ABSOLUTE PERFECTION (Paul Black 23)
IB Early-Late 25” (63cm)
Pronounced musky fragrance I think without a doubt this is the finest of the black and white plicata IBs. Centers of iridescent purple-black standards reveal just a bit of white plic ground. White falls have wide black plic bands with purple interior markings. Show stalks have 2 branches plus spur and 7-8 buds. Vigorous growth and increase. Stunning clumps. It is fertile. Sdlg. AA277A: Midnight Velvet X Lap of Luxury

BACON AND EGGS (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 13” (33cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Sunnyside up light yellow standards sit atop mid red-brown bacon falls with a little egg at hafts and around them. Clumps are filled with stalks and plenty of increase left for next year. Sdlg. BB195C: Before the Dawn X Mesa Sunrise

BLAZING ORANGE (Paul Black 23)
BB Midseason-Late 26” (66cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance This fiery apricot orange will instantly command your attention when you walk into your garden. Bright it is. Dark plum hafts showcase vivid red-orange beards. Show stalks have 3 branches and 8-9 buds. Makes quick clumps. Sdlg. Z125A: Time Out X Shivaree

BOOM (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance It is spring’s explosion of color. Light peach standards are a soft foil for the raucous mid plum falls widely banded light rosy mauve. Bright dark orange beards go “Boom”! Clumps are filled with stalks. Robust growth. Sdlg. BB227A: Hey Look At Me X Yoda

CANDY TYCOON (Paul Black 23)
MTB (tet) Midseason-Late 25” (63cm)
No fragrance This tycoon has cornered the market on pink cotton candy blooms. Light peach pink standards and styles top falls with pale peach pink hafts lined and sanded mid rose-pink blending to wide rose band then narrowly edged light peach pink. Coral pink beards are the perfect accessory. Super show stalks have 4 branches and sometimes rebranch with 9-14 buds. Sdlg. AA166G: Black X201C: (Black T171E, Casual Attire pod parent x Black T171D, sib) X Black Y179A, Bright Victory sib

CINEMAGIC (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early 13” (33Ccm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Mid gold standards and styles glow above wide mid ruby falls blended lighter toward edges. Light violet beards tipped black-brown terminate in wide black cherry center stripes. Nice breeding for broken color SDBs. Sdlg. BB246D: Black Y278B: (Black V316F, Circus Act sib x Don’t Fix It) X Yoda

CLEAR VIEW (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 13” (33cm)
No fragrance Chalky pale lilac standards have wide light mauve finely lined bands. Dark red purple falls have white veins over hafts and short light violet dart at end of light orange to white beards. Very pretty ruffled form. Sdlg. BB245B: Black Y270A: (involved) X By the Sea

DEMURE PRINCESS (Paul Black 23)
SDB Early-Midseason 13” (33cm)
Pronounced spicy fragrance Absolutely beautiful in every way – form, color and plants. Round and gently ruffled falls of mid violet blue flowers have large darker violet blue spots with white darts over hafts. Soft pale blue beards are the perfect accent. Evenly distributed stalks throughout the clump. Sdlg. BB199F: Zaa Zaa Zing sib

DESERT DYNAMO (Paul Black 23)
AB OGB- Late 32” (81cm)
Slight sweet fragrance Big flowers are carried on show branched stalks with 2 branches and 5 buds. Pale violet white standards have light buff filigree overall. Large smoky tan styles peer out over mid grayed rosy violet blended falls. Dark Dutch chocolate beards end in dark grape aril signals. Sdlg. BB185A: Smokin’ Hot X Big Band

DIFFERENT PATH (Paul Black 23)
BB Early-Midseason 26” (66cm)
Slight sweet fragrance In addition to using the species I. junonia in my SDB breeding, I’ve also used it in TB breeding to bring new genes into plicatas. In only two generations, form is modern and show stalks have been the norm. Gently ruffled standards are mid tan-gold rouged light rose over centers. White blended to butter ground falls have rosy plum plic hafts and 1” bands. Mid-marigold beards echo the standards. Easy growth produces quick clumps filled with stalks having 4 branches and 8-9 buds. Sdlg. Z149A: Black X220A: (Barbara May x I. junonia) X House of Cards

DREAM OF DREAMS (Paul Black 23)
SDB Late-Very Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance This little jewel represents one more refinement in a many generations quest for late blooming, multi-budded and branched stalks with shorter foliage so all flowers can be seen. I place it close to the top of my breeding accomplishments. Clear mid yellow flowers are born on 2 branches plus spur and 7-8 buds. That sort of stalk and buds would make even a TB proud. Stalks are mid slate purple. Now the challenge is to add more colors and patterns. Imagine the breeding potential represented here. An easy candidate for “Queen of Show”. Sdlg. AA157A: Continuation X Black Y191A, Perfectly Composed sib

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS (Paul Black 23)
BB Late-Very Late 24” (61cm)
Slight musky fragrance You’ll return again and again to gaze upon this sultry siren. Full, classically formed flowers have smooth mid-dark garnet standards. Velvety black cherry falls are delicately edged in narrow paler ruffles. Glowing light yellow hafts are veined and sanded black cherry and adorned with smoldering burnt orange beards. Clean, vigorous growth produces show stalks with 3 branches and 7-9 buds. The IB, 'Morning Show' was used to provide a different genetic base in the quest for "the red iris". Sdlg. Z121A: Black V170A: (Morning Show x Black P248B, Hi Love pollen parent) X Black X59A, Radiant Garnet sib

