all posts

Friday, August 18, 2023

The American Iris Society Announces the 2023 C. G. White Medal Winner

'BOLD AWAKENING'

Since 1993, the Clarence G. White Memorial Medal has been awarded to the best arilbred iris with 1/2 or more aril ancestry. When Clarence G. White began his work with aril irises, little was known about the complexity of iris genetics. White assembled the largest collection of aril irises in the world and conducted thousands of breeding experiments to obtain viable, fertile seedlings. One of his goals was to develop strong, pure Oncocylus hybrids.

Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards

Arilbred iris 'Bold Awakening'
photo by Howie Dash

'Bold Awakening' (Richard Tasco, 2016) Seedling 11-AB-02-02. Height 33 in. (84 cm), Early, midseason, late bloom. Standards magenta-rose, veined darker; style arms edged maize, orange-brick red ridge and crest; Falls brick red, veined darker, slight orange glow around oval shaped dark burgundy-black signal; beard hairs based maize, squirrel brown tips. ('Aztec Prince' x seedling 04-AB-03-09: ('Bagdad’s Folly' x 'Energizer')) X 'Exotic Treasure'. Introduced by Superstition Iris Gardens in 2016. 

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including Award of Merit and Honorable Mention, will be published on the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

Monday, August 22, 2022

The American Iris Society Announces the 2022 C. G. White Medal Winner

'ALAKAZAM'

Since 1993, the Clarence G. White Memorial Medal has been awarded to the best arilbred iris with 1/2 or more aril ancestry. When Clarence G. White began his work with aril irises, little was known about the complexity of iris genetics. White assembled the largest collection of aril irises in the world and conducted thousands of breeding experiments to obtain viable, fertile seedlings. One of his goals was to develop strong, pure Oncocylus hybrids.

Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards

'Alakazam'
photo by Jeanette Graham

'Alakazam' (Richard Tasco, R. 2013) Seedling 07-AB-52-07. AB (OGB), 36" (91 cm). Midseason bloom. Standards light pink-lavender ground, veined darker pink-violet; style arms light maize, pink-violet midrib, pink crest, veined darker; Falls light parchment-lavender heavily veined dark burgundy all over to the edge, signal very diffuse and small, veined dark burgundy; beards gold-bronze in middle and throat, burgundy end, sparse and insignificant; medium purple based foliage; regelia form. Seedling 05-AB-10-14: ('Energizer' x 'Desert Embroidery') X 'Desert Embroidery'. Introduced by Superstition Iris Gardens in 2013.

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including Award of Merit and Honorable Mention, will be published on the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.


Monday, August 23, 2021

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 C. G. White Medal Winners

'RARE BREED' -  'DRAGON'S EYE'

'SHAMAN'S MAGIC'

Since 1993, the Clarence G. White Memorial Medal has been awarded to the best arilbred iris with 1/2 or more aril ancestry. When Clarence G. White began his work with aril irises, little was known about the complexity of iris genetics. White assembled the largest collection of aril irises in the world, and conducted thousands of breeding experiments to obtain viable, fertile seedlings. One of his goals was to develop strong, pure Oncocylus hybrids.

Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic last year, the American Iris Society Board of Directors suspended garden awards. As a result, and for only this year, two medals will be award in each area; however, three medals are to be awarded due to a tie vote between Dragon’s Eye and Shaman’s Magic. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards. All images by Rick Tasco.

'Rare Breed' (Richard Tasco, R. 2011) Seedling 03-AB-02-51. AB (OGB), 33" (84 cm), Late midseason bloom. Standards parchment tan (RHS 159A) veined darker, chrome yellow (15C) at base of midribs; style arms chrome yellow, slight red band along ridges, large crests lightly veined red on front; falls red orange, lighter toward edge, chrome yellow veins around beard, slight chrome yellow edge veined red, small oxblood-red (183 A) signal at end of beard; beards golden brown, 1" wide and thick. 'Sheik' X 'Bagdad's Folly'. Superstition 2011.

