Re: SPEC: summer blooming winter iris?
From: Dennis Kramb <dkramb@badbear.com>
>From: Dean Sliger <deanslgr@kode.net>
>
>Kenneth Walker wrote:
>
>> I. unguicularis is a beardless iris from the western mediteranean. It is
>>adapted to hot
>> dry summers and cool wet winters. It has narrow leaves, usually a foot
>>or two long
>> and can eventually form large dense clumps. The flowers are usually
>>somewhat down
>> in the folliage, particularly in large clumps. They typically come in
>>various shades of
>> lavender and purple with a yellow signal line on the falls, but there
>>are reportedly white forms.
>
>Does anyone know the winter-hardiness Zone for this species? None of my
>reference books mention a hardiness Zone.
My guess is that it's only hardy to around Zone 8 or so....but it makes a
great container plant. So it could be grown in any climate, but you just
have to bring it indoors on really cold winter days & nights.
I have been growing a form of it in Cincinnati since September 1998. And
it's doing real well. It flowered back in January/February.
Mine did not lose its foliage during summer dormancy. It looks just like
grass. Very nice, actually!
Dennis Kramb; dkramb@badbear.com
Cincinnati, Ohio USA; USDA Zone 6; AIS Region 6
member of AIS, ASI, HIPS, SIGNA, SLI, & Miami Valley Iris Society
primary interests: ABs, REBs, LAs, Native SPEC and SPEC-X hybrids
(my gardening URL: http://www.badbear.com/dkramb/home.html)
--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
ONElist: home to the world's liveliest email communities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
