~ Notable Irisarians: Vilmorin Early Iris Milestones by Cameron Hall, VA |
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![]() Let us examine briefly, in chronological order, those Vilmorin irises that are still grown today. The oldest surviving Vilmorin iris is Caprice which dates to 1898. It is a small flowered, shorter iris in medium rosy violet and is not a very profuse bloomer for me. Of the famous 1904 introductions, Oriflamme has been lost. Tamerlan just recently rediscovered and made available commercially, is possibly the first tetraploid hybrid - this is of major historical importance. It is a medium deep lavender bitone and very vigorous. Not all Vilmorin irises were tetraploids; Isoline is a triploid, grown today more for its significance than for its beauty. Its rosy mauve coloring is somewhat muddy and the falls are long and narrow. It is an indifferent grower and bloomer. ![]() In vacant lots, beside highways, and in new and old neighborhoods, you may find Alcazar which dates from 1910. This is probably more widely grown today than any other historic hybrid iris. tall, and a vigorous grower and increaser, with a handsome bloom in two rich tones of purple, it is a survivor par excellence. Also from 1910 is Eldorado, popular in its own day, but not widely grown now; a short iris of attractive coloring, the standards are blended violet and bronze while the falls are bright violet and yellow. ![]() We move on to 1914 and the introduction of Dejazet which at one time was well known. Another short iris of very rich coloring; the standards are a dull rose shading to orange over reddish violet falls - very distinctive and quite lovely. It is very scarce. Two years later Opera appeared. One of Vilmorin's most famous and popular introductions in a very pleasing shade of deep purple, almost wine, it was a novel color for that day. Although not the best grower or bloomer, it is well worth a little extra attention and was still grown well into the 1930s. 1919 saw the appearance of Magnifica, another famous iris although somewhat difficult to describe and sometimes difficult to establish. A very large flower with rhizomes to match, it could be called a bitone with blue purple standards and red purple falls reticulated brown. ![]() Two other 1920 introductions are less notable: Chasseur, Vilmorin's only surviving yellow iris, is neither particularly attractive nor a very good performer. At that, is is a better iris than Medrano, which is extremely slow to increase and reluctant to bloom. it is a dull flower of dark smokey purple. However, Ballerine, is a much more robust grower and far better bloomer. A large handsome pallida type, it is a soft blue-lavender bitone that is almost a self. this is another once-popular iris that has only recently been introduced into this country. One last (but not least) Vilmorin iris that has survived is Antarès (1927). This is a small cream colored variety liberally sprinkled with small lavender brown spots and stipples, extremely attractive and different from anything else grown at the time. [ED. Antarès is probably the first tetraploid Broken Color iris in commerce; the first, Victorine (Lémon 1940), was a diploid] Antarès grows well and usually an excellent bloomer. ![]() Vilmorin deserves to be remembered for one more contribution to to the history of iris culture: When the old french firm of Verdier went out of business about the turn of the century, Vilmorin bought out their stock. The firm later introduced some of Verdier's seedlings, among them the dainty white La Neige, plicata Jeane D'Arc and the red toned bicolor Prosper Langier. Unfortunately the famous Edouard Michel has been lost. One might say that iris preservation is not a recent process. The firm of Vilmorin, Andrieux et Cie deserves much credit for the early hybridization and distribution of lovely and important irises, a number of which grace our gardens today. This article is from Vol. 17 Issue 1, Spring 2004 issue of ROOTS.] |