March–April 2026 • Vol. 7, No. 1
In this issue:
Rainbow Goddess: A New Look and Approach
Richard Hebda
The Iris Year has started, and with it a new version of the Rainbow Goddess (RG): a new look, more frequent issues, same excellent information on irises, iris people in BC and beyond.
Over the past years, we have issued an extensive annual version of the Rainbow Goddess, beautifully designed in magazine format and full of information. The BCIS Board have decided that with all the information available out there and with increased society activities, the RG needs to appear more frequently and with an eye to reduced cost too.
RG will now appear several times a year using a more flexible blog-style format and including 2-3 contributions per issue. The nature of the content will not change, and there will be lots of illustrations. Rather than using a strict magazine format, we will have the contributions in a more free-form style with images placed strategically in the text.
We welcome all contributions submitted to me, Richard Hebda, editor of the Rainbow Goddess at hebda@shaw.ca if less than 17 MB, or made available on a free file-sharing platform such as WeTransfer. If you have lots of pictures, you may need to send them in separate emails so that they can be accepted by my server. Write about whatever iris topic you want, including companion plants. I can help you prepare your article if you need help.
Editorial Standards
Here are a few standards to follow, please.
Text can be any length to about 2000 words, but keeping in mind our audience, perhaps 1000-1500 words is a good guideline. Longer contributions are welcome, but may be divided into a couple of parts. For example, if you have a 3000-word article, either split it into two articles with separate titles, or two articles with the same main heading with a Part 1 and a Part 2, each with a separate subheading. Both would appear in the same issue of the Rainbow Goddess.
Please use Canadian English spelling. Use metric measures unless inside a quote from another source, followed by imperial measure in brackets, for example ’10 cm (4”)’. Please place all material quoted from other sources in “quotation” marks and, as necessary, include the internet source address or cite the publication from which the quote originates.
We encourage you to use botanical names at least the first time in the article for species and botanical varieties. These should be in italics. Spell out the genus name the first time, and from that point on, reduce it to the first letter followed by a period. Example “Iris sibirica” the first time, followed by “I. sibirica” when repeated in the article. The main exception to this is if you are including a quote, then use exactly the format in the quote. I can edit to correct style if needed. Horticultural variety names should be in single quotation marks, for example, ‘Blue Lake’.
We love colourful images. Please provide captions for all images. Please attribute all images to the source or photographer (with permission as necessary). If you know the person who took the picture, simply indicate credit to the photographer with “Photo by “ followed by the name. If the image has come from the internet, please write “source“ followed by the full web address.
If using several illustrations/ photos/ images, please call them Figures. Cite them in the body of the text, and number them in the order in which they are to appear in the article. Please suggest the approximate place they are to be placed in the text.
Before you send in the article to us, perhaps have a friend read it over. Other editorial issues may arise, and we will sort these out as we have in the past.
Please enjoy Suzanne Schmiddem’s article on Reticulata irises in this issue. We look forward to many more iris stories in future issues of the Rainbow Goddess.
Dwarf and Median Bearded Irises: Jewels of the Iris World by Kevin C. Vaughn, 2022, Schiffer Publishing
Book Review by Richard Hebda
Gardening books are addictive, especially those with lots of colourful pictures. New iris books are few, and we could use more of them. Kevin C. Vaughn, an experienced iris grower and hybridizer, recently (2022) published a wonderful new volume with tons of information and gorgeous images of irises. This book covers the small and medium-sized irises, those much better suited to our urban and suburban gardens, where space is at a premium. Vaughn brings us decades of iris experience from growing them in the northeast, south and now northwest of the United States.
The main contents begin with Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) irises, followed by a chapter on Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) Irises. Both are superbly illustrated and include aspects of history, breeding and garden use as well as super descriptions of key species and selected hybrids. I really enjoy the accounts of “Old Favourites” and “New Favourites”; the new favourites bring us into the 2020s. Personal recollections of some of the great iris breeders, such as Bee Warburton, add a wonderful human touch.
I like middle-sized irises because of their wind resistance and proportionate size for smaller gardens. The book contains a chapter on each of the Intermediate (IB) and Border Bearded (BB) types, with excellent descriptions of their characteristics and histories. Kevin Vaughn describes these, as with the others, based on his own experiences and includes crisp, colourful images.
