Presby Memorial Iris Gardens attracts admirers from all over the world to Montclair – NorthJersey.com

Montclair is often called “the urban suburb,” but one of its most popular attractions is a gorgeous display of nature. 

Every year from mid-May to mid-June, visitors from all over the world come to Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, where about 1,500 varieties of irises yield more than 100,000 blooms over the course of the season. 

“People come from Russia and Canada, Florida and Minnesota, Spring Lake and Basking Ridge,” say Nancy Skjeic, president of Presby’s board of trustees. “It’s one of the best collections of irises in the world, with some of the oldest and rarest blooms.” 

Nicknamed “The Rainbow on the Hill,” Presby’s profile among fans of the vivid, regal flower is so high, in fact, that in 2016, it was the setting for the American Iris Society convention. And in 2020, it will be co-hosting AIS’ centennial birthday celebration and convention with the New York Botanical Garden.

The event, to be held May 19-23, 2020, will feature a competition of irises from around the world presided over by an international panel of judges. The rhizomes (root-like stems) were planted last year, but not named on plaques because the contest will be blind.     

Presby’s perennial collection features flowers of different heights grown without pesticides. These include heirloom irises (varieties that have thrived without care, sometimes for centuries), “Hall of Fame” blooms (a concept that originated with former Montvale resident and avid gardener Stan Gray), and remontant irises, which bloom again in late summer.

“New breeders are breeding wild colors with ruffles,” says Skjeic; those may be found in the center of the gardens. She won’t play favorites, but says that “People are crazy about the purply-black iris. They love the light and dark purple petals.”

Skjeic praises Presby’s convenient setting. “I’ve traveled to a lot of iris farms, and to get to them, you usually take a bus down a dirt road, and they let you out in the middle of nowhere.” In contrast, she says, Presby is situated on busy Upper Mountain Avenue across from an NJ Transit train station, making it easily accessible to visitors who want to wander among its many beds or sit in quiet contemplation on its benches. A suggested donation of $8 per person supports the roughly $120,000 operating budget of the nonprofit Citizens Committee, which funds and manages the gardens.

A gift that keeps on giving

The irises have been festooning the 7 1/2-acre Mountainside Park with brilliant color since shortly after the town acquired the  land in the early 1920s. Montclair resident Frank H. Presby, a founder of the American Iris Society, had wanted to donate an assortment of irises from his own impressive collection, but passed away before the gift could be made. In 1927, the garden was launched as a memorial to him, using plants provided by Presby’s children, the American Iris Society, the Garden Club of Montclair and gardeners in Germany, Great Britain and other countries.

For its first 50 years, the gardens were tended by Barbara Walther, who lived in the 1865 home next door with her husband, Fred; the couple had lobbied to preserve the land for public use. A botanist, Barbara Walther served as volunteer president until her death at 94 in 1977, when the Citizens Committee, which had incorporated in 1963, bought the property.

In 2009, using grants from NJDEP’s Green Acres and the Essex County Open Space Trust Fund, Essex County purchased the Walther House and grounds, giving the non-profit financial stability and ensuring that the land could never be developed for other purposes.

Today, Presby employs nine full-time employees who work from April to October. The Walther House’s Bloom Room gift shop is open this year from 1 to 3 p.m. daily through June 2; a profusion of heirloom peonies in front of the property draws admirers, as do the oil paintings inside.

The gardens are steeped in history, but their success depends partly on modern technology, too. A database stores information about each iris, including the name of the hybridizer (breeder) and the year the bloom was registered with the AIS. If anything changes — a deer pulls one of them out, for example — it needs to be reflected online.

The website lists the locations of bearded irises (named for the fuzzy section that grows from the base of their downward-facing petals) in 26 beds, and non-bearded irises originating in Siberia, Japan and other locations planted along the creek bed.

While the gardens are usually in peak form around Memorial Day, this year’s abundant rain and lack of sunlight, which the blooms love, has postponed it by about a week, Skjeic says. “I get 40 to 50 calls every day asking about what’s blooming and when,” she says. “Why drive all the way from the shore if they’re not ready?”

How to grow your own

Find a spot that gets at least six hours of sunlight per day. Irises love the sun and good drainage.

Feed the soil. Three weeks before planting, work 5-10-5 (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium) fertilizer into the dirt bed; loosen the soil and remove weeds. You can also add well-rotted compost to the top 6 to 8 inches of soil, as long as the soil pH stays near neutral (between 6.1 and 7.2) 

Plant your rhizomes in July, August or September. If you can’t plant them immediately, store them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Avoid wrapping them in plastic or otherwise closing them off from air, so they don’t become diseased. Potted irises may be planted any time before the fall.

Make shallow holes with a dividing ridge in the center, 1 to 2 feet apart. Place your rhizomes directly over the center near the soil’s surface, and spread the feeding roots to either side so the plant is anchored securely. Then press on top of the roots to pull the soil towards the plant on both sides. There should be no more than 1/2-inch of soil covering the rhizome.

Water well, and be patient. New plants should be watered to set their roots; after that, they don’t need much water unless conditions are very dry. The first spring after planting, nearly a third of the plants will bloom. The yield should double the second year.

Divide and distribute. Every three or four years in July or August — not later than Labor Day — dig up old clumps and divide them by hand. Cut off rot so the rhizome is firm and white like a potato, discard the old center and replant the new “toes.” For best results, trim the leaves to an inverted V shape and cut back the roots to 4 to 6 inches long. 

Go: Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, 474 Upper Mountain Ave., Montclair; 973-783-presbyirisgardens.org

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