'Dragon's Eye' (Richard Tasco, R. 2015) Seedling 08-AB-04-06. AB (OGB), 26" (66 cm), Midseason late bloom. Standards cold white, mimosa yellow (RHS 8B) at base, few bright canary yellow veins on midrib; style arms bright canary yellow (9B), darker on rib top; Falls mimosa yellow, darker surrounding signal, large oval shaped dark burgundy signal, darker veins lighter around beard, some dots and streaks at edge of signal; beards golden yellow in throat, bronze yellow ends; slight fragrance. Seedling 05-AB-03-05: (01-AB-13-01: ('Sheik' x 'Bagdad's Folly') x 'Noble Warrior') X 06-AB-05-50: ('Noble Warrior' x 02-AB-26-03: ('Energizer' x 'Bagdad's Folly')). 2015 Superstition.


'Shaman's Magic' (Richard Tasco, R. 2014). Seedling 10-AB-07-02. AB (OGB), 33" (84 cm). Midseason to late bloom. Standards creamy parchment (RHS 155C), veined gold, darker at edges, amber-maize at bottom of midribs; style arms light old gold (162A), red blush along midribs; falls golden yellow edges veined red, red wash, some red dotting bleeding out from signal, signal large oval shaped burgundy-black, recurved; beard hairs based light yellow, tips golden brown, chevron shaped. 'Aztec Prince' X 'New Vision'. Superstition 2014.

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including award of merit and honorable mention, will be published in the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

Thursday, August 19, 2021

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Sass Medal Winners

'BACKLIT BEAUTY' and 'CODE OF HONOR'

The Sass Medal is restricted to intermediate bearded (IB) irises. It is named in honor of Hans Sass

(1868-1949) and Jacob Sass (1872-1945). They bred irises, peonies, daylilies, lilacs, gladiolus, lilies and other garden plants. When they became charter members of the AIS, they had been breeding irises

for more than a decade. Their irises were famous for being strong growers because they used 'Amas' and I. trojana as tetraploid stud irises instead of the tender I. mesopotamia and I. cypriana.

Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic last year, the American Iris Society Board of Directors suspended garden awards. As a result, and for only this year, two medals will be award in this area. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

BACKLIT BEAUTY--image by Richard Tasco

'Backlit Beauty' (Richard Tasco, R. 2010) Seedling #01-IB-49-01. IB, 25" (64 cm), Late midseason bloom. Standards rosy spectrum violet (RHS 82B) lightly veined white, color blends out to white edges and side bottoms; style arms white, slight lilac blush near midribs; falls darker bishops violet (81A) lightening toward edges, lightly veined around beards to shoulders, bright canary yellow at top of petal; beards white base tipped tangerine in throat and middle, canary yellow at end; lightly ruffled, luminata; slight fragrance. 'Spirit World' X 'Iced Wine'. Superstition 2010.

CODE OF HONOR--image by Mid-America

'Code Of Honor' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2013). Seedling #TB91A. IB, 25" (64 cm), Midseason bloom. Icy blue-white self; beards medium blue; slight fragrance. 'Bluebeard's Ghost' X 'Mythology'. Mid-America 2013.

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including award of merit and honorable mention, will be published in the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

The 2019 Wister Medal Winners

The American Iris Society Announces
The 2019 Wister Medal Winners

'Autumn Explosion'
'Daring Deception'
'Insaniac' 

This medal is restricted to tall bearded (TB) irises. It is named in honor of John C. Wister. Three medals are awarded each year.

John C. Wister led the organizing meeting that created the American Iris Society and became its first president, a position he held for fourteen years. He guided the society through its formative years.

This year's three Wister Medals are:

'Autumn Explosion' by Rick Tasco:

Image by K. Brewitt
Early midseason bloom and rebloom. Standards warm white ground covered with red pansy-purple (RHS 83A) dots becoming almost solid towards the edges; style arms pansy-purple ridges, light lavender-white middle, lime-yellow edge, fringed pansy-purple crests; Falls cold-white ground covered with darker red pansy-purple dots becoming darker towards the edges, speckling intensity can vary from flower to flower; beard hairs based white, tips golden-yellow in middle and throat, purple-white at end; sweet fragrance; lightly ruffled. 'Mariposa Autumn' X 'Celestial Explosion'. Superstition 2013. Honorable Mention 2015. Award of Merit 2017.

