For a while I had a clump of shrevei I collected from a population
down the road. It always bloomed well, but didn't survive one summer
with no supplemental water. Unfortunately the parent population has
been overrun and eliminated by Eurasian Common Reed (Phragmites
australis ssp. australis), so I guess I should have taken better care
of mine.
Sean Z
Zone 5b
SE Michigan
Quoting Liselotte Hirsbrunner <l*@mac.com>:
> Hi Mark and All,
>
> About 20 years ago I ordered I. virginica. It grew reluctantly,
> survived the winter but did not bloom and died the second winter.
> Ordering seeds from SIGNA gave me seedlings which also disappeared
> the second year. I could not understand why my Iris virginica var.
> shrevei grew so well in this climate.
>
> Finding iris blades between cattails in a wetland near our home
> (while living in Northern Illinois) I had dug a fan and planted it
> at the edge of the property where the drainage from the forest
> preserve kept our soil moist, but forgot about it. 3 years later I
> saw blue flowers from the window, where no flowers should have
> been. Back in 88 I could not find this Iris in any book. By that
> time the wetland had been drained and filled in and the Illinois
> Highway Dept. had built garages (illegal in the State of Illinois,
> I found out later!)
> When I asked my friend Virginia about this Iris, she told me: 'Call
> Florence Stout, she is the secretary of SIGNA and she will know!'
> It's a small world! I had just met Florence the week before at a
> daylily meeting! Florence became my iris mentor and I joined SIGNA.
> This lovely Iris is responsible for my obsession.
>
> Liselotte
>
>
> Iris virginica var. shrevei
>
>
> Iris virginica var. shrevei
>
>
> Iris versicolor
>
> On Oct 8, 2011, at 2:45 AM, Mark A. Cook wrote:
>
>>
>> Robert,
>> Iris virginica is native to parts of Florida. Check out this
>> map: http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=3428 Note
>> the large almost triangle shaped county in the south center of the
>> state that is shaded green, showing that Iris virginica is present
>> there. Look north and notice a large landlocked county. Putting
>> the cursor over it will show it is Marion. To the west are Citrus
>> and Levy Counties, both green, showing Iris virginica is there, but
>> not âvoucheredâ as being in Marion.
>> I live in Marion County in a spot that if I go north or west, I
>> go into Levy County. South puts me in Citrus. The land here is
>> high for Florida standards, and I have to grow my Iris virginica in
>> tubs. The part of Marion County in that part that juts to the
>> west above Citrus County becomes low and boggy there. I have been
>> that way and seen Irises growing wild, but am not sure what type
>> they are. One time, I started to investigate, but saw 15 feet
>> worth of âI am changing my mindâ laying there basking...
>>
>> Mark A. Cook
>> b*@bellsouth.net
>> Dunnellon, Florida.
>>
>>
>
>
