ANNIE’S COCONUT CREAM PIE (Kanarowski 2024), TB, VE-E, 36”
BREAKING NEW IRIS GROUND …. again
From the very beginning my promise has always been to introduce beautiful, good-growing modern iris that are either 20% different or 20% better than what has already been introduced. With such an abundance of choices on the market today, does it make any sense to introduce yet another flower that looks like everything else? I don’t think so and apparently neither does my ever-expanding client base. For the dedicated irisarian, this isn’t that hard to understand. But what is hard, is coming up with that new flower that everyone wants.
I have found that a good place to look for my next big hybridizing idea is where few have gone and even fewer have succeeded. There is a wonderful book titled: IRIS .. flower of the rainbow, by Graeme Grosvenor. In that book, the author included a special section on iris colors. He mentions a particular color and then follows it with few brief thoughts. Next, he lists several cultivars that feature that particular color. Here is what caught my attention. When the author mentioned the color CREAM, he added this statement: “Cream is a colour much in demand but there are few quality tall bearded iris available in this sought –after area.” At the time of my first reading, I heavily underlined that last sentence in my own copy.
Starting on page 87, Graeme went on to list only two cream iris: Liqueur Creme (Blyth ’89) and Precious Moments (Gatty ’82.) I would add one more, Devonshire Cream (G. Sutton ’99). That’s it. Only three cream iris that I was aware of …. until seedling year 2021.
From its very first day of opening, I thought that seedling #0718 was quite spectacular. It had ultra-modern form and displayed unusually crisp clean colors. The flowers were large and highly ruffled. This strong grower had a large, red-tangerine beard that added plenty of pizzazz to maximize its curb appeal. Unlike the other simpler cream flowers mentioned above, its ameona color pattern with it pristine white standards standing tall over the yellow-cream falls, put in a unique class all by itself! What’s not to like?
INDECISION ….becomes decision
In its first seedling year, a single characteristic stopped me from instantly loving it. And this strongly inclined me to not consider it for possible introduction. Seedling #0718 was virtually my first seedling to bloom that spring. Historically, I have or had a natural biased against Very Early and Early blooming iris. Being a fruit, vegetable and then a flower grower, I’ve experienced my share of “spring snow and late frost” related incidents. In my mountain environment, this is an annual concern that won’t go away. So what should I do with an otherwise highly promising seedling? My first impulse was to just give it another year and hope for the best.
Since I had already leaned to never fully trust any first-year seedling, I replanted it for the 2022 bloom year. Outcome? Disappointingly I got a similar result …. not quite the very first to bloom, but still uncomfortably early. All experienced hybridizers see their fair share of “if only” seedlings. "If only it had more buds, was 2 inches taller, had a better stalk, or “if only” it would grow a little better …. I’d introduce it." Now what to do? OK, just give it one more year and hope for a miracle.
2023 AIS CONVENTION…. Dallas
A great many iris hybridizers send iris to the AIS Nationals and hope for the best. I don’t know a hybridizer that can’t tell you their story …. some good, some bad. Anything can go wrong. So you lower your expectations. For this particular convention, a decision was made to mix up the typical game plan and make it a Median Convention. In other words, have an earlier-than-normal convention that would feature the smaller-than-normal iris varieties plus a few of the earlier Tall Bearded cultivars that are not as commonly seen. I thought it was a great and inventive way to give the Median hybridizers a chance to display their wares. What wasn’t so great about this for Mariposa Iris is that of the 40 TB’s that I had introduced up until that point, only one, PHASERS ON STUN, was a truly early blooming iris. Off it went to Dallas.
In the late spring of 2023, I boarded a flight to Dallas in heightened anticipation of receiving my first Wister, and in subdued anticipation of seeing one of my cultivars in a Texas garden. I was a bit surprised yet remained guarded when several of my iris friends mentioned the performance of PHASERS ON STUN in the gardens that they had visited. The absolute truth is that I was soooooooo exhausted due to my disruptive travel schedule that I slept through the ring of my alarm clock and missed the bus for the entire first day. So, I spent the first day in a huge hotel with nary an iris person to talk to. How’s that for traveling to a big event and getting started on the wrong foot?
Day two was much better. I boarded the morning bus and visited the remaining two gardens. However, none of my iris seemed to have been planted in either. As a point of clarification, I would add that there are normally so many interesting iris centered activities going on at the typical AIS national convention that missing the guest plantings is not the end of the world.
