RE: new topic - SI popularity

Anna Mae,

Didn't you do some work on that topic awhile ago?


Bill 

"Shawna Coronado" <scoronado@solpart.com> wrote:

>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.
>
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>
>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
>
>
>
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>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: sibrob@yahoogroups.com [s*@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
>
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