Re: CULT:AB: clue me in...

Hi, Christian,

I am hardly an expert on ABs, having grown them for only a few years myself. However, since I am in southern MO, I am assuming our climates are not too dissimilar, and I have had pretty good success with ABs, my collection having grown to 90 or so.

I really use the same growing methods for ABs that I do with my other bearded irises, the only difference being the AB bed is located in a spot that has very, very good drainage. The soil is not particularly good, but sandier than some spots around my place. I fertilized a bit more last year with good results.

My AB foliage is never as wide or lush as that of my TBs. The rhizomes are generally smaller and the foliage proportionately smaller as well. During dry summers, the foliage on the ABs can go pretty dormant, not quite disappearing, but it sometimes rallies a bit in the fall.

My ABs bloom a week or two earlier than my TBs, with a little overlap.

My ABs do not increase as rapidly as the TBs, but I have given them little opportunity to grow into a clump, generally digging and dividing each year.

From the info above, you might wonder why I grow them since it sounds like they do not measure up to TBs. Well, they have their own charm to me, seeming a little more exotic than the TBs. Some have veining that is not found elsewhere and the signals are nicely distinctive, too. I just like them!

I think I posted a pic of Mohr Pretemder a couple of years ago. I'll post it again on iris-photos...

Don't give up!

Bill Wells (in southern MO)



christian foster wrote:

Hey,
I've been growing Mohr Pretender for... six.. no five years now and no blooms... not even a stalk...not even a fat fan. It always looks ... um... stressed? It's leaves never get as wide as the TB's... but is that just the way AB's are? It increases... dies to brown leaves in the heat of the summer....
Last year, when I moved the bed down the hill I put it at the top of a pile of rocks. There it sits now, with practically no soil (red clay anyway) on the rhizome. It seems subtley happier... but still no stalks.
I'ld like to get a few more AB's but if Mohr pretender won't bloom I'm prolly just wasting time and money right?
When, relative to TB's are AB's supposed to bloom? Do they have to have special soil?
Christian
ky


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