Sherbert
[V]
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Full Description
TB 48″ M S6M
From Iris of Quality – Iris Fields catalog for 1927, West LaFayette, Indiana: “S. Ecru drab, deepening through cinnamon to purplish vinaceous. F. Dahlia purple, lighter at the edges. Very effective, stalks well branched 4 feet.”
From Indian Spring Farms catalog for 1931: “An unusual bicolor in old gold and brown. 48 inches.”
From Treholme Gardens catalog for 1928: “S. an ecru drab flushed purple. F. purple; lighter at edges. Surpassed in stalk, height and color by Belisaire and Mme. Cheri.” 30 inches.
(Caterina x Mrs. Horace Darwin).
Comment: “‘Sherbert’ is an interesting one. Grace Sturtevant intro’d it, but quickly decided that a seedling of ‘Sherbert’ was better, and intro’d it as ‘Sherbert II’ suggesting that you substitute it for the original. Sturtevant was probably not the only one who disliked her original creation. It was rarely offered even in older catalogs. I don’t know what happened to ‘Sherbert II’ …either it died out or S and S II became inextricably mixed over the years
‘Sherbert’s’ a very vigorous iris, and because of that you would think it would have endured over the years. But there are other similar and ‘improved’ iris of this type, so I can easily see it getting tossed in favor of other similar types such as ‘Rameses‘, and its famous prettier descendant ‘Mary Geddes‘.
‘Sherbert’ is historically significant as it was a ‘breeder’ iris, a cornerstone in the development of gold and rose variegatas. Another interesting fact about it is the one growing at Presby has standards of a more coppery bronze hue than the one growing at my place, which has rosy buff standards yet it came from the Presby stock. It’s not due to camera lighting; it really does grow with a slightly different color here where it is a little cooler.” – Laetitia, NJ