12 Facts About Grace Sturtevant

Grace Sturtevant was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1865, one of four children of noted agronomist Edward Lewis Sturtevant and Mary Elizabeth Sturtevant.

Grace Sturtevant had artistic ability and as a young woman illustrated some of her father's papers on peppers and sweet potatoes.

In 1910, Grace Sturtevant began hybridizing irises, beginning with varieties imported from Europe, and in 1912, her first known iris cross flowered.

Between 1917 and 1920, Grace Sturtevant was very active as a plant breeder, introducing numerous new hybrids and issuing a commercial catalog for the first time in 1918.

Grace Sturtevant was interested in the genetics of iris and in particular by the inheritance of color, which she recognized as a key factor attracting gardeners to the genus.

Grace Sturtevant's cultivars ranged from the tall bearded types through intermediate and dwarf varieties and Siberian iris.

In 1932, when the American Iris Society Symposium issued new iris breeding standards, Grace Sturtevant suggested to growers that they discard nearly one in ten of her past introductions for a variety of reasons including weak growth, poor form, common color, or insufficient individuality.

In 1920, Grace Sturtevant wrote in the Gardener's Chronicles that registration of new plant varieties was important in the United States.

Grace Sturtevant further suggested that awards should be given to irises that thrive in gardens in preference to those seen at exhibitions.

Grace Sturtevant was a founding member of the American Iris Society.

In 1935, Grace Sturtevant was the first recipient of the AIS's gold medal for outstanding service, which has only been given out around a dozen times in the society's nearly one-hundred-year history.

Grace Sturtevant was awarded the British Iris Society's Foster Memorial Plaque in 1938.