Help to ID Iris 'Rikugi Sakura'?

Post by **Chris_W** » Feb 16, 2008 10:04 pm

Hi,

Some references say this is a Siberian Iris, others say it is a Japanese Iris, but I'm not sure about either... It has 6 falls and no standards. Any ideas or should I just not even worry about it?

Thanks for any help you can give me. Not sure where to put this in the catalog.

By the way, I bought these as Siberian Iris 'Dance Ballerina Dance' and yet this is what bloomed. I already had Rikugi Sakura so the ID was easy.

KellieD · Post by **KellieD** » Feb 16, 2008 10:56 pm

Chris, I've always found that Japanese iris have a very pronounced mid-rib to the leaf blade versus a Siberian.

Post by **Chris_W** » Feb 17, 2008 2:28 am

I checked pictures of the foliage and they do have a pronounced midrid in the leaves and the foliage definitely looks more like a Japanese Iris than a Siberian. This plant has grown a lot better than the other Japanese Iris I've tried here (pH is way too high here for them), which makes me think it has to be a hybrid of some kind.

I wonder if this could have some Louisiana Iris in it too, since they are more likely to have falls with no standards...

But after comparing the foliage I think I will put it down as a Japanese iris. Thanks for the tip

Chris

kHT · Post by **kHT** » Feb 17, 2008 11:47 am

Chris, after checking with my cats discriptions, I have to agree with KellyD.

Garden_of_Mu · Post by **Garden_of_Mu** » Feb 17, 2008 3:04 pm

Here's the official Checklist info for it:

Rikugi Sakura - (Ho Shidara by Ben Hager, R. 1988) SIB, 30" (76 cm), M, Falls (6) pink, pale buff hafts. Unknown parentage. Melrose Gardens 1988, HM 1992

To decipher: RS is a siberian iris hybridized by Shidara, registered by Ben Hager in 1988, and introduced that same year thru Melrose Gardens. It is 30" tall, blooms mid season, and won an AIS Honorable Mention in 1992.

Some Japanese hybridizers have been working with siberians that have six falls and no standards, in the fashion similar to Japanese irises. They are just mutated sibs though, no species crossing. I have Helicopter and Parasol here in the garden. They are really cute.

BTW- Anytime you need the official Iris Checklist info on any non-bulbous iris let me know. I have access to the Iris Register at AIS.