One quality that aphylla species have is longevity or persistance.
A small purple aphylla was the first bearded iris I tried cultivating.
I found a clump of iris fans growing in sod at an abandonned
homestead. They had survived untended for more than 40 years.
When I planted pieces of it out in rows in good garden soil and
watered them like pets they surprised me by blooming here and there
until frost. I never watered them all summer again, and they never
rebloomed again.
I'd heard of different colors of aphylla so I saved bee pod seed from
the purple aphylla. I grew about 50 seedlings to see if there would be
any variation in color. There was no variation in color or shade of
color. The only variations were slight differences in size of flowers,
and slight difference in the width of petals. Some were more strap
like; some had wider petals.
I grew some species aphylla seedlings from SIGNA seed exchange 10 or
12 years ago along with quite a few other species. Those seedlings
have been abandoned now that we moved to a new place, but the aphylla
seedlings are still growing in what is turning back into hay field.
The aphylla seedlings have even increased slightly, while many other
iris species are gone or hard to find. Some small flowered species
Siberian clumps are similarly persistant in these abandoned rows
turning back to hayfield.
Dan Mason zone 3, NW ON Canada
