Join us in celebration of our 96th year! This year the theme of our catalog centers around our home state of Oregon. Inside our 32-page print catalog, you will find stunning images of the breathtaking locations around our beautiful state, as well as dozens of eye-popping colorful iris. The names of our 2021 iris introductions, of course, take their inspiration from all things Oregon…. from the dramatic coastline on the western edge, to the wide open high dessert of the east, and everything in between.
So happy to announce that our 2016 introduction “Enraptured” captured the 3rd Confindustria of Florence Prize and Antonio Del Campana Prize for the Best Late Variety in Florence this year.
Dwarf iris can be seen blooming among the tulips, weather depending.
Easy to plant, easy to care for, easy to enjoy! That is the Iris. And such variety too! Variety of size, variety of bloom season, variety of color, variety of style. Isn’t success in life all about the choices we make? That simple maxim can apply to the realm of the flower garden too. The Iris offer such a host of choices, one is surely to find just the right color, or size, etc. Let’s talk about the breadth of bloom time, for example. The Miniature Dwarf Iris and the Standard Dwarf Iris are among the very first Iris to bloom. Weather depending, of course, they open up their diminutive blossoms (just 5 to 15 inches in height) approximately mid-March to early April (in most temperate zones), heralding the launch of another promising Iris season.
The Dwarf Bearded Iris are no less hardy than their taller, more robust cousins. Dwarf Iris, both Miniature and Standard types, propagate with strength and, once in bloom, stand up to the early spring frosts. There are several wonderful resources available which provide great detail on the origins of these hybrids. The Dwarf Iris Society is a good place to start for further links and leads on exploring the subject. Several Iris breeders today have introduced spectacular Bearded Iris cultivars in miniature.
Intermediate Iris bloom early in the spring, often alongside tulips
As spring widens its embrace upon the land, weep not for the fading Dwarf Iris, for the Intermediate, Median, or Border Iris are opening on the garden scene! A bit taller than the tallest Dwarf, yet shorter than the shortest Tall Bearded Iris, they offer brilliant bloom to span the gap between March and May, a beautiful complement to the Cherry blossoms! The earliest blooming Tall Bearded Iris will overlap with the later-blooming Intermediate Iris, to create a seamless floral transition of color. Sprinkle in several mid-season and late-season Tall Bearded Iris around your garden, and the color show continues well into June.
A few moments spent casually mapping out the succession of Iris blooms in your garden will yield months of rainbow color from your ankles to above your hips! Dwarf, Intermediate, Tall Bearded, as well as Beardless Iris, are all planted in the summer months. Below is a simple chart, indicating approximate bloom times for Iris ranging from the Miniature Dwarf to the Tall Bearded, and including the Beardless Iris such as, Siberian and Louisiana. Bloom time is greatly dependent on weather conditions and gardening practices, however. For example, Reblooming Iris require regular extra fertilization, watering and dividing.
March
April
May
June
July/Aug/Sept/Oct
Min. Dwf. & Std. Dwf.
(5″ to 15″; 5cm to 28cm)
Intermediates & Border
(16″ to 27″; 40cm to 68cm)
Tall Bearded
(28″ to 48″;70cm to 122cm)
Tall Bearded & Beardless (such as, Siberian and Louisiana)
Reblooming Bearded Iris of all sizes
Intermediate Iris (IB) “Many Mahalos” (Aitken, 2003) blooms early, among the tulips.
If you are one who can hardly wait for the year’s Iris season to start, you have merely to plant some Dwarf Bearded Iris this summer. You will have Iris blooming with the first inkling of spring warmth. Even if you consider yourself simply a fan, a dabbler, a curious gardening newbie to the world of flowers, give the Dwarf Iris a try!
Do you grow Dwarf Iris? Share your comments below!
To all of our customers — past, present and future — we thank you. You represent our heritage and our legacy. In this season of planning and planting, we embrace the coming winter, and look to the bounty of the spring. But there’s no rushing nature.
Not even in this impatient era of “instant gratification” and “what’s in it for me” can the forces of nature be hurried. Yet, with lightning speed, we all share our joys and woes; our pleasure or displeasure with a personal experience or product purchased. We share images of our latest acquisition, mountain climbed, or newest blossom to open in the garden (the latter being our favorite always). Comments, praise, and complaints fly through the social cyber waves to our virtual doorstep. We, here at Schreiner’s Gardens, receive these messages with open arms, receptive minds and humble hearts. Social posts, emails, and letters all serve to bind us better to you, our customers. For this connection, we are grateful.
