Re: Bloom Report from West Virginia

Kathryn Ludwig's report from Burlington WV struck a responsive chord.

TITANS GLORY is also a shy bloomer here after transplantation, but once
established is terrific.  It is also one of the most vigorous iris in my
garden, always with good clean foliage and large rhizomes.  VICTORIA FALLS
behaves much the same way, but seems very prone to leaf spot.

BEVERLY SILLS is a very reliable bloomer for me, but does not have good
plant vigor in this climate and is very susceptable to leaf spot and
rhizome rot.

IMMORTALITY is extremely vigorous and floriferous, usually reblooming in
mid-September.

It was nice to see a reference to BLUE SAPPHIRE, which I have not grown for
at least two decades, but remember as a wonderful iris whose blue remains
unmatched.  Speaking of older blues, I recall a great clump of BLUE RYTHYM
from 40 years ago that put up over two dozen tall, well-branched stalks
from four rhizomes that had been transplanted two years before.  I still
have a picture of this clump somewhere.

I think one thing we tend to neglect or even down-play in our desire to
promote bearded irises is the need for frequent transplantation and
division, at least every 3-4 years.  My experience has been that regularly
being moved is good for bearded irises, perhaps reflecting their heritage
as plants that occur in earlier stages of succession in nature.  In other
words, our favorite flower is just a bit weedy, and doesn't take well to
competition!

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>

"Synthetic Rubber Movie to be Shown to Lions Today"
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