A separate chapter recounts tales of Miniature Tall beaded (MTBs) irises, an older group undergoing a breeding renaissance. The story of their origins and hybridizing history is a pleasure to read. You gain a clear understanding of this complex group of irises.
There are excellent chapters on the Culture of Dwarf and Median Irises, easy to read and highly informative. The issue of “cover or not the rhizome” of bearded irises gets an interesting treatment. The section on companion plants for these smaller irises is refreshing with pinks (Dianthus spp.), sedums, and bulbous Alliums explored as bedmates. The hybridizing chapter encourages all of us to try out creating new varieties.
I strongly recommend this book, one of the best on irises I have read. It is current, and the content, style and length (144 pages) are accessible to all. People who love irises would not go wrong in having a copy to flip through and dream of the possibilities for the garden.
BC Iris Society will be donating a copy of this excellent book and an earlier one by Kevin Vaughn to the library of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific in Victoria.
Kevin Vaughn’s hardcover book is available for a reasonable price of $42.90 from Lee Valley online at https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/books-and-dvds/117122-dwarf-and-median-bearded-irises.
My Adventures Through the Maze of Reticulata Iris
Suzanne Schmiddem
I am a new member of the British Columbia Iris Society, having joined officially on January 1, 2026. My husband and I live in Okanagan Falls, overlooking Skaha Lake to the west, approximately 15 minutes south of Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.
Growing Iris reticulata Indoors
About mid-November of 2025, I was lucky enough to get three Iris reticulata ‘Alida’, a variety of dwarf bulbous iris. I had never tried to grow any bulbs inside. An experiment was about to begin. Little did I suspect where this adventure with humble beginnings would lead me! I planted the three ‘Alida’ about 10 cm (2”) deep in a four-inch transparent plastic orchid pot (lots of drainage) in dry peat-based (a mistake) soil-less mix and watered them from the bottom with half-strength Schulz 10-15-10 plant food every two weeks. Because I could see through the pot, I let the water soak up only to below where I thought the bottom of the bulbs were, having heard that Reticulatas rot easily. I tried placing the pot in a 15 C (59 F) basement. Was this temperature ideal, or another mistake in my experiment? I didn’t know.
After four weeks, I saw little shoots peeking out. I moved the pot from place to place: bright window, under my orchid grow lights in a 22 C (72 F) room, outside during the day and inside at night. I wrapped the pots in towels to protect the roots from the sun and cold. Cute but silly. I now know these irises are hardy to -30 C (-22 F). I was trying to find where the bulbs would grow best. Heat under grow lights forced quick growth, but outdoor light, especially sunlight, seemed to stimulate the sturdiest natural growth.
After a few weeks, I dug down and found that a “missing” bulb had rotted – out it came. A few weeks later, I saw the strongest of the two remaining ‘Alida’ start to bloom! But it produced only a half-open flower. The weaker, slower sister has never flowered. But, boy, did the heavenly hue of that half-flower captivate me.
Unknown to me at the time, Diane Whitehead, of Victoria, Vancouver Island, had also planted roughly a dozen ‘Alida’ bulbs in soil-less mix on November 22, and about another dozen in the ground outside. Diane’s location enjoys a cool Mediterranean climate, with warm, dry summers, mild, wet winters, 70 cm (28”) annual rainfall, and native soil that is sandy. Inside the house, she placed her bulb pot on the kitchen floor in a bright location, gave no fertilizer and watered sparingly. Both were fertilized for the first time on March 6, with half-strength tomato (low nitrogen) fertilizer. As of March 10, there are spathes and leaves emerging in her pot and in the garden outside, but no flowers. On March 30, only the garden bulbs were blooming. It is unknown whether any have rotted.
Why were Diane and I having such difficulty with our bulbs planted indoors in pots? Guide-to-houseplants.com, among others, tells us why. “Move pot to a dark, cool, but not freezing (35-45°F/1-7°C) location such as a basement, unheated garage or refrigerator. Avoid storing bulbs near ripening fruit or vegetables because the ethylene gas they produce can damage them. Keep them in cold storage for about 8 weeks. Keep the medium barely moist.
“When shoots reach about 1 in (5 cm) tall, bring the pot out of cold storage and place it in a warmer (60°F/16°C) location that gets at least 4 hours of sunlight per day. Give the pot a quarter turn every day for even growth. When in full bloom, keep irises in a sunny location.”
