Re: Iris Compatible Plants
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Iris Compatible Plants
- From: B* S* <B*@hsc.edu>
- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 14:24:51 -0700 (MST)
>rimat wrote:
>>
>> william b. cook wrote:
> Bill, Two Iris compatible annuals are Vinca and Penta. Vinca is
>very heat and drought tolerant, blooms heavily, and sheds the dead
>bloom. Thus, it does not need dead heading. Since it does bush
>thickly, it must be properly spaced so it does not smother the Irises.
>
>The only problem with Vinca is that it will eventually (within 2/3
>years) be a complete ground cover. It will not smother the irises, but,
>will make a covering so thick, that moisture will be held so well, that
>the irises will rot. It's also a devil to get out, since it puts out a
>one inch stem, then two leaves, then a one inch stem, etc. At each of
>the leaf parts, it will set down roots, and branch out from there. I had
>it, and don't recommend it because of this. If you leave only a partial
>stem, it will grow & reproduce.
Are two different Vincas being confused here? The Vinca Diana accurately
describes sounds like Vinca minor (or major, with larger leaves), a
perennial ground cover that indeed is the very devil to get rid of and
which I would never plant with irises or any other plant.
Mark's Vinca, I'm sure, is the shrubby annual Vinca based on species from
Madagascar and Africa, which self-seeds, but not aggressively, and is
killed by light frosts.
Personally, I would be cautious with companion plants to bearded irises.
My feeling is that they are too restrictive of air circulation and may
compete too successfully with the irises. I would use only light-foliage
perennials like columbines mingled with the irises, or the aforementioned
poppies, which don't make a mass of foliage and quickly disappear after
blooming. I would also make sure everything, especially the irises, has
lots of space.
Siberians are another matter--they seem to be able to take care of
themselves very well in a mixed border, even crowding/shading out other
plants; likewise the Spurias.
Almost all of my iris plantings are border-style. The bearded irises are
always near the front, with plenty of room around them. The Siberians seem
to mix well with smaller hemerocallis. Columbines and lilies are also good
companions. I also have a lot of seed-raised Alstroemerias; they appear
too rambunctious at first but die back completely after blooming. At the
back of the border, self-sown foxgloves dominate, replaced later in the
summer by spider-flowers (Cleome; an almost too-aggressive self-seeder) and
Nicotiana sylvestris. For persistant color, I use a lot of coleus--named
varieties, not the seed-grown strains which are too dwarf and bloom out too
early.
Much of my garden is now getting too shady for TBs--why did I plant all
those trees 20 years ago? So shade-tolerant "companion plants" are now the
real backbone of much of the garden.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
