Spurias in cold areas
- Subject: Spurias in cold areas
- From: m*@earthlink.net (Mike & Anne Lowe)
- Date: Sun, 3 Mar 96 08:14:20 MST
Hello all,
An area I have not seen on the Iris list is a discussion of spurias.
Every year at convention; Melrose Gardens, Ben Hager and Sid DuBose, either
bring or ship a large collection of spuria cut stalks to the meeting. They
are placed in vases and grace the convention hotel lobby for the duration
of the meeting. According to knowledgeable irisarians, spurias are even
better cut flowers than bulbous iris, lasting over two weeks.
Seeing the range of color, lovely form and durability of these flowers
finally prompted us to 'take a flyer' and we planted a row in the garden
last fall. I pulled the mulch (oak leaves) off last week and they are a
sorry sight indeed. It would appear that most of our acquisitions tried to
be evergreen. We had one of the worst winters in several decades (-5=B0 F.)
and what spurias remain visible under the mulch are frozen, blasted, mush.
I called Dave Niswonger in a panic and he responded, "Have faith Mike, they
WILL recover and most likely bloom." I guess I resemble the anxious patient
who seeks another opinion from the doctor, (reassurance perhaps?) and
wondered if others in this group have successfully raised spurias when the
winter has gone well below zero?
The baker's dozen spurias we planted, Fall '95...
BABY CHICK 92 Jenkins
BARBARA'S KISS 82 McCown
BLUE SPIDERWEB 66 Ferguson
CLARKE COSGROVE 75 Hager
DRESS CIRCLE 85 Hager
HIGHLINE BLUEBIRD 71 McCowan
I. crocea(Spurea Aurea) 1841 Whitley
I. halophila 1773 Pallas
JANICE CHESNICK 84 McCowan
PENNY BUNKER 82 McCowan
REDWOOD SUPREME 79 Niswonger
SON OF SUN 83 Wickenkamp
TINY LOU 90 Jenkins
>From the Cape Iris Gardens 96 catalog (Dave Niswonger)
>...another beardless iris that is very easily grown and one that will
>>extend the bloom season. It blooms about two weeks after the tall
>>bearded irises. They >serve as fine accent plants for the flower border
>>and require little care once they have been established. Plant them in
>>the fall about two inches deeper than tall bearded irises and mulch for
>winter. They are shipped later than TB's in September or October. >...This
>iris is gaining popularity and every iris garden should include >some.
>They are also becoming popular as a cut flower. I think you will >enjoy
>growing them.
I would appreciate hearing cold weather experience that anyone has had with
these beauties.
Best regards,
Mike Lowe, Virginia, USA