For four generations of Iris (and Daylily) farming we’ve been growing our connections — building our followers, you could say. With all of you, we share our successes, because we care about what’s in it for you.
The idea of a monochromatic garden isn’t a new one, but it is a good one.
Bearded Iris represent the full spectrum of the rainbow. Planting a full range of colors in your garden brings brightness and variety to the scene. Some of us like the mixed up rainbow effect, others like to plant in tidy, organized blocks of color. Building upon the idea of uniform color blocks, below we present the idea of planting an area using a monochromatic theme. Monochromatic color schemes are derived from a single base hue, then extended using its shades, tones and tints…. As a result, the energy is more subtle and peaceful due to a lack of contrast of hue.* Iris blossoms in shades and tones of a single base hue move the eyes from dark to bright and back again.
Let’s take purple as an easy example. The range of purples in the Bearded Iris family seemingly defies notation. Nevertheless, here is just a sample of Iris falling into the purple spectrum.
Keep in mind, when creating a visual spectrum in the garden, you might wish to choose Iris that bloom at the same time. The Iris pictured above were chosen only for their color for purposes of illustration. When selecting Iris for your garden design, pay particular attention to their listed bloom season. Also, keep in mind that Iris will bloom at slightly different times depending on the weather and climate in your area.
A fun idea for a chromatic extremes, or “Yin Yang”, garden might be the exclusive use of very dark and white! When these Iris are planted in proximity (12 to 18 inches apart), and with simultaneous bloom time, you are sure to enjoy the full impact of the color contrast. You’ll find these groups of white Iris in our new Moonbeams in May Iris Collection, and the dark Iris in our new After Midnight Iris Collection.
The possibilities are endless. The wonderful thing about gardening is that you can always change things up. Experiment, have fun, let your creative spirit loose!
Visitors to our Display Gardens during Bloom Season in May
From the foothills of the Coast Range in the west to the lowlands of the Cascade Range in the east, color washes across the Willamette Valley in waves of color from early to late spring.
On our farm, acres of Bearded Iris open in a rainbow show beginning early to mid-March, with the colors continuing through late May to early June. Patch by patch, the Dwarf varieties to the grand Tall Beardeds, take their turn opening blooms in a dizzying array of color combinations.
Our 10-acre Display Garden, located here on our farm since 1947 (Schreiner family history), is dedicated to the display of Tall Bearded Iris. Nearly 500 named varieties are planted among spring-blooming perennials for a well-rounded display of form, texture, and COLOR!
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow cycles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” – May Sarton
Tall Bearded Iris “Oh So Yummy” Blooms in May
Ralph Waldo Emerson said when he went into his garden with a spade to dig a bed, he felt such exhilaration and health, that he felt he’d been defrauding himself all the time in letting others do for him what he should have done with his own hands.
We need places of reverie and reflection. It feels good to put work aside, relax and enjoy the garden. To just relax on a bench and quietly gaze upon the landscape. The cares of the world quietly slip away.
Idly strolling among the Iris, unexpected delights endlessly appear. Captivating juxtapositions of color are seemingly on parade. Deep purple against a glowing orange, an icy white contrasting beautifully with a lavender Iris, then a brilliant gold, the darkest black, a sky blue…On it goes. Countless new colors and combinations. As Emma Townsend wrote, “Irises are the glamour pusses in the world of floral loveliness.” Time spent in an atmosphere of beauty is restorative.
Sincerely,
The Schreiner Family
Tall Bearded Iris “Sky and Sun” blooms in May
P.S. Please consider a trip to Schreiner’s Gardens at bloom time. Our 10-acre display of over 500 Iris cultivars, planted among a dizzying array of mature perennials, welcomes local and international visitors each May. Call our office or visit our website for more Bloom Season details.
Back in the spring of 2015, as we geared up for the celebration of the 90th anniversary of Schreiner’s Iris Gardens, and to welcome the Annual AIS Convention-goers, we received a message from Cathy Egerer of the Historic Iris Preservation Society. She proposed we plant an historic Schreiner Iris bed in our Display Gardens to commemorate our golden anniversary. While our 10-acre display garden contains beds filled with hundreds of Iris cultivars, seedling tests, guest Iris, Dyke’s Medal winners and more, surprisingly we had not yet dedicated a single bed to our own legacy of 90 years of Iris breeding.
