Hi Dorothy!
The MDBs grow well for me in northern New Mexico, which makes me think it is not the hot and dry summers that bother them, but rather that they need a good winter chill (we are zone 5/6 here).
Your comments echo a point I made earlier in this thread, which is that outside the TBs and medians, the popularity of the various kinds tends to be rather regional: arilbreds in the SW, LAs in the south, SIBs in the north, etc. I grow beardless irises here because I enjoy them, and they do fairly well. But they do require extra soil preparation and extra water, and I completely understand why many New Mexico growers do not try them.
Tom
--- In i*@yahoogroups.com, dwiris@... wrote:
>
> Hi Tom.
>
> The reason so few people grow PCNs is that they are very difficult to grow
> in cold climates. I have tried them many times, but they just don't
> survive. The same is true of the arils and arilbreds except they are difficult to
> maintain in damp climates because they are desert plants. As president of
> the Dwarf Iris Society, I would like to see more people grow miniature
> dwarfs. However, they don't do well in hot, dry climates. TBs are grown most
> widely because they can adapt to most climates.
>
> Dorothy Willott
>
>
>
> In a message dated 11/28/2010 3:44:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> irises@... writes:
>
> I don't think the large number of votes for TBs vs. the small number of
> votes for PCNs represents a failure of some kind, and I would like to know
> why you do. What is the harm in having a lot of people interested in TBs, and
> few interested in PCNs? I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong
> with some plants appealing to a wide cross section of growers, while
> others appeal to a small group of dedicated enthusiasts.
>
> If you feel that there is something very wrong with the degree of interest
> people have in the different types, what would the "correct" distribution
> of interest be? Exactly the same number of people growing each class of
> iris? Everyone interested in the same irises Dennis Kramb is interested in? ;)
>
> I do understand your frustration in trying to promote the species, and not
> having the effort translate into more people growing them. I experienced
> something similar in regards to my hybridizing interests. It has been known
> for decades how important developing a fertile family of tetraploid arils
> would be for the improvement of the arilbreds and for the creation of whole
> new types (such as fertile aril-pumila hybrids). Fifteen years ago, John
> Holden and Sam Norris had already produced a large assortment of tetraploid
> arils. I had hoped that by now many people would have jumped on the
> bandwagon and that the group would have really taken off. Alas, the opposite is
> true - fewer people care about them and most of the Holden/Norris tetraploids
> are gone for good. I wish more people had taken an interest in this, but I
> can't blame anyone for having their interests lie elsewhere.
>
