DVIS eNewsletter

D E L AWA R E VA L L E Y I R I S S O C I E T Y

A N A F F I L I A T E O F T H E A M E R I C A N I R I S S O C I E T Y

President: Carol Ann Moyer, 4692 Woodfield Circle, Doylestown, PA 18902, (215) 794-7257, Carol@dvis-ais.org

Vice President: Anne McNelis, 16 Buckwalter Rd., Audubon, PA 19403, (610) 666-6653, missannemc@aol.com

Secretary: Ron Thoman, 1010 Wiggins Way, West Chester, PA 19380-3312 (610) 719-6081 Ron@dvis-ais.org

Treasurer: Laurie Dunne, 330 Clothier Springs Rd., Phoenixville, PA 19460, (610) 933-6505, laurie@jjh1.com

June 2015

www.dvis-ais.org

The sale is DVIS's only money-

maker. But just as important, it

promotes named iris varieties to

the gardening public.

There are many excellent varie-

ties of bearded and beardless

irises for our members and the

public to acquire at bargain pric-

es. For your convenience, a

number of photos of iris varieties

will be available. And if you

have a smart phone, it can be

used to access iris photos from

the internet.

In previous years, many of you

contributed irises for the sale.

Because the crowds grow larger

each year, we ask for your con-

tinued generosity.

We encourage all of you to con-

tribute irises even if you have not

done so before. It is a very

worthwhile way to recycle your

increases. The "HOW TO" is

given on the next page.

If each of you would divide and

bring the rhizomes from just one

clump of one variety it would be

very helpful. It would be a

shame to run out of irises and

disappoint even a single custom-

er.

Volunteers — and this includes

our newest members — are

needed to set up, close up, or-

ganize the display tables, work

the hospitality table, help cus-

tomers with selections, check

out, and more. You will find

helping at the sale is a rewarding

experience. Just show up and

we will put you to work.

A coupon for your free iris is on

page 4. You are encouraged to

make copies of the coupon for

friends and family.

Spreading the word (and the

coupon) by email and social me-

dia is an excellent way for you to

contribute to the success of the

sale.

After we all help to close the sale

and clean up, we will enjoy a

bring-your-own picnic lunch to-

gether in good fellowship and

camaraderie.

Setup 8:30 a.m.

Sale 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Close Up 1 p.m.

Bring-Your-Own Picnic Lunch

1:30 p.m.

Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens 631 Berwyn-Baptist Rd., Devon, PA

Directions: www.JenkinsArboretum.org or call (610) 647-8870

Saturday July 18, 2015

Schedule

Co-Chairs

Victoria Buckley: vgbuckley@yahoo.com,

(610) 682-0895

Bobbe Horvath: (610) 942-8844

Rain or Shine

Rhizomes (No Pots)

Bearded Dwarf & Median $2

Tall Bearded $4

Beardless* and Species in Bags $4

In Pots

Bearded Dwarf and Median $3

Beardless* and Species $6

Special Bonus

With a total purchase of $30 or more, you can select a free $4.00 iris (two for

$60, three for $90, etc.).

*Beardless:

Siberian, Louisiana and Japanese

Send in the Order Sheets (p. 6) for the Club Irises!

Great Value at $3 each A Members-Only Benefit

HOW TO

Preparing Rhizomes

for the Sale

Below are pointers for

preparing your rhizomes

for the sale:

1. Dig and divide the

clump within the week of

the sale for a fresh look.

Choose only named varie-

ties. They should be healthy, showing no

signs of disease, or insect and iris-borer

damage. It is important, furthermore, that

the rhizomes be large enough to have the

potential of blooming next year. We want

our customers to get their money‘s worth.

Give small rhizomes to friends, line them

out in your garden, keep them attached to

a larger rhizome or discard them.

2. Clip leaves to about 10-inch long and

into a fan shape (inverted V).

