CULT: Winter blooming plants
- To: iris-talk <iris-talk@onelist.com>
- Subject: CULT: Winter blooming plants
- From: J* I* J*
- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 08:17:34 -0700
From: John I Jones <jijones@ix.netcom.com>
I had a request for help figuring out what Algerian Iris was. I found several
references to Iris unguicularis, and that it blooms in the winter (see quote
from Fine Gardening" below).
Anyone have experience with this?
Know of sources for Iris unguicularis, and I Reticulata.
Fine Gardening
"I'm fond of a number of winter-blooming irises as well. The Algerian iris
(Iris unguicularis) first flowers about Thanksgiving. Slender, green leaf
blades often hide the gray or beige buds that open to reveal fragrant,
blue-purple flowers. This iris is dormant during the summer months and wants
lime and a site in sun or part shade. Don't give it any additional watering
during summer dry spells. Iris reticulata sends up its blue-gray leaves before
the New Year, but the flowers wait until early February to open. It grows
happily in ordinary soil--even if it's dry in summer--but blooms best with
winter sun. Having collected a number of different cultivars, I now have
blooms in many colors from early February to early April. Dark, burgundy-red
'Pauline' and 'Hercules' open first, the broader-petaled 'George' opens next,
and the exquisite, near-white 'Natascha' is latest of all."
So I am wondering if it needs a good cold shot to bloom, or if in my milder
winters here in California I could coax it into blooming in Nov-Dec? Maybe it
needs an increasing light cycle to instigate the bloom.
Thx
John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.
________________________________________________
USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay)
Fremont, California, USA
Visit my website at:
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President, Westbay Iris Society
Director, Region 14 of the AIS
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