November Meeting. Meeting Place. Dues

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1 Nov 2015 Vol 58, Issue 2 Meeting Place First Baptist Church Daves Avenue Los Gatos, CA Next Meeting: Friday, November 6, :30 P.M. Dues Sep 1, 2015 Aug 31, 2016 Adults - $12.00 Contact Information Mary Collins, President mc.rescuesgreys@gmail.com CBRIS Region 14 American Iris Society November Meeting Most of us have heard Gary Knipe speak about Pacific Coast Iris but this meeting will be different. He will have a fantastic slide show you need to see to believe. Last bloom season Garry Knipe, Debby Cole from Washington and Carolyn Craft took a day trip hunting wild iris. It was an awesome experience. We went up to Point Reyes National Seashore where we saw thousands, really - many thousands, of wild iris in bloom everywhere we looked. When we saw the first cluster of blooms, we stopped the car to take photos and drink in the views. Then we drove a few more feet and stopped the car again, and repeated this again and again throughout the day. We were finally just surrounded by iris with the ocean in the background. There is a large herd of Tule elk on the property and we saw elk surrounded by iris and ocean. In other areas we saw deer surrounded by iris and ocean. Everywhere we looked was a beautiful scenic sight. We went into the visitor center which has a nice display and lots of good books about the area, T-shirts and other nice things to purchase. We walked up to the light house and it is worth the walk even if you can't climb the steps because of high wind. We drove down to the sea lion overlook and enjoyed watching them play. We had to take a lot of pictures because no one would believe there were so many iris if we didn't. Next April, plan to go. Take sunscreen, a windbreaker and more layers of warmer clothing than you think you will need. Don t forget your camera, water and food. Do plan on a full magical day! I'm sure Gary will answer any questions you may have on growing Pacific Coast hybrids. Carolyn Craft, Co-VP & Co- Program Chair Do you love Pacific Coast Native Iris? Come to the November CBRIS meeting. PCI s are featured on the door prize list. Now is the time to bring any beardless to share with other club members. Remember to keep their roots wet.

2 Page 2 of 8 Treasurer s Report Beginning Balance October 1, 2015 $12, Income: Dues $ CBRIS Logo Shirt Sales $23.00 CBRIS-Nov 2015 Refreshments Carolyn Craft Barbara Pesek John Pesek Expenses: Ending Balance, September 30, 2015 $12, Jane Jordan, CBRIS Treasurer Drinks Laflins Days of Merry November Birthdays November 6 is National Saxophone Day AND Marooned without a Compass Day. Which direction will you take? Hopefully everyone can find their way to our November meeting! **Please think about what you would like to bring to our upcoming Christmas party and sign up on the potluck list; December 4 will be here soon! **We will have an informal vote at the November meeting to move the January meeting to the 8th; please check your calendars to see if you are available. **If there are any saxophone players in the club, please feel free to entertain us during the refreshment break! Elaine Laflin Nov 2 Ken Reiter Nov 12 Gary Prevost Nov 18 Thank you, Mark Greene, for taking club photos last month!

3 CBRIS-Nov 2015 October 2, 2015 CBRIS Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 8 Philippa opened the meeting at 7:40 pm in place of our absent president. She thanked the refreshment committee. The refreshment table was decorated in fall pumpkin finery. Alice passed around the sign-up sheets and was wearing a pumpkintheme shirt. A date change is in the works for the January meeting since the normal date falls on New Year's, a day unlikely to see attendance from all you wild CBRIS party-goers. Philippa introduced Carolyn, her program co-chair, to moderate the panel talk on growing non-bearded iris. The panel was comprised of Carol Dahout, Carl Boro, Mark Greene, and Jane Jordan. Carol Dahout on Siberians Siberians have long skinny leaves and grow in clumps from 24-42" tall. They bloom after tall bearded in late spring or early summer. They like well-drained, slightly acidic soil. May grow with camellias, hydrangeas, etc. They like water. Some "crazy" people will throw ice cubes on them in the winter to fake them out as a frost. They like to be planted deeper than tall bearded. Plant them and if they like it where they are, leave them there for years and just fertilize them and mulch them. They don't completely die back in the winter. The Morgan-Woods Medal is the highest award the AIS can give to Siberian Iris. The huge hit at the convention was the Siberian Swans in Flight. Carl grows his in 5 gallon pots and sets them in a big saucer of water. Regarding Swans in Flight: Carl said that the hybridizer, Bob Hollandworth, had a blue one and a white and threw the white one out. but a piece of the white had got into the row and someone liked it so he decided to grow it. Carl Boro on Spurias They are the Mediterranean iris, so they like winter rains and summer drought. Some go dormant and some are evergreen. Put them in the back of your yard where it's hot and dry. Keep them watered when newly planted and until they are growing well and the winter rains are reliable and plants are well established. After that, you can neglect them. They have a huge range in size from over 6' to a few inches high. Ants love spurias so it makes it difficult to use them as cut flowers or to show. They range from white to almost black in color with no ruffles to speak of. Look a lot like a Dutch iris but bigger. The hardest thing about spurias is digging them up since the roots are so wiry they can cut you! The clumps can get to be 2-4' across. Don't water them at all after they're established. They'll look dead in the summer, but aren't. Carl never fertilizes his. Plant shallow like the tall beardeds. Riley said he fertilizes them with Warning: Don't let any of the beardless iris go dry before planting like you can with bearded or all you'll have are dead iris. If roots aren't very well developed, you can set them in a container of water for a week or so until the roots develop and then plant

