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Re: Iris missourienses in western NY [2 Attachments]

Hi Betty,

Welcome to our group.  I live in central Oregon where Iris missouriensis is not only native, but can be a weed.  It grows here in my horse pasture which is a sandy flood plain of the Little Deschutes river at 4200 feet.  It really only becomes weedy in overgrazed pastures.  It will not tolerate heavy wet soils in the summer, but is common in areas that flood in the spring.  The leaves are tough and avoided by horses, cattle, deer and elk; except when there is no choice.  It is a very hardy plant as the temperatures here often drop into the -20 degree (F) range.

It can be a hard one to germinate, so I suggest soaking the seeds then stratifying them for at least 8 weeks before planting. The photos are from my pasture.

Good luck with your seeds,
Bill


On Sunday, February 2, 2014 5:48 AM, Betty <eschnell@rochester.rr.com> wrote:

Hi, folks,

Iâm new to your forum and also new to this species.  Can you tell me more about this iris?  

While we were in Arizona late last November, we picked up this post card packet of seeds identified as Rocky Mountain Iris (Iris missouriensis).  The packet said it will grow in most climes of the world, so we took a chance.

We have a large property with some wet areas (Genesee County in Western New York State a few miles east of Lake Erie) is mostly wet areas, I sometimes think!)  It also survives drought.  Go figure.  Therefore a weed?

What do the experts here say?

Here are photos from the seed packet.  I think you can enlarge the photos if you click on them.

          



Betty, 
always eager to learn a thing or two


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