I would have had to put my pot into my fridge (2-7 C; 35.6 – 44.6 F) for ten weeks, a process referred to as vernalization. Vernalization by fridge or by nature “sets” the flowers, facilitating bloom initiation. Planting bulbs outside in the ground or in an outside pot before winter is much easier than having a pot of soil in your fridge for ten weeks! Now that I know this, I am amazed that one of my ‘Alida” bulbs produced even half a flower.
As soon as I got the ‘Alida’ bulbs, I began wondering which Reticulatas I could plant with them. I knew I wanted large-flowered ones, not the very pretty but small-flowered ones developed by Alan McMurtry, a well-known Reticulata hybridizer in Toronto. I wanted to get light-coloured ‘Katharine Hodgkin,’ with her beautiful design on white falls. I thought, “Wouldn’t the pale ‘Alida’ and ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ look nice with the dark, intense ‘George?’” However, ‘George’ proved very difficult to find. At the Scottish Forum in 2025, Alan McMurtry revealed the answer. “George is William van Eeden’s hybrid named for Dr. George Rodionenko, which unfortunately fell out of favour due to not being a reliable bloomer when forced in pots — which is about 70% of the market for Reticulatas.” I thought dark blue ‘Harmony’ might also make a lovely contribution to my planned Iris reticulata plantings.
Growing Iris reticulata Outdoors
I started browsing the internet to see what I could find on the native habitat of these irises. An AI overview revealed that Reticulata are primarily found in mountainous regions across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus, Russia, and Turkmenistan. They live on rocky hillsides, mountain meadows, open slopes and sub-alpine terrain from lower elevations up to 2000 m (6500’) or higher, with temperatures down to -30 C (-22 F). They thrive in well- or sharply-drained, often stony or rocky soil, in limestone areas or on the pumice slopes of extinct volcanoes. The climate has cold, wet springs and hot, dry summers, and the irises require a dormant period in dry soil.
Richard Cypher of Duncan, Vancouver Island, has mastered the ability to replicate these conditions, at least in a pot for the span of a growing season. He obviously knows what Robin Small advises on www.plantaddicts.com: “An all-purpose, peat-free potting mix works well for all irises. Do not add a layer of pea gravel or drainage rock to the bottom of pots with the idea that the drainage would be improved. The reality is the opposite. Layers of material to ‘improve’ drainage form a perched water table that impedes the growth of the plant’s root system and can even prevent roots from accessing water properly.” Richard estimates that he planted his bulbs about the middle of October, left the pot outside over the winter, and got a beautiful show of Reticulata ‘Alida’ blooms in the spring. He writes, “I planted two large pots of layered bulbs for spring bloom. The first layer to bloom will be Iris reticulata Alida… I used a mixture of 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 sand in my layered pots. If I am planting only reticulatas in a pot, I add some crushed rock or gravel to the mix. Iris reticulata needs well-drained soil. They are great in rock gardens. Many reticulata have a nice fragrance. I find reticulata bulbs planted in beds seem to “run out”, or diminish in number and size rather than increase. This has led me to treat the bulbs as annuals. That being said, I do enjoy the few blooms scattered through the beds where there had once been planted large patches of bulbs.” At planting time, Richard adds either low nitrogen fertilizer or bonemeal to the soil.
Taxonomy Confused and Clarified
Browsing on www.phoenixperennials.com, I noted that ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ is listed as Iris histrioides in the plant catalogue. ‘Alida’ and ‘Harmony’ are listed as Iris reticulata. Cross-referencing to their plant encyclopedia, all I. reticulata types are described as requiring average to dry soil moisture. All I. histrioides types are described as requiring moist soil conditions. Eureka! I had found the answer to my question, “Why has ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ successfully thrived for many years outside in an irrigated garden in the South Okanagan?” Then I found wisdom from Alan McMurtry. His words on www.Reticulatas.com let me know that I was back to square one. “Now is as good a time as any to mention how it’s quite annoying to look in garden catalogues and see ‘George’ and ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ listed as forms of histrioides. They aren’t! They are hybrids with one parent being histrioides. They are listed this way in hopes of giving people an impression that they have large fall blades like histrioides… Other clones like ‘Harmony’ have wide blades, as well as histrioides as one of their parents, but are listed under the heading ‘reticulata’.” So if all are actually Reticulatas, they all need average to dry soil moisture, according to Phoenix Perennials. Back at square one.