'Daring Deception' by Thomas Johnson:

Image by Paul Black
Midseason bloom. Standards white, light violet wash up midrib; style arms white; falls plush violet, wide white band, white spray on either side of beard; beards tangerine; slight fragrance. 'By Jeeves' X Blyth seedling# O77-A: ('Hold My Hand' x 'Brave Face'). Mid-America 2012. Honorable Mention 2014. Award of Merit 2016.


'Insaniac' by Thomas Johnson:

Image by Paul Black

Midseason bloom. Standards white, pencil thin gold halo; style arms white, yellow edged crests; falls white overlaid with red violet lines radiating out to wide rimmed yellow-white edge; beards tangerine; slight fragrance. 'Bright Sunshiny Day' sibling X ' Painter's Touch'. Mid-America 2012. Honorable Mention 2014, Award of Merit 2016.

The World of Irises blog will be posting once a day all of the medal winners. The entire list of winners can be found at the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

Monday, December 10, 2018

California Dreaming 4--Superstition Iris Garden


By Bryce Williamson

Both Phil Williams and I woke up early Tuesday morning, knowing we had a long day ahead of us. The Best Western did provide a breakfast, saving us the time to go look for a place in Merced. And then it was on the road again for the drive up to Superstition Iris Garden in Cathey’s Valley.

On March 22, Superstition received 5.21" of rain with 3.25" of it coming in a one-hour long, vicious thunderstorm. There was a lot of damage in the local area with many bridges washed away. As a result, we could not take Old Highway into the garden, but had to use School House Road instead; however, before we went to the garden, I wanted to see the Detwiler Fire damage so we drove up to the bustling metropolis of Mariposa. Ironically last year’s fire has resulted in wonderful wildflower bloom this spring.

Because Superstition grown medians and arilbreds along with tall bearded, there was a lot to see in the garden. As always, Rick Tasco and Roger Duncan were gracious hosts, letting us first wander around in the named varieties rows before we walked the seedlings with Rick.


Rick Tasco and Roger Duncan

I was especially excited to see some fine arilbred irises:
'Dragon's Eye' (Tasco 2015)

'On the Web' Tasco 2019

'Glow of Love' Tasco 2019

'Vivid Dream' Tasco 2019

This is one of Rick's arilbred medians and the second arilbred median is his Warrior Prince:

'Lucky Dragon' Tasco 2019

'Warrior Prince' (Tasco 2015)

In the named tall bearded iris beds, I liked:

'Ayes Alert' (Burseen 2015)

'Brighton Beach' (M. Sutton 2017)

'Desert Paradise' (Dash 2017)

'Good Morning Beautiful' (Stanton 2012)

Then Rick and Roger walked us through the seedlings and some have been named since I wrote this blog; there was more TB bloom there since the plants had gone into the ground earlier:

Boundless Beauty' Tasco 2019

Tasco14.TB.05.01

Tasco 15.TB.05.09

The additional stock of Rick's 2018 introductions were also by the seedling beds:

'Ice Cream Sundae' Tasco 2018

'Secret Delight' Tasco 2018

'Spring Elegance' Tasco 2018

When we were ready to leave, Roger provided wonderful directions to John and Leslie Painter’s garden by Lake Barryessa. Those great directions saved at least a hour of time on that leg of the on the road trip.
 

Superstition has a printed catalogue and it can be obtained by sending $1.50 to Superstition Iris Garden, 2536 Old Highway, Cathey's Valley, California 95306 for a two year subscription. They can also be reached on Facebook or in email at randrcv@sti.net.


Wednesday, August 15, 2018

2018 Knowlton Medal

The American Iris Society Announces
The 2018 Knowlton Medal Winner
'Sheer Excitement'

This medal is restricted to border bearded (BB) irises. It is named in honor of Harold W. Knowlton (1888-1968) of Auburndale, Massachusetts, a tireless promoter of the border bearded class of irises. 

