hi

i have struggled with the name game..

and have come to the conclusion... that the only SURE way to know the name of a given iris..

is to buy it from a reputable seller.. label it.. and be happy ...

the odds of finding the TRUE NAME.. are low to nil.. even with the geniuses here ...

one clue ... that i dont know if you used.. is how long auntie had them .. if she has had them 30 years, e.g. ... then make sure you arent looking at names reg'd more recently ...

good luck on your quest ... i hope you get luckier than i have ...

ken

i forgot

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

That's very true Ken, thanks for your advice anyways. I'll just have to keep looking. And thank you for the song, its one of my fovorites!

i wonder why.. lol

ken

That's a nice old historic iris, but it's not English Cottage. Old irises are sometimes impossible to identify.
Renee

Thanks for your input Renee, and your right about it not being English Cottage. Well maybe someday I'll figure it out :)

Good luck- maybe you'll become an expert in historic irises! I think trying to ID old irises is a fun game, part mystery, part education.
Renee

Thanks! I really do enjoy the historics and I think I've found a match! It's called Taj Mahal is practically identical, and the descriptions seems to fit.

Definitely not English Cottage, and not sure Taj Mahal. Just because the colour is very similar is not synonymous with proper identification. There are very few pictures to compare to, but judging by those few that can be found, yours show more pronounced veining at the hafts and the beard is more yellow.Other things to pay attention to while veryfying: the proportion of standards vs falls(length), the width of the hafts, the flaring of falls, tendency to open the standards.

Florentina or Flavescens are two that fit close.