Thanks, Jim Waddick, for posting those links to those new candy lily selections. Jim mentioned the muddy colors sometimes seen in these hybrids. Such colors are typical of hybrids which result from the cross of a parent with anthocyanin pigments and a parent with anthoxanthin pigments. In the case of the candy lilies, Iris dichotoma has anthocyanin pigments and the blackberry lily parent has anthoxanthin pigments. This is a common phenomenon among monocots, and if you look at the early hybrids in most cultivated monocot groups, you will find plenty of these muddy colors. Jim mentioned that Iris dichotoma is always purple. I don’t think that’s true. For one thing, didn’t Dennis just mention that he had raised a white-flowered plant? For another, pink and white flowered forms are mentioned in at least one early twentieth century source. And for another, the way pigments work in plants, in particular where more than one pigment is involved in determining flower color, there is every reason to expect at least three basic color variants in these plants. For instance, most of what we think of as red flowered monocots actually have three common flower colors: the basic, widespread mediuim red-orange, the ananthocyanic form (typically some shade of yellow; these are sometimes confusingly called albinos), and the ananthoxanthic form (typically a dark, intense red). Fritillaria imperialis sows this well, as do many species of tulips. The abundant blooms on these newer candy lilies are impressive. Now I’m waiting for a cross of candy lilies with one of the tall forms of Iris wattii: that would be a sight to see. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7, where the snow is still a foot and a half deep everywhere it has not been cleared away. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/