DOMINION (1917)

TB-M-B3D AIS Checklist 1939

Amas       x      Cordelia           (Cordelia x Macrantha))

RHS AM 1917 

Very vigorous but of slow increase, with straight glaucous-green foliage, 24" [60cm]. Flowering stems 28" {70cm] nearly straight 5 to 8 flowered. Close flowers, well proportioned, stiff, scented; Standards domed, 2¾ X 2¼" pale violet; falls hanging straight, 1¾ X 2¼", very velvety, deep rich nigrosin-violet; beard white tipped orange. Rather shy. Buds cross over stem. Flowering for 3 weeks from 30^th May 1927 (RHS Trials Wisley1928)

I think chiefly what I mean by the Dominion type is its breadth of petal, its substance and the richness and depth of its colour. But there is also an air of distinction about it as a whole that you can't quite put into words. (AJB in AIS Bull #43)

It was only at its second flowering in 1910…….It was my little niece (Phyllis) who really discovered it confidently affirming one day that it was the best iris I had. (AJB 1918).

Dominion has been the most notable break in Iris history. Intensity of colouring, velvety and large size falls, deep rich tones are its qualities (Schreiner 1930)

…so all we got out of Dominion was velvety substance and a property for rhizome rot…. (Pilkington 1962)

There has been more written about Dominion, I suspect than almost any other iris. There were arguments about it's parentage, and its garden value, though no-one could deny it's wonderful form and the velvet substance to it's falls. It was also a very good parent, so can be found in the ancestry of many modern irises. .