We agreed that this would be a tremendous addition to the garden. Ms. Egerer then enlisted the help of dedicated Iris enthusiasts across the country. These generous individuals donated and shipped the historic Iris rhizomes from their own gardens to us here in Oregon. We received several dozen specimens of older Schreiner hybrids, dating back to 1936. Once cataloged and arranged, Ben Schreiner (4th generation owner) planted the “newcomers” and tended to them throughout that first winter.
“Confetti” Schreiner 1945
“Chatterbox” Schreiner 1978
Thus, our official Historic Schreiner Iris bed was conceived of and built. We would like to very sincerely thank Cathy and all of the folks who donated Iris and time and postage to this project (please forgive us if we have forgotten to list anyone by name): Carlos Ayento, Nancy McDonald, Linda Baumgartner, Judy Schneider, Arlyn Madsen, Lani Shooks, Patty Del Negro, Wanda Rezac, Charles Pickett. We are grateful to you all for helping to restore these historic Iris to their roots.
Do you grow historic Schreiner Iris in your garden? We would love to know.
Carlos Ayento visits Schreiner’s Iris Gardens, May 2015
Mr. Carlos Ayento has been collecting and proving Iris in his hometown Chicago for a good long while. We enjoy his company and feedback here in our Display Gardens at Bloom Season when he’s able to visit. This brief report of his trials and tribulations in his home garden should prove helpful to our readers. Thank you, Carlos!
By Carlos Ayento
I have been involved with irises since seventh grade. That was back in 1992 when I planted eight tall bearded irises from a collection offered from Burpee’s Seed catalog. Seven of those irises I would later find out were introduced by Schreiner’s. These were Invitation (1982), Grand Waltz (1970), Stepping Out (1964), Gay…
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and a love of what you do.” – Pele
Greetings fellow Iris enthusiasts,
At Schreiner’s Gardens we strive to put a smile on your face when you open a box and see large, healthy rhizomes, every one you ordered. Whether buying a car or a box of iris, the product garners the attention. Usually one barely gives a thought to the workers who make it happen.
In spite of our best efforts, our iris refuse to jump out of the ground on their own and sort themselves, on the way to their destination. Talented and dedicated employees are necessary. Every organization has to have people to be depended upon. Schreiner’s Gardens is fortunate to have top quality employees, men and women, who have worked decades here. They do anything and everything: answer phones and the mail, provide the best customer service, dig and ship iris rhizomes, prepare and maintain our beautiful display gardens, transplant our crop, and service our vehicles and machinery. Pictured in our print catalog are the friends and employees whom we entrust with the most vital tasks.
Just as it’s a thing of beauty to see an orchestra perform in concert, an onlooker can come away with a similar reaction watching our crew. They are very good at what they do. There’s little doubt that they care. Even in extremes of weather, there’s a ready smile. So the next time you open that box of iris, remember our staff behind the scenes, whose mission is to satisfy YOU.
Our catalog features our new introductions for 2017, as well as 30 additional varieties from outstanding hybridizers. Iris offer tremendous variety of incredible color, from the early-blooming dwarf to the late-blooming tall bearded, to the slender elegance of the beardless iris. Within the narrow confines of a city lot, or stretched along an entire side yard, colorful iris lift your spirits each spring.
Finally, 2017 heralds a new chapter for Schreiner’s Gardens. We have accepted the opportunity to offer renowned hybridizer Mr. Bill Maryott’s beautiful, modern Daylilies to our customers – another hardy and easy to grow perennial Look for more information on our website. As always, we thank you for choosing Schreiner’s Iris Gardens.
The idea of a monochromatic garden isn’t a new one, but it is a good one.
Idly strolling among the Iris, unexpected delights endlessly appear. Captivating juxtapositions of color are seemingly on parade. Deep purple against a glowing orange, an icy white contrasting beautifully with a lavender Iris, then a brilliant gold, the darkest black, a sky blue…On it goes. Countless new colors and combinations. As Emma Townsend wrote, “Irises are the glamour pusses in the world of floral loveliness.” Time spent in an atmosphere of beauty is restorative.
For the Love of Iris 