Great Japanese Iris hybridizers of the Past..

Walter Marx.

A tribute to one of the worlds most outstanding hybridizers noted for his dedicated work towards the advancement of Peonies and Japanese Iris (Iris ensata). This nurseryman was a leader of his time setting a bench standard and inspiration to hybridizers' young and old a like of which many of his wonderful varieties of Japanese irises are in all corners of the globe and still widely propagated in nurseries today.

Walter, along with his wife Louise Marx lived in Boring, Oregon in the United States and had one of the largest perennial nurseries in the US. He become interested in all types of Irises. Walter's interest in the Japanese iris was so strong that in 1937 he ordered a collection of Japanese irises from Japan. These beautiful flowering plants inspired him to want to begin a breeding program to create more incredible varieties. He set to the task and began to hybridize them with great success in the results of his crosses. He was convinced that the Higo strains gave the best results for his work and began in earnest with his hybridizing program in Japanese Irises using these varieties.They therefore where called the Marhigo strain.


The first of his creations where listed in his nursery catalogue in 1953. He produced over a hundred more hybrids up till the late 1960's.

Here is a beautiful picture from his Walter Marx Nursery catalogue which he produced in full colour to popularize the Japanese Iris to encourage the purchase of these new varieties which flowered so well for him and he wanted to share his work with keen gardeners and the rest of the world.

His most popular varieties produced where " Blue Lagoon", "Frilled Enchantment", " Frosted Pyramid", "Gay Gallant", "Snowy Hills", "Summer Storm", "World's Delight"', " Flashing Kio", "Good Omen", "Sorcerer's Triumph", "Peacock's Dance", "Persian Rug", "Reign of Glory", and "Rose Prelude".

There are many other varieties which are grown throughout the United States and across the world. His wife Louise Marx was also a keen hybridizer and some of the many varieties that where introduced bear her name as well.

Acknowledgements:

The brief history of Walter Marx has been sourced from information in the book "The Japanese Iris," by the Late Currier Mc Ewen and use to promote a better understanding of the people which made a huge contribution to the early advancement of the Japanese Iris that we know today.

Currier was also and outstanding hybridizer of his time and dedicated his life's work to the promotion of the irises. In his passion with the Iris, Currier worked with Siberian and Japanese Irises setting new paths and interesting crosses which took the world by storm and inspired the Iris world.