Re: louisiana iris

From: Dennis Kramb <dkramb@badbear.com>

>From: Matt Thompson <mthbarco@earthlink.net>
>
>Louisiana iris:
>I live in Ohio, zone 6.  I have a pond with a cement stream and various bog
>gardens.  Some of my Louisiana irises are in a 6-inch cement stream
>anchored with stones and roots.  I will be turning off my stream in late
>fall, and I'm not really sure what to do with my Irises.  If let them in
>the stream I am afraid with Ohio's freezing and thawing weather the roots
>won't have any protection.
>I can pot them up and put them on my marginal shelf in my pond or I can put
>them in my acidic bog garden.  If I put them in dirt, come early spring
>what will happen to their flowering cycle when I want to put them back in
>my stream?  Do you have any ideas or suggestions?
>
>
>Lora
>1005 Beacon Lane
>Englewood, OH 45322
>Ph / Fax: (937) 836-1048
>e-mail: mthbarco@earthlink.net


Dear Lora / Matt,

Howdy neighbor!!  It seems no one else responded so I will take a stab at
answering this one.  I tried keeping some Louisiana Irises in containers
(above ground) during this past winter.  75% of them died.  And only 50% of
the survivors bloomed.

I recommend you pot them up in early October, and then "plant" them
(containers and all) in the bog.  Next spring with the worst of winter
behind you (about end of April), it should be safe to transplant them back
into the stream.

There is another option that I should mention.  If you can bury your
Louisianas in the cement stream under a thick layer of leaf mulch, like
1ft-2 ft, that will probably keep them  warm enough.

I'm a brand new rookie at raising Louisianas, but I think my "container
experiment" pretty much demonstrates that most Louisianas can't tolerate
their roots/rhizomes getting as cold as 10 degrees F during winter.

Mine are still in their pots, and I'm going to dig a new bog garden this
fall where they will be permanently planted.

Oh, one more thing.  If you transplant them with the rootballs intact (dirt
and all), it probably will not disrupt their flowering cycle.

What do the rest of you Louisiana growers think???

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)



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