2016 Summer Rebloom in KY, Zone 6

by Betty Wilkerson

In my zone 6, Kentucky garden, summer rebloom is anything that blooms between the end of spring (approximately the third week in May) until the beginning of cycle rebloom in the fall (approximately September 15).  My last post discussed the late stalks, which I consider to be rebloom.  Now, on to the full summer bloom.  

The very first summer stalk I found was on 'Artistic Showoff.'  It is a sibling to 'Echo Location' and usually starts rebloom late, some six weeks after the spring bloom is over.  This year an established planting is also producing stalks later in the summer.  

'Artistic Showoff'' (Wilkerson 2013) 

After sending up a late beautiful stalk with over 11 buds, 1907-10Re has four more stalks. Unfortunately the last two, blooming in the extreme heat of July, have heat stunted stalks.  The stalks do not reach full height and the blooms are stacked on top of each other.  

1907-10Re (Wilkerson seedling) 

 'Summer Honey' has won "best specimen" in a fall show in Virginia.  The exhibitor was Mike Lockatell.  It has two stalks on one clump this summer.  One row was used and the other row is a bit under grown as the adjoining field imposed upon the plants.  It is usually well branched.  The first stalk was hit with a strong thunderstorm so the first couple of blooms were a bit mauled.  I am lining out the rest in hopes of more stalks next summer.  

'Summer Honey' (Wilkerson 2013)

'Over and Over' is really dependable in my garden when it comes to rebloom.  It's been in three different beds over the course of nine years and has rebloomed in all three locations. It has very clear and clean white standards and falls with a trace of blue/lavender along the edges.  Currently, a new clump transplanted in the fall of 2015 has two blooming stalks.  In the fall it is a very good foil for my own 'Star Gate', so I try to keep them planted together.  

  

  

'Over and Over' (Innerst 2003)

There was another stalk on 2611-04Re.  This is a total of eight stalks in approximately ten months, two stalks in the fall of 2015, four in the spring of 2016, one late stalk right after spring bloom ended and another in the early summer.  Another sibling, 2611-06, is showing color and should be open in a couple of days.  It appears to be much like 04Re.  

2611-04Re (Wilkerson seedling)

We've had a hot summer, but it's also been wet.  There have been about three weeks in which the night time temperatures have not been below 70 degrees.  This may have an effect on the fall rebloom.  If night temperatures are as important as we've come to believe, there may only be late fall rebloom, which can be frozen back unless the freezing temperatures hold off.  

My primary goal is to have rebloom before the late fall hard freeze.  Although I'm not really crazy about having blooms open in extremely hot weather, I can see cutting some stalks to bloom indoors.

Inside or outside, I've found my garden to be a wonderful place this year. Hope you have all enjoyed your gardens, too! 

Late Stalks: Rebloom Breeding in zone 6A

By Betty Wilkerson

Welcome to my garden.  I'm in Kentucky, zone 6.  Once again, it's been a crazy, crazy spring.  We had some really nice days during the last half of winter.  Good days to clean the iris beds and get ready for spring.  This is when it started getting crazy!  I suspect it was Mother Nature in stress mode, but maybe it was just the irises acting weird.  

Just a few days into the bloom season, it looked like a lot of the early things would not bloom!  Then, stalks started to spring up, or so it seemed, on the ones that should have bloomed earlier.  Everything was out of sequence.  However, it did make rebloom crossing easier because more flowers were blooming at the same time.  

At the end of bloom season, the inevitable depression set in.  It's generally over for another year (except for rebloom). Then I noticed extra stalks showing up. There were a couple on some of the new reblooming seedlings, and one on a slightly older seedling from rebloom breeding lines!

There's one on 'Cameo Blush,' and one on 'Over and Over.' 'Silver Dividends' also put up a stalk but with only two blooms.  (No other introduced irises bloomed at this time.)

'Cameo Blush' (Weiler by Friendship 1998)

'Over & Over' (Innerst 2003)  

Two of the seedlings from 'Tara's Choice' X 'Again & Again' put up stalks. The yellow one, 2152-02re, has cycle  rebloomed in the past and is in my older reselect bed with 2 stalks up.  2152-03 is from my previous "baby" bed and was not seen before.  It wasn't great.  No, I don't always plant all of a given cross at the same time. It depends on space and time, and what I want to see, but these were pretty and several rebloomed, so I planted all of them.


One of my disappointments has been 2527, a cross with 'All Revved Up' & X 'Lunar Whitewash.' 'All Revved Up' can bloom all summer and 'Lunar Whitewash' is a good cycle rebloomer, so I'd hoped for some type of rebloom, with good form.  I got form but none have rebloomed, yet. It was a bit surprising when some of these seedlings started putting up late stalks.

2527-05 ('All Revved Up' X 'Lunar Whitewash') 

2527-01 ('All Revved Up' X 'Lunar Whitewash)

2527-05 ('All Revved Up' x 'Lunar Whitewash')

 The latest developing stalks were 2145-01 ('Pure as Gold' X 'Summer Radiance') and 2603-04, a dark one from ('Lunar Whitewash' X Romantic Evening') X 'Over and Over.' A large group of 2145-01 crosses bloomed and were photographed in the spring, while 2603-04 did not bloom in the spring and this is my first time to see it.

2145-01 ('Pure as Gold' X 'Summer Radiance')

2603-04 (('Lunar Whitewash' x 'Romantic Evening') X 'Over and Over')

With three exceptions, all of the surprise reblooming has been on my seedlings which have at least one rebloom parent. My theory, and it's just a theory, is that I should take this as a signal that, if not rebloom, they have some type of "loosy-goosy" genes that allows later bloom.  One thing for sure, they don't put up these late stalks every year. Come to me, my favored children!

You've had another peek into the strange habits of mother nature as she works in and around Bridge In Time Iris Gardens.  For further reading about reblooming irises, visit the Reblooming Iris Society site  or subscribe to "The Recorder" through the website.