Re: siberians - questions
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: siberians - questions
- From: E* G* <e*@moose.ncia.net>
- Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 10:28:27 -0700 (MST)
ECPep@aol.com wrote:
> I have some purchased at a club sale still slender clumps with 3-5 flowers
> after the third year. One plant from a nursery, the older cultivar 'Orville
> Fay' has grown gangbusters for me. A few tetraploids have also done well.
'Orville Fay' along with 'Fourfold White' were the first tet. Siberians to be
registered and introduced in 1970 by Dr. Currier McEwen... Tets do very
well for me here but so do diploid SIs. Important point, my SIs do not take
this long for stong, consistent bloom. I fully expect when I plant a new
rhizome to see some bloom in one or at the most, two years...and good
bloom.
Most of the iris clubs have rhizome sales in the late summer or early fall
which is way too late for us in the really cold regions. I suggest that you
try a supplier that will ship in the late Spring/early Summer, Shirley
Pope did that for me last year and I got some bloom last summer from a
very healthy, young SI rhizome! There are others that understand that we
lose at least one year because of our short growing season.
I will be glad to discuss this in more detail off-list....
> The newer cultivars are so------- slow!
Shouldn't be - they tend to be stronger in my garden with more bloom.
> Could the zone 4 shortened growth season affect these plants? We are late
> to start and have killing frosts mid-September. It is a rare year w/o a
> frost through October.
That is why we have to insist on receiving our rhizomes very early in the
year. Also, try growing from seed....I sow seed in the Fall (not rhizomes)
and have good luck usually I get bloom in two years. Right in the ground -
I don't fool around with anything else....our long freeze is good for the seeds
and fools them into thinking Mother Nature planted them instead of Mother
Ellen.
Welcome Claire to the iris-l . :-)))
Ellen Gallagher e_galla@moose.ncia.net
USDA Zone 3, Lancaster,New Hampshire USA
