Re: Beardless i.d. by foliage
Donald Mosser wrote:
>
> I have a few "no name" beardless irises growing in my garden which were
> planted in the spring, so I have yet to see them bloom. I thought they were
> all Japanese irises, but several looked somewhat different. I suspected
> that a few Louisianas were lurking in the bunch so I spent some time this
> evening trying to discern any foliage differences. From looking at my
> labeled Japanese and Louisianas I came to the conclusion that JI's have a
> slight ridge running the entire length of each leaf of the fan. However,
> LA's seem mostly flat (or at least from the middle of the leaf to the tip).
>
> Is this a valid difference in JI and LA iris foliage or just coincidence, or
> wishful thinking?
Chris comments:
Good question Donald, the answer is: yes, you can tell the difference
between Siberian irises and Japanese irises just by the foliage. At
first glance the foliage of these two is remarkable similar but upon
closer examination of the leaves of the Japanese irises there is indeed
a ridge running down the centre of each leaf. It is quite pronounced
when you are looking for it and run your fingers down the length of a
leaf.
We'll need some one else to comment on the Louisiana iris aspect of
this. I'm not familar with them and don't grow them.
--
Christopher Hollinshead
Mississauga, Ontario Canada zone6b
AIS Region 16
Director, Canadian Iris Society
Newsletter Editor, Canadian Iris Society
e-mail: cris@netcom.ca