Histrioides as one of their parents? What is McMurtry talking about? He provides information on the four hybrids I chose. They are all sterile. ‘Alida’ is a sport of ‘Harmony’. ‘Harmony’s’ pod parent is I. reticulata, pollen parent is I. histrioides ‘Major’. ‘George’s’ pod parent is I. histrioides ‘Major’, pollen parent is ‘J.S. Dijt’. And finally, ‘Katharine Hodgkin’s’ pod parent is again I. histrioides ‘Major’, pollen parent is I. winogradowii. All have I. histrioides ‘Major’ genes. It is fascinating to learn why they are all sterile. McMurtry writes, “How many of you grow the gorgeous hybrid ‘Katharine Hodgkin’? It is from histrioides x winogradowii. Unfortunately, in spite of both parents having chromosome counts of 2n = 16, it is sterile. Individual chromosomes are different enough that ovules and pollen cannot form properly. Thus, it, and others from this same cross, unfortunately, are a dead end from a hybridizing perspective.”
Diseases and Cultural Practices
What might be a reason why Reticulata bulbs, as Richard Cypher says, “planted in beds seem to ‘run out’, or diminish in number and size rather than increase?” What diseases might affect Reticulatas? On March 17, 2015, Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator & Director of Outreach at Denver Botanic Garden, exclaimed on www.botanicgardens.org, “Harmony indeed! Just LOOK at that clump–this one is in the upper meadow of the Rock Alpine Garden. I have not often seen these iris clump up so thickly! When they do, however, they become susceptible to Ink blight–a dread fungus that loves to do in reticulatas. It will be interesting to see if these come back NEXT year…the bulbs are so inexpensive, it’s almost not worth the effort to divide these.”
Peter Nyssen, who has a warehouse in Holland, writes on www.peternyssen.com about Reticulata diseases, pests and their remedies. He lists: “Leaf Spot: Appears as sooty or brown spots with yellow edges. Remove infected foliage; Ink Disease: Black patches on bulbs and leaves. Dig out and destroy affected bulbs. Avoid replanting in the same spot for a few years; Virus: Mottled or flecked leaves and distorted flowers. Remove and destroy infected leaves; Slugs and snails love iris foliage. Apply sharp grit or use organic slug deterrents to protect young shoots.”
“Ink disease typically affects bulbous iris and appears as black blotches on the leaves. Plants affected by ink disease should be removed and destroyed (not in the compost), and avoid growing irises in the same spot for several years.” This comes from the team at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine on www.gardenersworld.com.
Perhaps diseases are the reason why many gardeners find their Reticulata die out after a few years? I was amazed to learn that it is best to thin out or replant Reticulata every other year. Move them to a new place in your garden to prevent the threat of the equivalent of “rose sickness.” One source even advised placing outside pots far from each other. Wind spreading contaminating spores? Exchanging the soil in the pots every year was also advised. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” I suppose.
Alan McMurtry concurs, “It’s a good idea to replant them every two years or so, and it’s best if it’s into a new spot in the garden. In Holland, they are treated as crops and only planted in the same area every 10 years.”
On the other hand, he also writes, “Ideally, well-spaced bulbs should over the course of a number of years form clumps, which continue to bloom. . . and not require any maintenance.” Perhaps we should emphasize “ideally.”
McMurtry expands on this contradiction in his 2023 Reticulata Handout, “Don’t plant too close together. It’s always tempting to do that because you want an instant clumping effect, however they need room to be able to expand into. For best performance replant the bulbs every 2 or 3 years, taking ½ of a variety and moving them to another spot. The large bulbs should be planted about 3” deep (7cm) and the bulblets should only be about ¾” deep. When you have more than one clump of a variety you can leave one of them alone to see how it does over time.
“I do find after a number of years the bulbs will die off. It appears that they either put something into the soil or they take something out. It is simply a matter of giving the soil a bit of a rest for 2 or 3 years, and then the spot can be reused. This is not just Reticulata Iris. It also happens with Tulips – Tulips need to be replanted roughly every 5 years or so. . .
