Iris 2012

Dave,
"George" does well for us but I'm pretty sure we're a lot drier than you are!
We don't feed them and they still multiply but that could be because the soil is a rather rich but heavy "adobe" clay [to which we've added a lot of grit/gravel/sand]. The other thing we do is plant them in raised beds or mounds so that drainage is as good as possible.
cheers
fermi

Here's the first flower on Iris planifolia in the rock garden
cheers
fermi

Hi Roland,
We are on heavy adobe type black clay! But this iris is planted in a raised bed which has had the soil "amended" by the addition of compost and a lot of coarse sand/grit. In parts of this bed it is almost 50% sand.
We usually have dry summers but the last 2 years they have been quite wet with over 2 inches of summer rain! I think the extreme drainage is the only thing which saved this iris! One small [partly-rotted] bulb was rescued from its pot [which hadn't been kept dry] and was re-planted in almost pure sand - I don't think it put up any growth last year but I just noticed some foliage emerging just this week, so I'm very happy that I didn't lose it altogether.

At present we have more retic iris in flower:
- the first we just bought on the weekend in bud - 'Purple Gem'

'Harmony' is the most popular or at least the most commonly grown retic iris here

This is the main clump of Iris 'George' - originally from a single bulb planted in 2002!

cheers
fermi

That is such a beauty, Dave!  One that is really piquing my interest in the last couple years. 

I too have noticed the seemingly sparse pollen on several of the small iris species.  I have begun to wonder the same thing: if the pollen grains I do see are really clumps of grains, rather than single grains, and the single grains are just extremely tiny. ???  When I have tried to do what limited hand pollinating I've done with them, success is no better than natural pollination!  :-\

On the other hand, maybe I am just clumsy. :D

Toole wrote:

Thanks a lot Rick --so you do see some pollen with the naked eye ?

Cheers Dave.

It has been my limited experience that these crested species that I have, (I. cristata, lacustrus, minutoaurea) seem to have very little pollen that I can find, but it's not completely absent.  I can't say that I've really investigated scientifically, but when I have looked, half of the stamens I pluck have no usable pollen that I can see.  The ones that do, just 1-3 grains (or clumps of grains?).  I've never checked I. tectororum or I. gracilipes, and my I. koreana and odaesanenesis from seed haven't flowered yet. 

I don't have any of the bulbous types more than a year old from seed. 

Of the bearded types, I. suaveolens varieties have enough pollen (but not abundant), and I have never investigated my I. lutescens varieties or I. attica.

Was very surprised today to notice that a potful of Iris odaesanensis seed sown just about 3 weeks ago showed germination; hard to count accurately from the photo, but with 18 seedlings so far.  This is the first time seed of spring woodland Iris has germinated so quickly; typically they wait until the following spring to germinate.

Maybe sowing in high temperatures (relative to spring) is the trick? 

Did you soak them at all prior to sowing?

RickR wrote:

Maybe sowing in high temperatures (relative to spring) is the trick? 

Did you soak them at all prior to sowing?

No, I did not soak the seed.  I'm guessing that prolonged high temperatures, combined with deluge tropical downpours from violent thunderstoms the last couple of weeks, might be responsible for early germination; but just guessing.

By the way, I have found that planting Iris odaesanensis on flat ground produces much better plant growth (perhaps getting more moisture) than planting on slopes.  Those that I had planted on a slope had rhizomes that all retreated uphill to reach flat ground, those on the slopes eventually dying out.

Toole wrote:

Fermi --i'm not sure if my 'unnamed 'Iris below is I.ret.purple gem ---whatever it is it's such a good 'doer' here  --quick to multiply and plenty of blooms.
Cheers Dave.

Hi Dave,
I think there is some confusion between 'Purple Gem' and 'Pauline'!

Here's another pic of 'Harmony' taken a week after the one I posted on August 01
- hard to say if it's spread through the Teucrium subspinosum or vice versa!
cheers
fermi

I definitely have to try more of these spring flowering irises!