3. On the middle leaves print the required

information with a black permanent mark-

er (Sharpie) as shown in the illustration.

(The information to be marked on the

leaves is described in the next article.)

Don't print wider than a single leaf or

across the leaves. Avoid printing on the

outside leaf since it is the first

to turn brown.

4. It is important to have clean

plants. After marking, clean

all residual dirt from the rhi-

zomes, roots and leaves.

Swishing up and down in a 5-

gal bucket of water works well.

5. Some people then like to soak the rhi-

zomes for 10 to 15 minutes in a Clorox

solution of 1/2-cup Clorox to 1-gal water.

If you do this, wear rubber gloves to pro-

tect your skin. Afterwards, it is necessary

to rinse the irises well in clear water.

6. Let the rhizomes dry completely. Lay-

ing out the fans on the grass outside in the

shade and turning once works well.

7. Store with the fans spread out in a

cool, dry place. Your basement or garage

is a good choice.

Marking the Leaves

To help both the buyers and the sale work-

ers, the leaves of the irises should be

marked as follows:

For all irises, write the name and color.

Only named varieties please. Descriptive

and exciting colors sell better; e.g.,

“electric purple”. This is especially im-

portant for the harder-to-sell purples, lav-

enders, blues, violets and bi-colors.

For other than tall bearded, write the

type: MDB, SDB, IB, BB, MTB, etc.

Indicate spaceage (SA), reblooming (RE)

or broken color (BC) irises.

For irises with a particularly nice fra-

grance mark FRAG

Pots, bags, or their tags should be marked

in a similar manner

Delivering Your Irises

When you deliver the irises to the sale,

please take the time to properly place them

in the correct location. The table areas are

marked by color and type. You know best

where they belong. And double check that

they are marked properly.

p. 2 June 2015

Sale Co-chairs: Victoria Buckley & Bobbe Horvath Shows Chair: Vince Lewonski Publicity Chair: Anne McNelis

eNewsletter Editor: Ron Thoman Associate Editor: Chris Huston Hospitality and Membership Recruitment Chair: Nancy Thoman

Auction Co-chairs: Vince Lewonski & Gary Slagle First-Year Introductions Chair: Vince Lewonski

Open Garden Chair: Jen Cunningham Meeting Arrangements Chair: Ron Thoman New Member Welcoming Chair: Ron Thoman

Potluck Hosts: Jeanette & Ray Bawer DVU Iris Garden Project Chair: Carol Ann Moyer Webmasters: Carol Ann & James Moyer

Members-At-Large: Doreen & Dave Duncan, Svetlana McCoy-Rusanova, Larry & Debbie Westfall, and Joan Wood

Photos: N. Thoman

p. 3 June 2015

Sale of Club Irises

- Final Year - All DVIS and AIS members

are encouraged to partici-

pate in the purchase of club

irises for only $3 per rhi-

zome.

The irises were bought in

2012 as part of the Hosting

Program for First-Year In-

troductions. This year, the

club irises were grown by

Anne McNelis, Jen Cun-

ningham, and Doreen Dun-

can.

This is a great opportunity

for members to add the

greatest and latest to their

gardens without breaking

the bank. All rhizomes are

healthy, disease free and

large enough to have good

possibility of blooming next

year.

The irises were bought in

2012 for $50 to $60 a rhi-

zome. Today, after three

years since their introduc-

tion to the marketplace,

these irises still sell for $10

to $20 each. You can easi-

ly recover your DVIS or AIS

dues by participating in the

program.

This is the last year for this

program. So, let’s end the

program with a good partic-

ipation.

