Re: HYB: REB:questions/comments on cultivars

--- Autmirislvr@aol.com quoted:

>>> Monty recommended IMMORTALITY to me as a rebloom breeder.
Someone on a robin I was on said I should be using I DO instead
of IMM. Lloyd was on the same robin and said I was right to use
IMM because it passed the rebloom better, even though I DO has
the better form.  <<<

Hello - I talked with another iris grower at the Canada
convention re rebloomers. She was not as cold as I am in USDA
Zone 3  being in Zone 5 and they have also have stopped trying
to take the time to work with rebloomers. 

I know this is anathema to some on this list but with my first
frost date in early Sept., sometimes in late Aug.  I can't do
rebloomers - even the reliable IMMORTALITY (which I adore),
reblooms in early Sept. and I 'might' get one bloom and then I
have to cut the other stalks and bring them inside to bloom.
With the heat on plus the fireplace, we usually only get one or
two days of rebloom. Nothing else reblooms for us except DOOZEY
(MDB) but we do have Siberian repeat bloom which is noticeably
different from bearded rebloom. SIBs repeat bloom usually less
than a month after first bloom. The clumps are generally bigger
with more bloomstalks so the first bloom lasts a long time on
established cultivars.

An interesting point to my discussion with this grower,  at the
SIB/species convention (she lives in Denver was the high
elevation of our gardens. I feel lucky in my climate to get good
and sometimes great first bloom here. Our low was in the 40s
yesterday and reached a high of 75 which was great gardening
(read weeding) weather. 

We are about peak TB bloom with good bloom especially on the
older ones this year (not historic just not new intros). There
were TB losses both on new cultivars and also 'older' ones that
bloomed last year. The rain has been brutal and the TBs that can
take the punishment are keepers. The cold is, again,not the
culprit, it is the rain/humidity. Our snow cover insulates and
protects our flowers.

Our rain also led to incredibly gorgeous Siberian bloom which
has yet to hit peak. I estimate without consulting my 'bloom
book' that we only have 40% open in the SIB class but more are
opening almost hourly. One of my SIB seedlings gets earlier each
year opening with the late SDBs this year and it is still going
strong and it is not a species type 'sibirica' flower.  

The IBs continue to disappoint except for a chosen few with the
exception of those from Vicky and Jim Craig and Lowell. 

The MTBs are, as usual, the stars of the bearded classes (better
than the SDBs which do well here). OZARK DREAM (MTB) which is
new in our garden, has been in good bloom for over two weeks and
the darn thing shows no signs of stopping. It has multiple bloom
stalks and it is lovely. 

Ellen

  



=====
Ellen Gallagher <ellengalla@yahoo.com> / Berlin, New Hampshire / USDA Zone 3
                        
IRISES: http://www.irises.org
AIS checklist data: http://www.irisregister.com/ 
Siberian iris mailing list: sibrob-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 "I used to have a handle on life, but it broke."

KNITTING: http://stitchguide.com/stitches/knitting/index.html  
Knitting mailing list: knitting_rainbows-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index