CULT: help - granny tough in the vale?

I got an offlist request for information about

<.....modern varieties that don't melt away each summer.  I live
in the NC Piedmont and my modern stellar performer is Jesse's Song.
He's very vigorous, even when drainage isn't perfect (or far
from perfect), and blooms beautifully, doing just as well as survivors
from the pre-WW II era that I inherited from relatives.  Are there
others you can think of that would do as well as Jesse's Song has?>

My immediate thought was 'hah! I wish!".

I suggested Lloyd Zurbrigg's introductions - the best of his here so far
are IMMORTALITY (balky to get started sometimes, and not as cooperative
about blooming as JESSE, but worth it), HARVEST OF MEMORIES, ENGLISH
COTTAGE, VIOLET MIRACLE, PERFUME COUNTER.  Maybe GARDEN CLUB DELIGHT.
Some of Betty Wilkerson's look as good here, but I haven't grown them
long enough to know how they will measure up to JESSE and the old granny
irises like SHANNOPIN & INDIAN CHIEF.

Then I went through my freshly revised list of all the survivors I
currently grow, and noted a few that are as good as JESSE or nearly so
in the "vale of despair" for bearded irises. Some of these are medians.
Some do rot now and then, all are able to get over it, and are as free
blooming as JESSE most of the time.  Some are oldish, but post WWII.

ABBEY ROAD, AUTUMN ORANGELITE, BELVI QUEEN, CELEBRATION SONG, CHURCHILL
DOWNS, CLASSICO, DOCTOR ALAN, DUSKY CHALLENGER, FANTASTIC BLUE (BB?),
GINGERBREAD CASTLE, GOLDEN IMMORTAL (hope I don't eat my words on this
one, haven't had it very long), GRAND BAROQUE, GREEN-EYED LADY, HONEY
GLAZED (IB), LADY FRIEND (sometimes rots, but usually only after really
bad late winter/early spring freezes), LIGHTNING RIDGE, MULBERRY ROSE
(may be too old), NIGHT GAME, OCTOBER SPLENDOR, POORMAN (definitely! if
it's not too early for your garden), RED ZINGER (IB?), RIDE THE WIND,
RIP CITY (too early for me, so bloom is frozen out, but the plant is
super tough!), STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, STUNNING SERENADE, SULTRY MOOD
(definitely as good as JESSE), TEA LEAVES, TITAN'S GLORY (bloom often
frozen out here, but plant is tough), UNBELIEVABLE LOVE (also a somewhat
new one, but looks like it will be really good here), VANITY.

Of those, I would only put RED ZINGER, SULTRY MOOD, VIOLET MIRACLE,
HARVEST OF MEMORIES, and POORMAN in the same class as JESSE.  But the
others are good.

Then there are those few unknowns that are so great here, I am
determined to figure out what they are eventually.

I hope that's a help - your question is the same one I had back when I
first started buying new, beautiful irises.  Some did ok, some died
immediately, and a very few thrived.

So I started pollen daubing, trying to make my own creations that would
do well here.  If you have time, we certainly need more
hybridizers/pollen daubers in this wretched climate.  Join the fun!
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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