Re: Moraea huttonii

 

Hmmm, I reticulata survives here, so does that mean so might Moraea huttonii?  I also have I cristata that's survived for 2 yrs, although it hasn't bloomed yet.
 
Plus, the south side of my property is a sandy gravelly mix in some places.  On the east side of my little town, the soil becomes very sandy.  The rest of my property, alas, is the clay gumbo Manitoba is famous for.
 
El, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Z3
AIS Region 16

----- Original Message -----

From: "Sean A. Zera" <zera@umich.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 9:13 PM
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Moraea huttonii

> 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 <jmurrain@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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
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