Good evening, all.
There’s no point in arguing taste. If Mark can grow any form of Iris x norrisii in his Florida climate, and if he likes the plants well enough to make space for them, wonderful. In my garden, which offers other conditions, oriental lilies and hybrids, admittedly not members of Iridaceae, shine in late July through autumn.
I have another question. During the news coverage of the G20 in Hamburg, Germany last week, did any of you notice the arrangements of ice-blue and cream flowers? They were low, almost like corsages, in squares dotted down the centre of long tables. They were also a single square on the table between Trump and Putin in their white chairs. The white or cream flowers were blurred, but appeared to be an irid or an orchid. The pale blue flowers seemed to be circular and symmetrical, but I could not find any images clear enough to be enlarged for certainty.
Any thoughts?
Paige
> On Jul 11, 2017, at 8:32 AM, Mark Cook hemerocallis1962@gmail.com [iris-species] <iris-species@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
>
> Sean, Paige,
>
> Sean is right. There is much variability in the Iris x norrisii strain of plants. While those with more Iris domestica genes will look more toward that species, they are more likely to be suitable for growing in Florida. Those with genes more toward Iris dichotma will not have a chance here.
>
> This part of Florida is odd in that while it can get surprisingly cold [I have seen 12 F] the chilling is not consistent and there are not enough chilling hours to venalize many types of Iris and other genera that are cold hardy. I am seeing Iris domestica and the reddish Pardancanda like I have being grown more frequently around here with good results, but they need more shade than any of the literature says due to the high sun angle and intense summer heat.
>
> Mark A. Cook
>
> Dunnellon, Florida USA.
>
>
> On 7/9/2017 4:52 PM, Sean Zera zera@umich.edu [iris-species] wrote:
>> There is a lot of potential variability for what conditions ×norrisii could grow in, because the parent species are quite different. Iris (Pardanthopsis) dichotoma is a northern species (Mongolia and Russia), while Iris domestica (Belamcanda chinensis) is southern (as far south as tropical SE Asia and the Philippines). Since (especially in the south) they can be grown to flowering from seed in one year, it would be easy to select seedlings for tolerating Florida winters. ×norrisii and dichotoma seeds require no cold dormancy. They *do* like summer heat just like beardeds, hence the difficulty in growing them well in the Pacific Northwest.
>>
>> I would also hesitate to lump anything about the floral display of ×norrisii into one category. They have a ridiculous variety of colors, patterns, flower shapes, and number of blooms per stalk (think hundreds!), and of course bloom (here) in late July and August when no other irises are doing anything. The tall forms (~ 2+ meters) are open and airy, while the short forms (~0.3 m) put on a denser display of color. Very much worth figuring out how to grow well; certainly as much so as any bearded iris hybrid.
>>
>> Sean Z
>> Zone 6a
>> SE Michigan
>
>
>
