SIBS:SPEC.

Ellen Gallagher:
Thanks for e-mail notes on Siberians. Question: you said some are
hardier than others. Do you know names of ones that do well for you? You
are zone 3,so we're probably similar in climate.
One other general question: Mark Cook in a note several days ago
mentioned a lack of ripening as perhaps a factor in their demise. I've
noticed a large variation in this "ripening" (shutting down for winter)
among iris I've bought, but what surprised me is the large variation
among setosas from different areas. In the past 4 yrs I purchased around
10 I. setosa from the catalog sources I could find, wanting to know if
they are different from here, & to see what differences there are if
any. It was sort of like Christmas every spring - and yes they were all
different. But nearly all of them have adaptation problems come fall
when the light levels & temps are declining. And there is a fairly
noticeable parallel between the ones that don't go about the business of
shutting down at a brisk pace & increase/flowering next summer. I
expected setosa to all have an inherent good adaptability to low
light/temp levels, but they seem to have adapted to the area they were
raised in. Several took 3 yrs to bloom. Some have not bloomed yet. Some
just die. Last yr was the 1st time that I. kirigimanae bloomed for me (I
was stunned by its beautiful little signal & its refined shape & pointed
heart-shaped falls. I almost despaired when I saw it. Mine seemed like
rough cow ponies next to this thoroughbred.) I. setosa nausuensis
(spelling?) & I setosa hondoensis (sp?) died. I ordered those two again,
because I am eager to see if they are treasures equal to kirigimanae. I
talked to Lorena Reid, owner of Laurie's Garden in Oregon, who deals
with I. setosa, & where I've ordered several plants. She was a very
informative person who suggested that it is probably a question of
adapting to the climate they're raised in & suggested I might need to
try and get seed from certain varieties. She is sending me seed from one
of here crosses w/"goldenheart", a white setosa which is now sulking in
my bog. Some of the interesting ones like I. kirigimanae don't set seed
tho, so I am now trying both avenues. I also saw my first glimpse of a
sibtosa last summer - "Stilles Wasser" I believe, tho fox carried off
the label. It had sulked for 3 yrs before blooming. It was another
revelation -tall, masculine, handsome w/an amazing spreading starburst
type signal. Seeing these 2 have caused me to rethink my breeding
program, which is a good thing. I need the comparison.
Kathy Haggstrom
hagg@alaska.net
Anchorage, AK USA
Zone 3
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