(McEwen, 1988)   40"   3 falls   Tetraploid

Wine red with a white rim. Payne Award winner!

Currier McEwen was a leader in beardless iris hybridizing. Currier was the first to convert beardless irises from their natural "diploid" state (2 sets of chromosomes) to tetraploid (4 sets of chromosomes). The extra chromosomes multiply the genetic possibilities for each iris. It also has the effect of producing flowers with much heavier substance and typically larger foliage. Japanese Pinwheel is still the best tetraploid JI on the market (my opinion). Though in my garden, it tends to not open fully (see clump picture below). Every time I have seen it in a mid-west or east coast garden it has been spectacular!