THE UN-ANTICIPATED…. decision
Ok. Once you leave the last convention garden, the attendees vote for the various ‘Cup’ winners and the ‘Top 15 Favorite Irises’. So, the winner of the Franklin Cook Cup – Best Out-Of-Region Iris was the lovely Arilbred,‘Lucky Dragon’ by Richard Tasco, collecting 22 votes. Then the first Runner-Up with 20 votes was my ‘Phasers On Stun’ .... so it was in actuality, the top TB. For the Top 15 Favorite Irises, ‘Phasers On Stun’ was the top vote getter with 60 votes. ‘Lucky Dragon’ was second with 54 votes. I really didn’t see this coming. So you might say that I was ‘stunned’.
The success of PHASERS ON STUN prompted me to re-evaluate my suspected overly-bias mindset against early tall bearded iris. One of my guiding theories in life is that a prudent person should occasionally reconsider the various points of their belief system. Was my personal judgment too tough or misplaced? Have I been overly prejudiced against early iris?
Two factors heavily dominated my refined thinking. One, cold damage of fruits and vegetables usually has a far worse impact than on flowers. In my actual garden experience, Phasers On Stun and Seedling #0718 had always managed to put on a very respectable bloom no matter the weather.
Two, I recalled a past discussion that I had with Berry Blyth. He said that because of the late heat that he has experienced in his climate, he actually preferred early iris. So, why wouldn't other irisarians from different environments feel the same way?
Final modified conclusion: Not only was it ok to introduce #0718, .... it was in fact, desirable!!
THERE IS OFTEN A STORY BEHIND …. the name
The naming of this spectacular yellow-cream ameona seedling ended up incorporating an element of personal culinary pleasure. Without a doubt, the pristine white standards over pale-yellow cream falls instantly reminded me of one of my favorite deserts, cream pies. But which cream pie was the most perfect color match, Lemon Meringue, Banana Cream or Coconut Cream? To solve this tantalizing mystery, I compared the three pictures on the pie boxes at my local Walmart and concluded that Coconut Cream was the perfect winner (pictured). And to help celebrate the satisfaction of my new discovery, I purchased that particular pie and pleasingly devoured it at home.
Now, if you have ever lived in one place for an extended period of time, chances are that you made one or more long-lasting, non-family friends. I met my wife in 1975. But even before I ever entered the picture, she already had a friend named Connie. They were both waitresses at the same restaurant. For some now forgotten reason, Connie reminded my wife of the popular comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, so she began calling here Annie. And for another un-explainable reason, the newname has stuck for the past fifty years. So now we have ANNIE’S COCONUT CREAM PIE. One of my 3 TB introductions for 2024.
BASIC FLOWER DESCRIPTION …. a list of contents
TB, 36”,
STANDARDS: pristine white, touch of cream at base of midrib
STYLE ARMS: white, tipped cream
FALLS: pale yellow-cream, lighter at beard, darker edge, quarter- inch white rim, subtle peach-beige veining around beard
BEARD: reddish-tangerine, brilliant and large
ACCESSORIES
Form orbicular, ultra-modern Hafts one-half inch overlapping falls Attention getting beauty Ruffles lavishly ruffled
Stem Strength & Proportion good Overall Proportions very good Height Above Foliage good Substance satisfactory
Stalks Per Rhizome can have more than one Bloom Season frequent triple terminal extends the bloom Sunfast? yes
Flower Size large and wide, 4”H x 7” W Bud Count typically7 Fading or Aging Issues none Heat Tolerance good
Average Increase 7 Fragrance sweet Breeding Success resistant, but will breed both ways Similar to no other iris
Photogenic? Very Problems no serious problems noted Attention getting beauty Curb Appeal very high, extravagant
“FROM MY HYBRIDIZING NOTES” ….
“Remarkable change of pace from the ordinary color classes. A rare cream-blend ameona that opens a new vista.”
THERE’S ALWAYS MORE …. two key points
One of the most common and semi-legitimate complaints of flower growers and irisarians alike is that because iris flowers are so spectacular, their bloom season is just too short! Well, the single, simplest, and most fool-proof way to tackle this issue is to grow iris that span the full spectrum of the bloom season …. from Very Early to Very Late and everything in-between. ANNIE’S COCONUT CREAM PIE is a wonderful solution for the VE-E requirement.
Point #2. White over cream does not sound all that exciting. It just doesn’t sound like there is enough contrast between those two fairly- similar colors to be attractive. But that would be entirely wrong. On some occasions, subtly is simplicity. And simplicity can be incredibly attractive. Yes, another Iris From The Future.
PICTURE CRITIQUE
ANNIE’S COCONUT CREAM PIE loves to be photographed. Your problem will be choosing which particular bloom you like best …. a happy problem to have.
PARENTAGE
#0718 : #0604: (All My Dreams x Zesting Lemons) X Matters Of The Heart
Two rhizomes: $75
UPDATES .... Surprise! This one reblooms.