Offering the best new irises for the connoisseur and for the backyard gardener.
International Iris
P.O. Box 18124
Portland, OR 97218-0124
bfilardi [at] comcast.net
2011 Introductions:
Banana Cream Pie
Queen Empress (Filardi '07)
The Bauer Garden during iris season
Rock Climber (Filardi '12)
International Iris/Bruce Filardi
from the SDIS Newsletter, April 2010
Bruce Filardi started hybridizing in 1996. As soon as he fell in love with irises, he fell in love with hybridizing. His first inspiration was when he had a day off from work one day in May of ’95, saw an ad for Schreiner’s, and hopped in the car to drive an hour south from Portland to Salem. Instead of the casual half-hour visit he expected to make, he spent several hours there with his camera, first in the display gardens and later wandering through the seedling fields. The range of colors and patterns was mesmerizing, and the first thing he wanted to breed was a green iris.
As years went on, Bruce became friends with many of the “big names” in the Portland/Salem area, but he never had the confidence to name and register any of his seedlings. He finally registered some in 2005, and Barbara & Terry Aitken introduced his ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ and ‘Pewter and Gold’ in 2006, and four more in 2007: ‘Banana Cream Pie’, ‘Queen Empress’, ‘Enchanted Circle’, and ‘Twilight Tear’. Terry Aitken told Bruce that if he really wanted to introduce more than four in a year, then he should put out his own catalogue, and this is when Bruce started thinking about International Iris, which he originally planned to call Swordlily Gardens. [“Swordlily” is a literal translation of the German word for “iris”: Schwertlilie.]
Bruce speaks German so was able to communicate with German hybridizer Manfred Beer, who speaks no English. He finally had the opportunity to meet Manfred and friend Margitta [“Gitta”] Herrn, along with German hybridizer Günter Diedrich and his wife Rosi, at the National Convention in Portland a few years ago. Two years later, Bruce was the guest of Manfred & Gitta in Germany, where he got to see the Diedrichs again, and also met Wolfgang & Barbara Landgraf. An inveterate traveler, Bruce had also met and visited Anton Mego and his wife Viktoria on a trip to Slovakia; and when he was invited to judge at the International Iris Competition in Florence, Italy, he met Lorena Montanari and her husband Giorgio. On all these occasions, as happens when fanatic hybridizers get together, seedling photos were shared and discussed. Bruce saw many striking and worthwhile irises which he knew would never be seen in America.
International Iris slowly came into being as a way to distribute Bruce’s own work, and more importantly as an outlet for the work of Europe’s great hybridizers who really had no distribution process. In 2009 and 2010, irises were introduced by Beer, Diedrich, Filardi, Landgraf, Mego, and Montanari. The most popular in 2009 were Landgraf’s ‘Landgraefin Elisabeth’, Montanari’s ‘Ferragosto’, and Filardi’s ‘Crest of the Wave’. In 2010, the favorites have been two from Mego, ‘Bratislavan Prince’ and ‘Zlatovláska’. In 2011, new hybridizer Cynthia Bauer (Portland, OR) has her first two introductions, and in 2012 we hope to showcase the work of two additional American hybridizers.
BEAUTIFUL VICTORIA
award winner, Florence, 2010
to be introduced by TBIS
(TBs unless otherwise noted)
AUREOLES
BING
(deep red plicata)
CONQUERING HERO
LA TROIENNE
OUR VIVIA
PINK FIRE
MARE D'INVERNO
PRETTY BALLERINA
QUIZZICAL
TRICK OF THE LIGHT
VALERIA ROMOLI
award winner, Florence, 2010
GENTLE DAWN
Median Introductions:
IMPERTINENT (BB)
IMPERTINENT
as seen from above
APRICOSA (IB)
<==(left)
PRINCE OF PERSIA (IB)
to be introduced by MIS
GONGOLO (SDB)
BRONTOLO (SDB)
ALL BEAUTIFUL (SDB)
glaciata
RED VELVET ELF (SDB)
CATCATCHER (SDB)
Pricing (includes postage):
TBs $45 each; $40 each for 3 or more different varieties
BB: $25; IB: $15
SDBs: $15 each, $10 each for 3 or more different varieties
Please note that 'Beautiful Victoria' is only available this year from TBIS, and 'Prince of Persia' is only available this year from MIS.