Please complete the at-

tached order form with your

choices and mail the form

to Vince Lewonski. Put an

asterisk (*) next to your top

three choices. This will

give you a better chance of

receiving the irises you

most want. You may order

Hildenbrandt’s Iris Garden

4245 Lovers Lane

Slatington, PA 18080

Saturday

July 11, 2015 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rain Date:

July 12, 2015

Volunteers Needed

Contact Jen Cunningham

jenmc125@verizon.net

or (610) 767-2712

Directions:

www.hildenbrandts-

irisgarden.com

Please Bring A Bag Lunch and Drink

Dig Day is at Hildenbrandt’s

Iris Garden this year. Dig

Day is a very important way

to supplement the irises con-

tributed by our members.

If you can volunteer the

whole day or part of the day,

please contact Jen Cunning-

ham so that we know how

multiple rhizomes of the

same variety as long as

supplies last.

Photos for many of the

club irises can be viewed

on the DVIS website

www.dvis-ais.org. Select

the Photo Gallery, then

DVIS Host Iris Program.

Pickup of club irises will

be on Sale Day with sepa-

rate payment at that time.

many helpers to expect.

Lots of help is needed to

cut leaves, mark the

leaves, clean, pack, clean

up the debris, etc. How-

ever, you will not actually

need to do the digging.

Here are a couple of

points to remember:

Bring gloves and sun

protection (although most

work will be in the shade).

Tables and chairs will be

available. Bring some-

thing to eat and drink for

lunch.

Occasionally a small

rhizome is intentionally

left attached to a larger

one because we do not

want to sell rhizomes that

are too small to bloom

next year. Please, there-

fore, leave the small rhi-

zome attached. The

marking scheme given on

page 2 should be used.

Note that exciting color

descriptions sell better.

On Dig Day, you may buy

the freshly dug rhizomes

for only $2 each as a

thank you for helping.

Many are newer varieties.

Daylily Events

Daylilies are the perfect

accompaniment to irises.

They extend the bloom

season, flowering right

after the Japanese irises.

Like irises, great things

are happening in daylily

advancement. Our sister

organization, the Dela-

ware Valley Daylily So-

ciety, has two upcoming

events:

Daylily Show

Saturday July 11, 2015

Longwood Gardens

Kennett Square, PA

Open to Public:

1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Daylily Sale

Saturday Aug. 22, 2015

Jenkins Arboretum &

Gardens

631 Berwyn-Baptist Rd.

Devon, PA

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

(Pick up a coupon for a

free daylily at hospitality

table at our iris sale.)

Editor’s Note: We have

a reciprocity agreement

with DVDS to publicize

each other’s show and

sale. It is a win-win

situation. Please sup-

port their events.

DIG DAY

Coming

DVIS Events

PHS Fall Festival 9-19-15

Potluck & Auction 9-26-15

Fall Meeting 11-8-15

You must either pick them

up personally or have some-

one do it for you. We cannot

deliver them or hold them for

you.

Note to Hosts: Submit your

irises to Vince Lewonski by

Dig Day July 11, 2015. If not

attending Dig Day, send by

USPS priority mail, reim-

bursable by sending a copy

of the receipt to the DVIS

treasurer.

Coupon for a Free Iris Your Choice Up to $4.00 Value with Purchase

Iris Sale Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens

Saturday July 18, 2015 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Delaware Valley Iris Society www.dvis-ais.org

Only one coupon per customer Expires after 7-18-15

Mid-Season Iris Show On May 17, 2015, the mid-season iris

show was held at the Jenkins Arbore-

tum & Gardens in the John J.

Willaman Education Center.

Show chair Vince Lewonski states that

there were 9 exhibitors, 50 stalks, 12

seedlings, and 9 arrangements.

Best in Show: ‘Baditude’ (TB),

Brett Butler

Best BB: ‘Crow’s Feet’, Brett But-

ler

Best MTB: ‘Jack’s Pick’, Gary

Slagle

Best Seedling: B669 (TB), Brett

Butler

Best Arrangement: Svetlana

McCoy-Rusanova

Runners-up:

‘Autumn Rose’ (TB), Brett

Butler

‘ ‘Eye For Style’ (TB), Brett

Butler

i. graminea, Svetlana McCoy-

Rusanova

i. tectorum, Ron Thoman

Silver Medal for most blue rib-

bons (9): Brett Butler

Bronze Medal for 2nd most blue

ribbons (1): Carol Ann Moyer

There were 4 exhibitors with 1 blue

ribbon each. In the event of a tie , the

tiebreaker is the one who had the most

red ribbons.

