Beautiful as always, Renee. I know that hemerocallis hybridizers have been busy trying to get a true red daylily--red as in Sanny Claus red, not rust or claret. And they're pretty much there. Anyone working on that in the iris family? My guess is that it might be more difficult for irises, but from a botanical standpoint I couldn't tell you why exactly.

Kay

Yes, I love my 'Dixie Land Band' red daylily- it's red!
Yes, they are working on it, but there are no red pigments in irises. Here's a link to an article that explains what they are trying to accomplish.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Hunt for the Red Iris Continues

Thanks for the NYT article, Renee, but I had to laugh at the underlying principle of it all--human folly. Ain't it always the way with homo sapiens? Roses bloom red effortlessly, yet we struggle to breed a blue one. Irises bloom bluer than blue, but that's not good enough--we drive ourselves batty trying to make a red one. Sheesh!!

Kay