Re: CULT: HYB: northern/cold weather hardiness (photos discussion)

<'Celebration Song', 'Garden Bride', 'Tuscana Villa', 'Vibrations'.>
Chuck, I've tried TUSCAN VILLA twice, died quickly both times, tho one did manage a bloom stalk immediately before dying.
VIBRATIONS hung on for awhile. I think I saw it bloom once or maybe twice. Stunted, few blooms, as I recall. Until last year, CSONG was amongst the most reliable bloomers - it did <not> like the drought. No supplemental water. 

<So it is easy to
select against plants that have E or VE classifications if you have
late frosts. >
Except I really don't want to exclude <all> of the early ones, those that bloom about the same time as the widely grown I. germanica in this area, because, as Sharon McAllister pointed out to me way back when, sometimes those bloom <before> the murderous late last freeze. If they have foliage that can tolerate late freezes - some can, some can't - they may fill a gap in spring bloom here. Plus there is a huge range in tolerance to late frost/freeze effects on flower stalks as they are forming - some are severely stunted or completely blasted, while others may look completely normal. So at least they provide bloom for a general gardener, tho fertility is usually affected. 

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
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