Moraea huttonii stood a good chance of survival as it's a high
altitude species. I got it from Seneca Hill Perennials, which
successfully grows a number of South African genera outside with no
protection in New York, though I think they get excellent lake effect
snow cover. Here in SE Michigan snow cover is not reliable, and the
ground is usually frozen for several months straight. I've got
huttonii (and the related M. reticulata) out in the open, but have
been mulching the whole garden with silver maple leaves in fall and
removing them in March. Other than that I don't do anything special -
I did try to make sure the evergreen leaves on the Moraea were buried
in the mulch, though I don't think it matters if they're winter killed.
Other SA irids that have successfully overwintered for me include
Gladiolus oppositiflorus salmoneus, Gladiolus papilio and Tritonia
drakensburgensis. I also have a NOID dwarf gladiolus cultivar that
does well.
As for other methods for overwintering less hardy species, I've had
Iris tuberosa (Hermodactylus) outside for six years now, right up
against a basement wall but with no other protection. Admittedly it
took it until this year to flower again (the location is probably too
shady and too dry), but considering it's supposed to be a Zone 7
species I can't complain. Several Oncocyclus (Iris paradoxa, barnumae
and iberica elegantissima) successfully survived this past winter
completely unprotected in a raised sand bed with my cacti. Presumably
they would have rotted in the native loam.
Sean Z.
Zone 5b
Ann Arbor, MI
Quoting Jim Murrain <j*@kc.rr.com>:
>
> On May 24, 2010, at 2:25 PM, Sean A. Zera wrote:
>
> It's always amazing what turns out to be hardy. Here's a photo of
> Moraea huttonii (from South Africa) blooming today after overwintering
> in southern Michigan.
>
> Darn-it, now I HAVE to get this. And, yes, please tell us more
> about your growing conditions.
>
>
> Jim Murrain
> 8871 NW Brostrom Rd
> Kansas City, Missouri 64152-2711
> USA
> Zone 6b/5a
>
>
>
>
>