'Sheer Excitement'--image by Rick Tasco

'Sheer Excitement' (Richard Tasco) blooms in the early midseason. Standards violet (RHS 83B) veined lighter, lightening toward slight tan edge; style arms cold white, faint violet blush toward fringed crest, slight yellow blush on top of crest; falls slightly darker pansy-violet (83A) sanded and veined lighter toward slight tan edge, very bright primrose yellow (4A) areas becoming white areas on sides of beards; beards tangerine, white at end; luminata pattern; citronella fragrance.

While Mr. Tasco has won many medals including the Dykes, this is his first median medal award.

The World of Irises blog will be posting once a day all of the medal winners. The entire list of winners can be found at http://irises.org/About_Irises/Awards_Surveys/AIS_Awards.html, the AIS Encyclopedia and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES. Pictures can be found at http://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards2018.

Monday, July 16, 2018

The AIS Region 14 Spring Regional

by Jean Richter

Every region of the American Iris Society holds a spring meeting, often including garden visits and irises planted specifically for the event. AIS Region 14 (which includes northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii) held its 2018 spring meeting, Butterflies in the Mountains, on May 11-13 of this year. The event was held in and around the town of Mariposa (the Spanish word for butterfly), located in the Sierra Nevada mountain foothills on one of the major routes to Yosemite National Park. As the elevation of the tour gardens was around 3000 feet, the bloom season was a few weeks later than much of the rest of the region, affording irisarians some extra time in which to view their favorite flowers, and avoiding conflicts with other bloomtime events at lower altitudes.

 A butterfly lights atop 'Winter's  Smile' (Black 2016)

There were two tour gardens at this regional; the first we visited was Sky Ranch Gardens owned by Gary and Gail Collings in Oakhurst. The Collings have numerous rows of iris planted into a gently sloping hillside.

The Collings garden

Bill Tyson seedling

'Tropical Fruit Salad' (Kanarowski 2017)

In addition to the guest iris, one aspect of the Collings garden I very much enjoyed was seeing their extensive collection of "recent historic" and "almost historic" iris - varieties from the 1980s and early 1990s, many of which are becoming difficult to find. A number of these were also space age iris (with horns or other appendages on the beards of the flower), another favorite of mine.

'Sky Hooks' (Osborne 1979)

'Gold Speculator' (Williamson 1993)

'Zany' (Dunn 1987)

The second tour garden was the garden of Doug and Diane Kanarowski, located in the hills above Mariposa. In addition to many rows of iris, Doug and Diane have an extensive and beautiful garden around their home, with plantings of a wide variety of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, water features, a dovecote, and plenty of whimsy.

The Kanarowski garden

Doug is also a hybridizer, and incorporates a fair amount of whimsy into his iris names as well, for example: 'Big Hat No Cows.'

'Big Hat No Cows' (Kanarowski 2016)

The beautiful pastel colors of Kanarowski's 'Baby Duck' won it the Clara B. Rees Cup for best iris introduced prior to the current year by a Region 14 hybridizer.

 'Baby Duck' (Kanarowski 2016)

'Irresistable Charm' (Tasco 2016)

Many thanks to AIS Region 14 for putting on an enjoyable regional! Thanks also to my wife Bonnie Petheram for providing nearly all the pictures for this blog (all except 'Zany,' which was my photo).


Monday, March 19, 2018

Looking to the Future of Mohr-type Irises

By Bryce Williamson

In my recent blog, The World of New Exciting Mohr Type Irises, I wrote about the recent introductions and their much more aril like appearance; today is the chance to learn about what the future has in store.

Paul Black wrote to me, "W306A which is a beauty is from ‘Energizer’ X TB seedling.  It looks like a good 1/2 to 3/4 bred."

Black W306A--image by Paul Black

Rick Tasco kindly provided information about his work with Mohr types: “Virtually all of the aril-median crosses I make are between 1/2-breds and SDBs, either reblooming SDBs or SDBs with large and bright spot patterns.  This has worked out very well for me.  We need to get more rebloom in the aril-medians.  I have a very strong reblooming aril-median that I’ll be introducing next year (2018).”

To whet our appetite, Rick provided images of some of his best selections.

Sun and Snow (Tasco '18)--image by Rick Tasco

Scheduled for introduction in 2018, this Mohr-type is a very strong rebloomer in its home garden, opening new possibilities for extending the season.

