I finally had some time this morning to sit down and review my SIGNA
list. Did everyone else get theirs?
First, I'd like to draw your attention to a couple things that I
*think* have never appeared in the exchange before. They are
Gelasine elongata and Libertia chilensis. Both of these are South
American irids, a favorite class of mine to collect. Both species
should do well in regions with mild winters. You can do some Google
image searches to find pics.
A couple of North American irids you should see are Alophia
drummondii and A. veracruzana. They are beauties! I'm trying to
overwinter them for the first time in pots indoors. We'll have to
wait & see if it works...
I was surprised to see a few entries for Iris pseudacorus. I thought
it was banned, but apparently not? I have to confess I grow a couple
varieties of it myself, even though I know it's one of Ohio's top
invasive weeds. Mine would be hard pressed to escape cultivation
since I live nowhere near a creek or pond. I keep one of them,
Beuron, just because I know it's a tetraploid and I keep thinking
maybe one day I'll use it for hybridizing.
Speaking of hybridizing... is it just me, or does anyone else think
that whole Laevigatae mix is getting a little wild?! For years and
years this section of the seed exchange has been filled with complex
interspecies crosses. It's exciting! Clearly these hybridizers are
building the foundation for a new class of modern (future?)
hybrids. Perhaps something to rival the Louisiana Irises? With
black stems, purple foliage, double flowers, and variegated foliage,
there's a heck of a lot of amazing things happening already. What
will they do next?!
Last but not least, look at all those foetidissimas! If I wasn't
already at max. capacity in my garden with my own foetidissima
seedlings I'd be snapping those up in a heartbeat.
So what caught YOUR eye in this year's list?
Dennis in Ohio
PS: I must make a comment about my Louisiana seeds this year, they
are all Open Pollinated. So please understand that just because the
pod parent was a pure species like nelsonii or fulva, does not
guarantee the offspring will be. What I *can* guarantee is they are
all fully cold hardy to Zone 6, and probably much colder.
