Tom,
I read somewhere that the experts consider all of the crested irises
to be survivors of an ancient tribe that was once more numerous, and
that they are quite possibly not so closely related.
I'm in USDA zone 5, in central NY state. Most sources say milesii
is not that hardy, to perhaps zone 7, but a few years ago I noticed that
Alan McMurtrie, in the Toronto area, had milesii on his list. I asked
him about it, and he said he'd been growing it for several years, but it
hadn't returned the previous winter. I have three seedlings of it which
have wintered over twice, admittedly both mild winters. None have
bloomed for me so far; I have them in shady beds where tectorum blooms
very well, but I think milesii might want more sun. I also ordered a
piece from Seneca Hills Perennials (Ellen Hornig's nursery) this
spring. She's on the shore of Lake Ontario, in Oswego, NY. Both Ellen
and Alan might be in zone 6 due to the proximity of the lake. I'm
guessing that milesii might be like tectorum, in that it succeeds in
some cold areas but fails in certain warmer areas. Snow cover might or
might not be part of the answer, but I can tell you that I had no
reliable snow cover these last two years. So, all you people who can
grow tectorum should try milesii; we might learn that it can be grown in
a lot of places it has not traditionally been grown. The photos of it
I've seen, on Dennis' web site and elsewhere, are tantalizing.
Crossing the two species is a no-brainer; I would do it if I had
them both in bloom, if only to see if it was possible. I'm curious if
it has ever even been tried.
Ken
thomas silvers wrote:
>
> Thanks Ken. Years ago, I grew a plant of Iris milesii
> for part of a year and had great hope of using it to
> make analogous hybrids with diploid bearded species.
> Unfortunately, it died before I ever got the chance to
> try it at all. For some reason, I've now got the
> impression, that milesii is not that closely related
> to tectorum after all. But like I said, I don't
> remember now, where I got that impression. I might
> have just dreamed it up.
> They are supposed to have the same chromosome number
> so it would be a reasonable thing to think they'd
> interbreed. Do you grow milesii?
> Tom
>
> Hi Tom,
> I like the white one for its less spidery form; looks
> like an
> improvement to me, and that is reason enough to
> register it. Out of
> curiosity, have you ever attempted a tectorum x
> milesii cross?
> ken
>
> __________________________________________________________
> Be a better friend, newshound, and
> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
> http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
> <http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ>
>
>