4 Page 4 of 8 CBRIS-Nov 2015 Mark Greene on Japanese iris Mark's a novice grower of them. He started because Lisa asked him to enter in the artistic show and so he looked up ikebana and was attracted to what turned out to be Japanese iris. They're not a good cultural fit for the area or his yard but he's managed to keep them alive for a year in pots. The Japanese ensata has large flat blossoms and the Iris laevigata has smaller blossoms. Both are water - loving iris, the ensata should be kept moist all the time. Their crown can't be underwater. The laevigata can be submerged. The ensata has its annual increase grow on top of each other and after 2-3 years the rhizomes will rise up and won't grow as well. The laevigatas grow out laterally. Both like rich acidic soil and full sun, but both want to avoid hot afternoon sun. Bloom season is a little after tall bearded, laevigata first and then ensata. Plant 12-24" apart and crowns 2-3" deep. Don't fertilize until they start growing. Divide every 2-3 years and treat much like the tall bearded but always keep them wet. They're very vigorous feeders. Can plant in very large pots, over five gallons. Warning: Don't use bone meal because it will kill them. Chad Harris of Mt. Pleasant Gardens is a great source of these and very knowledgeable. Mark also showed his home-made earthbox made out of large totes, scrap PVC pipes, hardware cloth, and burlap--using his engineering skills into which he plants his Japanese iris. Jane Jordan on Louisiana iris Many people in the audience grow these. They originated in Louisiana. Charlotte's Tutu and Jame's Faith were some she really likes. She showed a huge rhizome which she grows in 17-20" pots and keeps them in saucers. She waters them twice a week and makes sure the saucer stays wet. If they start bumping up against the edges of the pots, they'll break the pot so time to repot. They can't be overwatered--they're swamp iris and heavy feeders. Jane uses azalea fertilizer once a month. Any acid food works. She pots in azalea potting mix with peat moss, compost and worm castings. She also adds mosquito dunk in saucer. Blooms usually after tall bearded. Rhizomes should be covered with soil or mulch or they will sunburn. She showed the book, Beardless Iris by Kevin Vaughn--beautiful book. Carl puts his in raised beds lined with pond liner with a drain system so it won't fill up in the rain, thereby avoiding salt buildup. Adjourn for welcome refreshments. Jane Jordan asked for comments about the budget. A motion was made that the board revisit the idea of raising the amount of money allotted to purchasing beardless iris. The motion passed. The budget was voted on and passed. Anyone who hasn't paid their dues, pay up! Only 2/3 have paid to date. Meeting adjourned and the door prize drawing was held with an enormous assortment of non-bearded iris available. Jane Jordan CBRIS Treasurer Respectfully submitted, Lynn Stuart, CBRIS Secretary