“If you do have problems, one solution is to dig the bulbs just as the leaves are starting to turn brown. This is the point at which they are most susceptible to diseases such as ink spot. By digging them you can prevent problems with disease. Store the bulbs in mesh bags in your garage, then replant in the Fall. This is the only way I can reliably get some species such as Iris sophenensis to survive, otherwise it dies out after a few years. . . One of my goals is to develop varieties that do well in our conditions.”
McMurtry summarizes his cultivation suggestions. “Well-drained soil (e.g. sandy loam / sandy topsoil), with lots of moisture in the early Spring (i.e. snow melt); To prevent ink spot soil should be fairly dry around the time the leaves are starting to turn brown; Should have at least half a day of sun; Replant every two years or so; Best if it’s into a new spot in the garden; In Holland they are treated as crops, and only planted in the same area about every 7 years; Plant several varieties both where snow first melts, and in a shaded area where it’s the last to leave; Remember, bulbs need to regenerate, so the last thing you want to do is disturb them while they’re in growth; Wait until the leaves start to turn brown, then do what you will. Otherwise, you’re only ruining next year’s bloom! Flowers form in late summer; A little bit of low nitrogen fertilizer at the beginning of the bloom season is good for bulb regeneration.”
Growing Iris reticulata in the South Okanagan
The last Reticulata that I thought I would like to plant with my ‘Alida’ is the beautiful ‘Katharine Hodgkin.’ How can this iris, as I have seen, survive for many years in the South Okanagan, not “running out” as Richard Cypher has experienced with his Reticulatas in Duncan on Vancouver Island? I imagine the semi-arid shrub-steppe climate of the Okanagan is pivotal. Winters are cold and snowy (becoming less so), and summers are hot and dry (becoming more so). I averaged Penticton’s yearly precipitation for the last five years: 25.5 cm (10”). This low yearly precipitation, combined with low humidity over warmer months and frequent drying winds during the growing season, probably contributes to fewer fungus issues. Native soil is often sandy (except on the Okanagan River historical flood plain), leading to good drainage and fewer rot issues in amended garden soils. Even if ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ is watered with drip irrigation for ten minutes three times a week, the bulbs do not rot. Mind you, that isn’t really much water in well-drained soil, but it still isn’t totally dry, which Reticulatas are often said to require during their summer dormancy. There may be a slight advantage with ‘Katharine Hodgkin,’ however, which apparently doesn’t need to be totally dry all summer like other Reticulatas. McMurtry writes, “Iris winogradowi (the pollen parent of ‘Katharine Hodgkin’) is from alpine meadows, so it likes a bit of moisture in the Summer / doesn’t like it so dry.” McMurtry suggests that a little bit of low nitrogen fertilizer at the beginning of the bloom season is good for bulb regeneration. Fertilizing Reticulatas planted in the ground in the South Okanagan using a few applications of low nitrogen fertilizer during the growing season, and alfalfa pellets in the winter, may also contribute to disease resistance and strong bulb development, despite McMurtry’s experience with little fertilizing in Toronto soils. Finally, dividing a clump of ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ gives new bulblets a chance to develop into a brand new clump in a new location, especially if they are separated and planted individually at a shallower depth than the larger bulbs are planted. ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ can survive for many, many years in the South Okanagan!
What will I do with my two ‘Alida’ bulbs, now that I have made it through the maze and learned all of this? Last fall, when I got the bulbs, I hastily constructed a raised bed area at the front corner of my iris bed. At the time, I thought I was clever to sink a pot into this raised section to create a hole into which I could plunk my bulbs in the early spring. Live and learn. My newly planted iris bed is only 1.8 m (6’) long on its longest side and 1.2 m (4’) wide. I certainly don’t have room to move bunches of bulbs of four different Reticulata hybrids around! So, I will stick with my ‘Alida’ bulbs. I have two choices with them.
One is to try my luck planting the two bulbs in the raised area of my new iris bed about 15 cm (6”) apart after their leaves start to turn brown, amending the sandy soil and fertilizing as and when I feel appropriate. The raised section can be kept completely dry over summer, as watering is by hand. My second choice, when the leaves turn brown, is to hang the bulbs in cool, dry storage over summer and replant them in the fall. At this point, I haven’t decided what to do. My two little ‘Alida’ bulbs continue to take me on a learning adventure!