KARIBIK
WHISTLER
And this year's beauties from Germany:
ANATEVKA
BALLONIA
award winner, Munich, 2010
FRUEHNEBEL
HEIKE UND INES
GREENHORN
SABINE
award winner, Munich, 2010
HONEY HORSE
BABSI
award winner, Munich, 2010
International Iris
Introductions for 2011
TBs:
ANATEVKA (Diedrich ’11) Beautifully ruffled, in shades of plum and blue. (Next Millennium X Mysterieux)
AUREOLES (Filardi ’11) A stunner! White petals, each outlined in a pencil-thin gold rim, bright tangerine beard. An eyecatcher in the garden. (Captain Crunch X Leading Light)
BABSI (Beer ’11) A lacy pastel delight; award winner in Munich international competition, 2010. (Wintry Sky X Above the Clouds)
BALLONIA (Beer ’11) Dark, intense, and sultry; award winner in Munich, 2010. Violet standards over black falls. (Dark Passion X Romantic Evening)
BEAUTIFUL VICTORIA (Mego ’11) Voted Best Commercial Variety at Florence International Competition in 2010. Introduced exclusively in 2011 by TBIS. (Queen’s Circle X Honky Tonk Blues sdlg)
BING (Filardi ’11) Like nothing else in the garden! A heavily-covered dark red plicata. (Carnival Ride X Drama Queen)
CONQUERING HERO (Filardi ’11) A really beautiful mid-blue amoena, combining the best qualities of both parents. (Sea Power X Seakist)
FRUEHNEBEL (Diedrich ’11) An interesting iris from an interesting cross, not like any other iris we’ve ever seen. Very good growth. (World Premier X Wild Jasmine)
GENTLE DAWN (Bauer ’11) A truly beautiful iris, in a pretty shade of lavender, edged in lace and ruffles. An excellent first introduction from a new hybridizer. (Vienna Waltz X Fancy Stuff)
GREENHORN (Diedrich) A step forward towards a green iris that grows well and avoids unattractive olive hues. (Antiquity X Suspicion)
HEIKE UND INES (Beer ’11) Nice light blue reverse amoena. (Miah Jane X Dime a Dance)
HONEY HORSE (Landgraf ’11) Unusual honey-toned bicolor; excellent form and growth. (Honey House X Rustler)
KARIBIK (Mego ’11) Yet another unique and distinctive iris from Mr. Mego, bright and cheerful garden effect in pastel colors. (Twilight Blaze sdlg X Code Red)
LA TROIENNE (Filardi) Extremely dark plicata, approaching black-on-white, excellent garden performance. (Art Deco X Harvest Butterfly)
MARE D’INVERNO (Montanari ’11) Another stunning creation from Italy, in shades of blue-white, more blue in the standards. (Yaquina Blue X Fogbound)
OUR VIVIA (Bauer ’11) Garden personality! High budcount and perky, ruffled flowers; popular with everyone who sees it. (Detroit City X Aurelie)
PRETTY BALLERINA (Mego ’11) Distinctive and different, an unusual blend of colors. A tall, robust iris. ((Honky Tonk Blues x Rustler) X World Premier)
PINK FIRE (Filardi ’11) Stunning color, reads as a bright, bright pink in the garden. (Sweet Delight X Renoir)
QUIZZICAL (Filardi ’11) Very nice and unusual iris from a cross that gave us several good ones. (Quandary X Goldkist)
SABINE (Beer ’11) Nice rosy violet, award winner in Munich International Competition, 2010. (Sultry Mood X Prince of Pirates)
TRICK OF THE LIGHT (Filardi ’11) High quality iris in every sense, outstanding performer. Glowing color! (Some Enchanted Evening X Good Looking)
VALERIA ROMOLI (Montanari ’11) Vivid orange self; top 10 in Florence International Competition in 2010. (Crackling Caldera X Rustle of Spring)
WHISTLER (Filardi ’11) Stunning garden presence, due to extremely dark falls with contrasting white beard. (Child of Royalty X Obsidian)
Medians:
IMPERTINENT (BB) (Filardi ’11) Fantastic lightly-marked plicata; we love it! (Keppel sdlg X Carnival Ride)
APRICOSA (IB) (Filardi ’11) Perky, vigorous pink-apricot amoena. (Kiwi Cheesecake X Murphy’s Law)
PRINCE OF PERSIA (IB) (Filardi ’11) Beautiful luminata; introduced exclusively in 2011 by the Median Iris Society. (Spice Lord X Brash)
ALL BEAUTIFUL (SDB) (Filardi ’11) Pure color, a beautiful peach/apricot glaciata. (Elysium X M Smith sdlg)
BRONTOLO (SDB) (Montanari ’11) Nice shades of orange, yellow, and tan; exquisite, rounded form. (Many Mahalos X Marksman)
CATCATCHER (SDB) (Filardi ’11) Great! Nicely ruffled, with almost-black falls set off by gold band. (Puddy Tat X Captive Sun)
GONGOLO (SDB) (Montanari ’11) Perky yellow with screaming red beard. (Many Mahalos X Marksman)
RED VELVET ELF (SDB) (Filardi ’11) A nice red with personality. (Sono Qui X Jeweler’s Art)
(above): two future introductions, seedlings by Anton Mego