Tasco 15-AM-07-27--image by Rick Tasco

There is something about this color combination that I really like.

I have written about the value of yellow in irises and the next two seedlings will bring sunlight into the early spring garden even on a rainy day.


 Tasco 15-AM-01-16--image by Rick Tasco

Tasco 15-AM-11-17--image by Rick Tasco

Rick's next two seedlings show the value of crossing medians with spots with arilbreds.

Tasco 15-AM-03-16--image by Rick Tasco

Tasco 15-AM-03-03--image by Rick Tasco

The future of this old class of irises seems bright with hybridizers using new ideas and new blood to revitalize Mohr-types.

At this point, there are only a few sources for plants. Two reputable sources are Mid America and Superstition. Click on the nursery name and it will take you to a link where you can find out more information from the garden owners.


Tuesday, January 9, 2018

New, Exciting Mohr-type Irises

By Bryce Williamson

In my one and only year at Chico State, one of the highlights was the ability to go to Leo T. Clark’s garden at Corning and to see his aril and arilbreds in bloom, irises that sadly had a limited growing range for growth. As a result, I have been keenly interesting in the new generation of Mohr-type arilbreds being introduced, often from a combination of medians and half arilbred irises. Current hybridizers have pushed the colors and patterns into new, exciting directions and the flowers, although only a quarter aril, show more of the aril characteristics that make this exotic group of irises so much fun to view especially since growing the half aril hybrids and pure arils can be a challenge in many climates.

Eye to Eye (Keppel) is an example of more aril-like flowers, including the signal,
and the winner of the 2017 American Iris Society Mohr Medal.
Image by Keith Keppel.

The hope of these new Mohr types is that they will expand the areas where they can be grown with little trouble and bring these exotic, flamboyant flowers to a much larger audience both in The American Iris Society and the general gardening public. For a background on these interesting hybrids, Tom Water wrote a informative World of Irises blog,  Arilbred Iris: A Little History.

Older Mohr type hybrids tended to be crosses of tall bearded irises with, at first, William Mohr, but the new hybrids are using medians and tall bearded irises with variety of arilbred hybrids. I do hope you, as I have done, will add some of these varieties to your garden, expanding your bloom season and bringing fresh colors and patterns into your palette of spring flowers.


Calypso Dancer (Tasco)--image by Rick Tasco

Confederate (Rick Tasco)--image by Rick Tasco

At the present time, the leaders in producing this new generation of Mohr type arilbreds includes Keith Keppel, Paul Black, Thomas Johnson, and Rick Tasco.



 Octave (T. Johnson)--image by Paul Black
 Sri Lanka (T. Johnson)--Image by Paul Black
Suspect (T. Johnson)--image by Paul Black

These are garden irises of limited fertility.  Paul Black in email wrote, "For most here is no fertility, especially the 1/2 breds X SDB....There is a very limited fertility with a few--meaning a seed of two."


His seedling V351A, pictured below, is "the result of Brash and Bold X reblooming TB seedling and there was only 1 seed in the cross, though V351A does show some limited fertility."

Brash and Bold (Black)--image by Paul Black


Black V351A--image by Paul Black

He was extremely lucky with the cross that produced four introductions, ‘Heart of Hearts’, ‘Galaxina’, ‘Perry Dyer’, ‘Red Ahead’ and ‘Soaring Falcon’ are all siblings.  As he wrote, "What a cross!  I’ve gotten a few seed from a couple of them and Adam Cordes has gotten 7 seeds from ‘Heart of Hearts.’"


Soaring Falcon
Red Ahead


 Heart of Hearts

Perry Dyer--images by Paul Black

In responding to my question about the range where these hybrids will grow and bloom, he wrote, "Yes, the aril-medians (1/2 bred X SDB) will grow further south than SDBs.  ‘Desert Snow’ has grown well and bloomed in Manitoba, Canada, and also for Walter Moores in Mississippi.  That probably accounts for its popularity."





Desert Snow--images by Paul Black

At this point, there are only a few sources for plants. Two reputable sources are Mid America and Superstition. Click on the nursery name and it will take you to a link where you can find out more information from the garden owners.