RE: CULT: request for info re: winter strategies & weather

I will dig out notes on previous years.  We had three freeze-thaws one
year.  A very few TBs
survived unblemished.  I did not note whether the foliage disappeared or
remain arrested.  Of the remainder, the majority survived and I
categorized them:  1.  did not increase nor bloom, 2.  poor increase and
no bloom, 3.  reduced bud count, and 4.  stunted stalks or deformed
blooms.  Will provide the list when I dig it out.

Day 4 (and last day) of ice storm.  Snow cover is hanging on but a full
day of freezing rain/ice pellets/rain is forecast.  State of civil
emergency was declared yesterday morning.  All government offices are
closed except for essential services.  Librairies and banks are also
closed.  We still have power but lost our heat for a few hours last
night.

Maureen Mark
Ottawa, Canada
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Linda Mann [SMTP:lmann@icx.net]
> Sent:	Thursday, January 08, 1998 9:28 AM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	CULT: request for info re: winter strategies
> 
> A couple of us have been thinking about the different ways cultivars
> of
> bearded iris 'cope' with winter in cold areas with no snow cover.  
> 
> They seem to respond three ways - 
> 1) keep trying to grow during every warm spell and get repeatedly
> injured
> with lots of diseased foliage, 2) wait for spring, with injury to ends
> of leaves that gradually die, but don't seem to have all the lesions
> and
> spots of the others, 3) cut their losses and disappear - these are
> impossible to find amongst even short weeds - fans are only an inch or
> two tall at most, but what is there is very healthy and green.  
> 
> For sake of discussion (and out of my own ignorance of other
> descriptors
> maybe
> previously used) let's call these non-dormant, partially dormant, and
> fully winter dormant.  In my kind of climate (rare snow cover, lots of
> big changes in temperature from hard freezes to balmy summertime (like
> today - it's absolutely muggy out there), through several cycles every
> winter) the fully dormant strategy will always be effective.  
> 
> The partially dormant strategy works pretty well, but provides more
> opportunity for disease and injury unless the foliage is incredibly
> resistant to injury (like HARVEST OF MEMORIES, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN).
> The
> non-dormant strategy only works here if the plant is a super vigorous
> grower with the capacity to replace damaged foliage faster than it
> loses
> it (CELEBRATION SONG is especially good at this).  
> 
> I just walked through the garden and came up with a very
> short list of the fully dormant ones, and they are all good performers
> here - I. pallida (blooms early so buds/flowers are often damaged), I.
> germanica (ditto), WINDWALKER, SULTRY MOOD, WABASH, MULBERRY ROSE,
> COLETTE THURILLET (new this year, forgive spelling attempt).  I forgot
> to check the clump of VANITY, but I think it does this also.
> 
> So my request is to anybody on the list who is in an area where there
> is
> no snow cover and cold enough temperatures (below 15oF?) to knock the
> leaves off.  I would like to know of more cultivars with this winter
> growth habit, especially recent ones (1980s or later).
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Linda Mann east Tennessee USA
> overnight lows in the 60s are typical in JULY!  And in January, I
> guess.
>
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