Re: SPEC: I pumila
From: Tom Tadfor Little <tlittle@telp.com>
Celia writes
>>From everything I've read about I. pumila's preference for cool climates, I
>should not be looking at this pot of six four-inch fans after the
>outrageously hot summer we "enjoyed" here in Arkansas. But somehow these
>SIGNA seedlings survived out on the deck all summer, being watered maybe
>once a month but having the benefit of nearly constant maple shade.
When a plant is described as preferring "cold climates" or "warm climates",
it can be because of summer extremes, winter extremes, or both. Iris pumila
is not much bothered by hot, dry summers; but it does need a good winter
chill to bloom will and persist. I have no problem in Santa Fe, which is
zone 5, and friends in Albuquerque (zone 6) do OK with it to. Coastal
California (9 and 10) is apparently to warm in the winter. So the "cutoff"
must be somewhere in zone 7 or 8, more or less. It'll be interesting to see
how they do in your Arkansas garden over the long haul.
Cheers, Tom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@telp.com
Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA)
Telperion Productions http://www.telp.com/
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