FEELING PRETTY (Paul Black 23)
SDB Late-Very Late 15” (38cm)
Pronounced spicy fragrance These clear, soft pastel colors will provide a calming presence for your garden. The light peach to greenish cream glaciata flowers are a perfect foil for taller, more colorful companions. Flowers are a bit larger than usual for the class. Can be used to breed quality plicatas, luminatas and more glaciatas. Sdlg. Z178A: Black V296B, Cool Dude sib X House of Cards

FINE OUTFIT (Paul Black 23)
MTB (diploid) Midseason 21” (53cm)
No fragrance This outfit comes from an interesting genetic mix of diploid and tetraploid parents plus an unknown. In trial crosses, ‘Fine Outfit’ has been fertile in diploid crosses but not tetraploid. Traditional diploid type flowers have mid lilac standards with darker fine lines overall. Elongated white hafts have wide dark purple veins with lower half being solid dark purple with white wire rim. Two branches sport 7 buds. Striking clumps filled with stalks and bloom. Sdlg. BB168N: Little White Tiger X Interject

FLIPPANT (Paul Black 23)
IB Midseason-Late 24” (61cm)
Pronounced sweet fragrance Who can get too serious with a clump filled with these wildly colored jokers? What one can take seriously are the superbly formed flowers carried in abundance on show stalks. Cream standards have wide maroon plicata bands and heavily marked centers. Light yellow falls have wide maroon plicata bands. Widely spaced dramatic dark maroon veins course downward. Vivid Marigold beards shout, “I don’t care!”. Show stalks have 2 branches plus spur and 8-9 buds. An exceptional garden variety. Sdlg. Z167A: Black U194G, Peppito sib X Cat Tales

HYBRIDIZERS TAKE NOTE
FUTURISTIC (Paul Black 23)
SDB Midseason-Late 12” (30cm)
Slight sweet fragrance As far as I know, this is the first variegated foliage SDB to be introduced. I’ve bloomed others but none good enough to introduce. ‘Futuristic’ had an interesting beginning. Bloom the first year was a mix of gray-white flowers, grayed pink flowers and some broken colored of gray and pink. Since then, most have transitioned to light gray with a light tan haft veined darker slate tan and narrowly bordered slate violet. There are very subtle light tan broken color segments. Mid old gold beards give a little life to these more somber colors. ‘Futuristic’ is fertile and can produce variegated foliage and broken color flowers but progress is slow. Sdlg. Y262A: Black V277B: (Black S283B: (Black O335B, Burlesque Cutie pod parent x Worry Wart) x Eye of the Tiger) X Black V324A, Egghead sib

GALACTIC GIGOLO (Paul Black 23) AB (OGB-) Early-Midseason 22” (56cm) no fragrance For those unsure of growing arilbreds, this ¼ bred is for you. It grows as easily and vigorously as a SDB or IB. Standards are light lilac with mid gold bases, random dark violet flecks and gold stitched band. Styles are dark apricot gold. Big bold dark to ruby blended fall spots are widely banded mid ochre. Dark marigold beards are tipped dark garnet and end in small diffuse black aril signals. Vigorous growth produces showy clumps filled with stalks. Sdlg. CC145A: Shaman’s Magic X Black AA211A, Sassy Salsa sib

GENTLE SIGH (Paul Black 23) MTB (tet) Midseason-Late 24” (61cm) slight sweet fragrance Through its softer colors and diminutive size, ‘Gentle Sigh’ conveys the feeling of peaceful serenity in your garden. Standards of white flowers have wide mid amethyst plicata bands and dotted centers. Falls have mid amethyst plicata stitched bands. White beards have interesting auburn tips over a light amethyst layer. Show stalks have 3 branches plus spur and 10-11 buds. A lovely refinement in tetraploid MTBs. Sdlg. AA276C: To the Contrary X Deep in the Heart

GONZO (Paul Black 23)
BB Midseason-Late 25” (63.5cm)
Slight spicy fragrance Descendants of ‘Delectable Treat’ have great substance. This is one of them. It takes 4 or 5 days for the flowers to open and expand. This cross gave a wide range of unique colors and patterns and most having superior branching and buds. Standards and styles are mid greenish yellow. Hafts of greenish cream falls are veined mid rosy brown changing to solid edgings along upper half. Dark pumpkin beards add a bit of warmth. Superbly proportioned flowers are carried on show stalks with 3-4 branches and 9-11 buds. No mistaking this for any other. Sdlg. BB162B: Luscious Lips X Black Y171B, Luscious Lips sib

INTERJECT (Paul Black 23)
MTB dip Midseason-Late 20” (51cm)
No fragrance This cross again illustrates the unusual fertility between tetraploid and diploid MTBs that nobody seems to be able to adequately explain. The seedlings from my cross W195 proved to be sterile in crosses I made. A smart bee gave me one seed that is ‘Interject’. It is fertile with diploids and is being introduced to add more genes to the diploid MTB mix. Standards and styles are mid gold. Upper half of falls are white veined mid old gold and lower half is mid gold washed Dijon and rimmed in gold. Stalks have 2 branches and spur with 7-8 buds. Sdlg. Z159A: W195I: (S233A: (Redrock Princess x Ah Yes) x Mullinax Butterfly, unknown diploid) X Unkown bee