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7 CBRIS-Nov 2015 Page 7 of 8 Fall Regional Report We had a good representation at Region 14 Fall Regional in Visalia this October Friday was a social evening which included a reblooming iris show sponsored by the James B. Gibson Iris Society. There were 14 stalks exhibited and our very own club member, Jane Jordan walked away with the purple rosette for her Raspberry Frost. Congratulations, Jane! On Friday, well known hybridizer Chuck Bunnell, with the assistance of his wife Barb, resented a slide show featuring photos of his garden in Lafayette, Indiana and some of his MTBs. As you may know, Chuck is an expert on the medians. In 2014, his MTB, Dividing Line was the first MTB to ever win a Dyke s Medal. Also, he was the featured guest speaker on Saturday and showed us many of his median irises. He ended the meeting with a two hour judges training on the medians. Yes, we learned a lot! Thank you, Chuck! Running continuously was the silent auction which featured several items of iris memorabilia donated by Virginia Keyser. John and Barbara Pesek made the trip to Salinas to collect all the items. Virginia has attended more National Conventions than any other person. She attended her first National Convention in Portland and then attended her 50 th and last Convention in Portland; so she came full circle. Virginia hybridized Ziggy back in The room for the silent auction was on the small side but set up nicely like a little boutique. There were several huge baskets for the raffle and a Toad stool for the garden and a nice black wrought iron garden bench that looked like a butterfly. There was an oil painting done by Robert Sutton of the James B. Gibson Iris Society (no relation to George Sutton) that was raffled. Bill Fink was the lucky winner of that painting. Saturday morning started early as breakfast was at 8:00 A.M. with a general meeting opening at 8:30 A.M. An early start was needed in order to cover all the business. Our very own outgoing RVP John Pesek handled all the Region s matters efficiently. A new board was voted in with Phyllis Wilburn being elected as the new RVP. First up at the meeting was the roll call to see how many societies were represented. Missing were four societies. The approval of the minutes from the Spring Regional went quickly. Next up, came the officer reports, committee reports, old business, new business and announcements. Some of these matters - such as passing the new budget, took a bit of time. John Pesek Some highlights of the meeting but certainly not everything: Outgoing Judges Training chairperson Phyllis Wilburn presented Jean Richter the All Star Judge Award for receiving the most judges hours and for time spent tutoring Students and Apprentices. Incoming chairperson is Alleah Haley. Outgoing Secretary Mary Sindicic is collecting complete minutes for Region 14 website; no new secretary as of yet. Treasurer Helen Franklin stood before the Region 14 members as the proposed treasurer s report was presented, and answered questions pertaining to the proposed budget. The new budget was passed after some discussion. Bulletin Editor Shirley Trio encouraged all to submit to the bulletin and follow the deadline dates of Nov 1, Feb 1, May 1 and Aug 1. Youth Chairperson Lorraine Nicholson encouraged clubs to get youth involved to increase future membership. Looks like the Santa Rosa Iris Society has done a fine job of involving the youth with Rudy Ciuca and Joe Lawrence s guidance.

8 Page 8 of 8 CBRIS-Nov 2015 Outgoing Honorary Award chairperson Betty Ford was absent from the meeting so Kathy Braaten announced that the lifetime achievement award is going to Bob Canning (not present due to illness). Trophies and Awards Chairman is Bill Fink. The Standing Rules regarding the James Gibson Cup were voted on and changed in order to broaden the scope of the cup. Shirley Trio gave an update of the 2019 AIS National Convention Gardens. Five gardens have been chosen: Jim and Irene Cummins Garden in Scott s Valley, Rudy Ciuca and Joe Lawrence s Garden in Sonoma, Mary Ann Horton Iris Garden in Loomis, Fran and Russ Shields in Elk Grove and Dry Creek Cottage garden in Union City. Possibly another garden will be Fiololi in Woodside. An optional tour will include Joe Ghio s Ranch. Gary and Nola Prevost had a little time to give some information about the upcoming Spring Regional. It will be held April 29, 30 and May 1 st at Nola s Garden in San Jose. The Beverly Heritage Hotel in Milpitas will be the convention hotel with Steve Schreiner as the guest speaker. Lunch will be at the garden and there will be judges training given in Nola s Garden. Gary & Nola Prevost The 2017 Region 14 Spring Regional will be hosted by Sacramento and Sierra Foothill Iris Societies. There will be approximately 140 guest irises that may be viewed at Horton and Shields Gardens. There was a good selection of irises at the Regional. Phyllis Wilburn brought pots of Arils and Kathy Braaten brought bags of Louisiana iris wrapped and ready to go. Shirley Trio Probst brought 15 pots of new irises saved from the spring regional especially for this event. Santa Rosa Iris Society (Joe and Rudy) brought a good supply of Louisiana's and the Region auctioned off Japanese, Louisiana and Siberians with Riley Probst being the auctioneer. The lunch was good having great dessert choices and both indoor and outdoor seating. Thank you, James B. Gibson Iris Society for hosting the 2015 Fall Regional. We all appreciate your hard work. Beardless Web Site I just chanced on the website WikiHow to do anything. It has very simple growing instructions for beardless irises complete with clipart. You would have to modify a bit mostly in regards to the planting time for our area. In our area, most of us prefer to do our beardless planting at this time of the year. Their rhizome drawings look a bit like bearded instead of beardless. However, I still think it is a nice tutorial. Check it out at photo