Re: Iris virginica & floods

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Jim,

 

The experience in New Orleans with Katrina flooding might be somewhat comparable, although not so much for virginicas as Louisianas.   I am in a suburb where flooding subsided in a few days and there were no losses, but in the city, brackish water lasted for six weeks.  A friend there appeared to lose her entire Louisiana iris collection.  In fact, nearly every plant in her yard was killed.   In the spring following Katrina, there was no sign of iris growth.  My friend wrote them off.   Apparently, however, many rhizomes survived in some dormant state and eventually began to grow in the following year.   By the second spring after Katrina, she had good regrowth and bloom on many of her irises.   I think she did lose some, but the collection was far from wiped out.

 

Hopefully the Missouri virginica and brevicaulis populations are just as tough.

 

Patrick