VERMILION CLIFFS (P. Black '25)
AB (OGB-) Midseason-late 23” (58.5cm) No fragrance.
Its name comes from the similarly colored Vermilion Cliffs of Arizona. Mid gold styles peek out from between light tan standards. Falls have light tan ground washed coppery tangerine over the lower half, and have mid coppery red sanded veins on the upper half. Light yellow beards end in small red-black signals.
Sdlg. DD087A: Smokin' Hot X Bottle Rocket

FLAME OUT (P. Black '25)
SDB Early-midseason 12” (30.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Flame Out is an awesome approach to red. The red ground of the ruffled standards is washed red-black. Super wide and perfectly ruffled falls are mid red with a deeper wash. The mid gold half-moon center is plicata mottled and sanded dark red-brown, and surrounds big mid marigold beards.
Sdlg. DD153A: AA220F: (W233B, See No Evil sib x Artist's Hand) X Artist's Hand

BLACKBERRY SLUSHY (P. Black '25)
SDB Early-midseason 14” (35.5cm) Pronounced spicy fragrance.
Rich dark black-purple standards with white heavily plicata marked centers. Light peach ground falls have mid maroon heavily plicata marked hafts becoming sanded veins then dark maroon lower third. Large vivid orange beards cry out for attention.
Sdlg. DD153B: AA220F: (W233B, See No Evil sib x Artist's Hand) X Artist's Hand

BEYOND FABULOUS (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 32” (81.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
An abundance of ruffles, pleasing color contrasts, and all-around great garden performance make Beyond Fabulous a prime candidate for your garden. Light grayed cantaloupe centers blend to very wide pale icy blue-white bands. Dark blended dark purple falls have white hafts heavily lined and sanded dark maroon and are finished with medium wide icy white streaked bands. Two-toned beards are mid marigold, ending in light violet. Three branches provide 8-9 buds. Strong growth.
Sdlg. BB73B: My Passion X Z139: (V89: (unknown x Hotsy Totsy) x Hotsy Totsy)

PLAY WITH ZEBRAS (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 34” (86.5cm) Pronounced musky fragrance.
Talk about a zebra of a different stripe. This is one of the few broken color plicatas, and one with sterling plant habits and superbly formed flowers. White standards have a wide dark purple plicata band and closely spaced dotting over the center. Wide and ruffled falls are white with dark purple broken color segments, streaks, dotting, and sanding. Show stalks have three branches and 7-8 buds. I’m working on zebras in other colors now. What a fun project this is!
Sdlg. AA84N: Come And Dance X Starry Starry Night

RAZZLE DAZZLE ME (P. Black '25)
TB Late-very late 31” (78.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Can one possibly get more color on an iris? Probably, but this one makes a good run at it. Mid gold standards and styles top wide falls having mid red-purple centers with light grape finely sanded veins. Warm white hafts on each side of beards are heavily sanded and lined dark brown blended to dark black-brown edges. Moderate brassy khaki bands decorate the edges. Its pod parent Hotsy Totsy is an interesting parent for me. Two branches plus spur carry 7 buds.
Sdlg. BB17O: Hotsy Totsy X Bright Within

MEGASTAR (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 35” (89cm) No fragrance.
This was my favorite seedling out of all of the BB year seedlings. I returned repeatedly to have another look. There is such an overwhelming amount of color and patterning that one viewing isn’t enough to take it in. It is another Crocodile Smile child, which shows its importance as a parent. Warm white standards have a wide light violet plicata outer band and a wide light khaki tan sanded and lined plicata band. Style arms are contrasting dark gold. White falls have wide dark violet to dark plum lined and sanded plicata bands. Rich brown beards are the perfect accent. Three branches produce 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. BB105P: Crocodile Smile X Z62C: (All Too Exciting x U53X, Rise Like A Phoenix sib)

JUST FOR JACKIE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Jackie is one of my best friends. She has always been a big help by leaving pink post-it notes on seedlings she thinks I should keep. We’ve had many good laughs together. She also insists on helping me plant my iris seeds each fall. Of course I wouldn’t hurt her feelings by saying no. She makes it all fun. She likes brown irises, so for her here is a white and dark red-brown plicata. Note the pronounced lines in the falls. Strong stalks have three branches and 8-9 buds. This is one of many exceptional seedlings coming from Crocodile Smile.
Sdlg. BB106C: Crocodile Smile X Z100D, Background Noise sib

STRIPES ARE IN (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 32” (81.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Here is another of the fantastic Crocodile Smile offspring with unique lined falls in various colors that I’ve been anxious to introduce. White standards have wide almost solid dark purple plicata bands and heavily stitched and sanded centers. White falls have intermittent lines over their centers and a solid center stripe. The number and length of lines is variable. I can’t wait to see more of its kids. Three branches and 8-9 buds is typical.
Sdlg. BB106N: Crocodile Smile X Z100D, Background Noise sib

PLICATA PORTRAIT (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 34” (86.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
She is all dressed up for her picture perfect moment. White ground standards have wide solid dark maroon bands and heavy overall plicata sanded centers. Interiors of the standards have white ground with plicata marks similar to falls. Broad white falls have mid red-violet sanding within wide dark maroon plicata bands. Widely spaced dark maroon lines traverse the centers. Three branches have 8-9 buds. Strong growth.
Sdlg. BB106O: Crocodile Smile X Z100D, Background Noise sib

