I think the name is Dorothea K Williamson. And yes,
that's an oldie that's been around for something like 95
years.
Cincinnati is on the northern edge of Zone 6 and I have
found Louisianas to be remarkably hardy here. I also grow
species like Iris nelsonii, Iris fulva, and Iris
brevicaulis and they survive winter just fine without
special protection.
My biggest losses occurred during a drought a couple years
ago when my pond dried up and they fried in the sun
sitting on the exposed black pond liner. Winter cold
rarely kills them, but excessive heat+dryness can. With
that said, they are not always evergreen during winter.
They can get bad winter burn, but will recover as the
weather warms up.
Louisianas are some of my favorite irises ever. They are
a combination of two favorite things: native wildflowers +
irises. I especially love when the hummingbirds visit my
stand of Iris fulva. Iris fulva is a far cry from a big
foofy TB, but they have a simple charm all their own that
many people find endearing. And if the hummingbirds
happen to be there while my human garden visitors are
admiring the fulva? Yeah, they pretty much go crazy over
them just like I do.
But my real favorite is Iris tridentata (not a
Louisiana). It's another southern iris that does
exceptionally well here in Cincinnati. It might be worth
a try in Canada. I'm trying a new experiment with Iris
tridentata by growing it in a nutrient poor bog bed with
some carnivorous pitcher plants. So far they are loving
it. I got the idea after seeing so many random photos on
the web of Sarracenia species in the wild growing with
Iris tridentata nearby. (I put some Iris fulva in there
too and they HATE it.) I will report the results next
summer, probably in an article for SIGNA bulletin.
Dennis
