I agree Ken. However, the Siberian
has a huge selling point that everyone is forgetting – and is one of the
key reasons I keep them in my garden (I am not an aggressive breeder like many
of you) - most every Siberian has fabulous foliage. All summer and
through most of the fall. Take the humble Bleeding Heart as an example –
I have several varieties. You can count on the foliage of almost every
bleeding heart collapsing mid-August in the 90 degree heat. Not SI’s.
They still look beautiful. June is probably the best time in the garden
for me as the SI’s and Alliums are floating above all the foliage like butterfly’s.
But with some creative planting and organization of the garden you can use SI’s
to hide other imperfect perennials with success.
If we could get THAT word out to the
public, it would be far more effective in selling.
And since we’ve all been on this
issue – can anyone tell me what variety of Sib is the longest blooming?
Thanks,
Shawna
Zone 5, Chicagoland
-----Original Message-----
From: sibrob@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:sibrob@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ken
Walkup
Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 6:52
AM
To: sibrob@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [sibrob] new topic -
SI popularity
Dennis et al,
I haven't heard
the one about confusing Siberians & JI's . What I get is, oh yeah,
Siberians, I have the purple ones and the white ones, and they are out of bloom
so fast that they aren't very good perennials. Caesar's Brother is a
great plant, which I grow as a benchmark to measure others against, but it's
not in bloom for very long.
I think you are
right that the public needs to see better varieties in order to have a desire
to grow more Siberians. Whether they see them in pots at retailers, in
display gardens, or in magazines like Horticulture, doesn't matter.
Ken
At 12:57 PM 7/13/2006, you wrote:
Siberian irises are competing with
many other flowers, shrubs and trees for garden space. Gardening is a continual
process of critically evaluating each plant as it competes for that limited
space. Factors include reliability, time and length of bloom; ease of
establishment and maintenance; appearance when not in bloom; suitability for
use in the mixed border; and marketing and distribution.
Siberian
irises compete with TB's during bloom season, but they also compete for limited
garden space with a host of spring bloomers as well as foliage plants such as
hosta.
A huge
complicating factor for Siberian irises is their variability in performance in
different climates. My brother lives in South Carolina and I live in Maryland.
Many years ago, we bought identical collections of Siberian irises (12
cultivars) on one of our plant excursions. Within 2 years, I had hundreds of
bloomstalks--he had less than 50. I would add that he is much better at
gardening than I am. Until I sent him a photo of my Siberians, he was quite
happy. A few years later, he and I did a garden loop through New England. After
that we were both painfully aware that we could never grow them the way they
are grown in Northern climes.
From
my experience meeting the public (reads "gardeners who know very little
about irises"), many of those who have Siberian irises in their garden
think they are growing Japanese irises. It's difficult to increase popularity
when you're not talking about the same plant.
At our
rhizome sale this year, one of the TB growers was looking for 'Steve' (Varner
'75). I still grow it--and I love it. So do people who see it in my garden.
However, many afficionados have chastized it because it is not
"modern" and lacks form. It sure fills a niche in my garden.
Fortunately
we have that ubiquitous Siberian iris that may or may not really be 'Caesar's
Brother'. Yes, it's the same iris that many gardeners refer to as
"Japanese". It is the "Stella'" of Siberian irises and we
should embrace it. Instead of encouraging people to grow the latest and newest
since they may offer some advantage, we would be well-served to encourage the
tried and true.
All
this is complicated by the desire for instant gratification. The great bulk of
garden plants are still sold at retail--not by mail order. Any retailer can
tell you that the plant that sells is the one that is bloom. All the catalogs
and glossy photos in the world cannot compete with the real thing. The way to
really make Siberian irises popular is to grow them well in pots and get them
in the garden center when they are in bloom. That may seem like a tall order,
but I know of a grower who supplies daylilies in bud to retail nurseries on
consignment. He makes a pretty good living at it.
Off my
pedistal--for now.
Dennis
Hager
on Delmarva