Thanks go to all who contributed to a

successful show including our exhibi-

tors and workers. We very much ap-

preciate our judges, Joyce Corrin and

Theresa Jewell for their outstanding

service.

We are grateful to Jenkins Arboretum

and Gardens for providing an ideal

setting, and to their dedicated staff for

all their assistance.

Photo: R. Thoman

Brett Butler

With His Best in Show ‘Baditude’ (Burseen 2001)

Moving On By

Anne McNelis

We are moving to a new home

Daily around the garden I roam

Which of my flowers must stay

And which favorites can I take away

I like this one because it is an early bloom

But my new garden has little room

Rebloomers will be put in a pot

Gifts from friends will grace the plot

Heaven help me make the choice

Wish I had the land of George Boyce!

Ken and I are moving to a retirement community in Blue Bell. I will have a 13 foot by 13 foot plot of land.

I feel like a mother who must choose her favorite child!

p. 5 June 2015

Five Gardens at

AIS

National Convention

Portland, Oregon

May 18-23, 2015

Miller’s Manor Garden

Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm

Mid-America Gardens Photos: R. Thoman

Schreiner’s Iris Gardens

Aiken’s Salmon Creek Gardens

Order Sheet for 2015

SALE OF CLUB IRISES

FROM HOSTING PROGRAM FOR FIRST-YEAR INTRODUCTIONS

Club Irises Bought in 2012 $3.00 each

See photos on DVIS Website www.dvis-ais.org or AIS Encyclopedia at www.irises.org

All DVIS and AIS members are invited to participate. Multiple rhizomes of each variety may be

purchased subject to availability. Indicate the number of rhizomes you want of each variety in the

space before the variety. Keep in mind that quantities of a variety may be limited; therefore, please

select additional varieties. For the three varieties you most want, place an asterisk (*) in front of the

number. Pickup and payment is on Sale Day 7-18-15. Please make payment for club irises separate

from payment for the normal sale irises so we can track participation in this particular program.

My Name: ___________________________________ My Total Price is not to exceed $________

Desired Official

Number Use

‘Bronze Warrior’ (Kerr ‘12) S: dark orange F: orange with lavender blaze

‘Good Morning Beautiful’ (Stanton ‘12) mauve

‘Joviality’ (Keppel ‘12) S: white F: yellow

‘Waterline’ (Keppel ‘12) S: light blue F: white with light blue border B: red orange

‘Sea Cruise’ (Keppel ‘12) S: white F: blue

‘Spendthrift’ (Keppel ‘12) S: tan F: mulberry

‘Easter Candy’ (Keppel ‘11) S: yellow F: blue

‘Revision’ (Keppel ‘11) S: white S: white with purple rim

‘Foolish Dreamer’ (Keppel ‘11) purple plicata on a greenish background

‘Reckless Abandon’ ( Keppel ‘10) S: yellow F: very dark red

‘Shimmering Veil’ (Filardi ‘12) gold with brown shoulders

‘Kimberly My Love’ (Van Hook ‘12) S: flesh F: lavender pink

‘Color Spectakel’ (Diedrich ‘12) S: gold F: tan

‘Presidential’ (Filardi ‘12) S: white F: violet B: red

‘Pink Fire’ (Lauritzen ‘09) bright pink

‘Farfalla Crepuscolare’ (Montanari ‘09) pink

TOTAL NUMBER

TOTAL PRICE

Order

No.

Mail To: Vince Lewonski, 509 South Bishop Ave., Secane, PA 19018-2903 before July 08, 2015