COME FLY WITH ME (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 34” (86.5cm) Pronounced sweet fragrance.
Standards are mid blue veined darker blue. Here is where it gets interesting to describe. Falls are the same as standards except a bit grayed, but with contrasting rich walnut brown hafts. Gilt gold rims widen to narrow light gray bands. Its uniqueness draws one back again and again for a closer look. It is a strong grower, with 2 branches plus spur and 6-7 buds.
Sdlg. BB112N: Y69B: (Jungle Mist x W2A: (Beauty Becomes Her x U1B, Luxuriant sib)) X X135A: (U50A: (After The Rain x S110D: (Blue Trill x N193A, Blue Trill sib)) x U59A: (After The Rain x Black Is Black))

WITCHES STITCHES (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 32” (81.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Glinda the Good Witch put her magic to work and created this enchanted plicata that has only a stitched band around the falls. Usually there is another color, sanding, or plicata marks. Standards are white with light violet-blue stitched plicata bands, but with lighter violet-blue shading in between. Falls are white with wide dark violet stitched plicata bands. Widely spaced greenish texture veins traverse the center. Stalks have three branches and 9-11 buds.
Sdlg. BB113B: Y79A: (V6B: (Ink Patterns x S91A, Raindrops Keep Falling sib) x W215K, Meditation Garden pollen parent sib) X Bespoke

PEACH BERRY JUMBLE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) No fragrance.
The time of broken colored irises with poor form, stalks, buds, and growth is past. Now is the time to put this colorful beauty in your garden. Standards have mid to dark mulberry segments and streaks, and mid to light peach segments and streaks. Falls have a mid peach ground, white around the beards, and mid to dark mulberry segments, streaks, sanding, and dotting. WOW! What a wild and crazy flower. Vigorous growth produces show stalks with three branches and 8-9 buds.
Sdlg. BB117N: Y87A: (V24C, Cockeyed Optimist sib x W144C: (T46C: (Claim To Fame x Advantage) x T52CR: (N134AAR: (Island Coral x K113A: (Throb x I4B: (Blazing Sunrise x C17D, Vibrant sib))) x Advantage))) X Y115B, Breaking Free sib

BLUEPRINT FOR SPRING (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 36” (91.5cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
What makes this light blue bitone with falls veined darker mid-blue special? I think it is the best attempt so far to put a pink beard on a blue iris. It has been a challenge for many hybridizers. Its other special feature is the clumps filled with bloom stalks creating an overpowering display of color in the garden. To say it is floriferous is an understatement, and yet, there is plenty of increase left.
Sdlg. BB157O: Y168A: (V159M, Pleasure's All Mine sib x W113A: (S157I, Reflections Of Love sib x Multnomah Falls)) X Z114B: (V159Q, Pleasure’s All Mine sib x V159O, Pleasure’s All Mine sib)

VARIATION ON A THEME (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Slight musky fragrance.
This theme includes several medians and I. aphylla in the parentage. I’m excited when I can add more diversity in a cross. As I like to say, “More is more.” The blending, shades, and patterning of blue bring to mind the ever-changing skies. Standards are mid-dark blue blending to mid-light blue toward edges. Inky dark blue falls blend to wide light blue bands. Two-toned beards are a fun accent. Moderately sized flowers are carried on three branches having 9-10 buds.
Sdlg. BB161E: Y170C, Stardust Evening sib X Z145H: (V385B: (First Lady Of Spring x Silver Ice) x V168A: (Coral Splendor x Simply Coral))

CALYPSO JOE (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) No fragrance.
Imagine loads of sun, sandy beaches, and music with a Latin beat when Calypso Joe appears in his flamboyant attire. The light butter ground of the standards is widely banded dark wine with random plicata marks over their centers. Bright mid yellow falls have dark wine hafts extending beyond the root beer beard and ending in an irregular dart. The plicata markings are wide in upper 1/3 then becoming narrow. Robust growth produces strong stalks with 3 branches and 9-10 buds. Quite a showstopper.
Sdlg. CC68A: Fantasmagorical X Z70H, Capture A Little Sun sib

TYRANNOSIRIS REX (P. Black '25)
TB Midseason-late 33” (84cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Well, maybe it isn’t quite as large as Tyrannosaurus Rex, but it is big and exuberantly ruffled. The standards have a small grayed light-yellow center that blends to light pewter, then to a wide light grayed brown band. Expansive falls are mid grayed yellow with mahogany hafts blended lighter to their edge. Mid old gold beards end in a short, wide, slate violet stripe. Unique it is! Excellent plant habits help create memorable clumps filled with show stalks.
Sdlg. CC71A: Stardust Evening X Espionage

DOUBLE DEALING (P. Black '25)
TB Early-midseason 30” (76cm) Slight sweet fragrance.
Breeding for broken color irises is difficult, and even more so for variegated foliage. The presence of both in the same iris is still a rare achievement. Double Dealing meets the challenge. Variegated foliage has segments that are blue-green, grass green and white. Broken color flowers have standards of light tan-yellow with mid rosy mauve broken color segments. Falls are mid tan-gold with mid maroon sanding and dark maroon broken color segments, streaks, and splashes. Stalks have 2 branches plus spur and 8 buds.
Sdlg. BB117A: Y87A: (V24C, Cockeyed Optimist sib x W144C: (T46C: (Claim To Fame x Advantage) x T52CR: (N134AAR: (Island Coral x K113A: (Throb x I4B: (Blazing Sunrise x C17D, Vibrant sib))) x Advantage))) X Y115B, Breaking Free sib