Showing posts with label growing irises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growing irises. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2024

Chasing the Iris Rainbow in ’24: Binge Year

By Grahame Ware

October 2024

Siberian iris ‘Banish Misfortune’ (Marty Schafer & Jan Sacks, 1999)
photo by Grahame Ware


All of us have abiding interests in life. You get the photography bug or the writing rash, or, worst of all, an art-collecting mania grips you; and it won’t let go. With me, these abiding interests are like a self-inflicted tattoo made without the company of sailors and drinking too much rum, or possibly, they’re a birthmark that I’ve only just recognized rising out of my epidermal sheath.


When the flames of enthusiasm have been lit, the fire never goes out. Oh, the embers may cool, but they are always ready to burst back into flames when a wind of inspiration blows up. And blow up it did this past year with my latent love for irises.  But, this time, I didn’t hold back— I gave in— and had a full-blown tryst with the iris muse. I wanted as many of those “girls of the rainbow” as possible. I envisioned them everywhere in my garden.  Only then did it dawn on me that my iris fire was raging. Ahh, but my muse knew ... and she was smoldering without a smile in a curiously alluring way.


Proof of this fiery syndrome is provided herein below: 


a) Early in the New Year, I joined The American Iris Society with an inexpensive e-membership so I could mine their archives and do research on iris cultivars. So far, so good. 


b) The first iris subgroup that I pursued and joined was the Society for  Pacific Coast Native Iris, mostly because they had a seed exchange.  Their seedex is a wonderful affair and I was able to get some really good seed and, subsequently, get some good seedlings going. They’re now planted out in a new bed and settling in very nicely. Kudos to  Louise Guerin. 


c) Quite soon after that, I joined the Ontario Iris Society (ONIS) and enthusiastically wrote an article for their winter newsletter on my attraction to standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises I’d received from their rhizome sales in ’22 and ‘23. I had taken advantage of their rhizome sales, a marvelous way to raise funds for ONIS. Now, as a member for the first time, I got priority of ordering for the sale this past  July. Merci, merci, merci Kate Brewitt. 


d) I’d become fascinated with so many historical iris cultivars (cvs) that I  just had to join the Historic Iris Preservation Society (HIPS) because—  whaddya know?—this organization also had a rhizome sale that was cross-border friendly (as well as being a fantastic fundraiser). The rhizomes and the historic iris offerings were simply amazing. It was a big ‘Wow’— the momentum was building. All hail Nancy McDonald and Barbara-Jean  Jackson for my ‘Storm On Superior’ package that included a huge  ‘Voltigeur’ chunk! 


e) Then I turned right around and signed up for the Dwarf Iris Society because— guess what?— I discovered they were having a seed sale with many exciting crosses and cultivars that I had no hope of acquiring any other way except through their seed sale. No, this wasn’t a “bridge (or a binge) too far”; and, yes, I’m a seed-growing nut that loves having healthy, home-grown seedlings. They outperform. My seed order via post arrived here on Gabriola Island, on Canada’s Pacific coast, in one week all the way from New Mexico— a distance of over 2000 kms flying and nearly 3000 kms driving. I can’t wait to see what the ‘Green Spot’ x ‘Cheerful Chipmunk’ cross produces. Wow, again, and thanks, Tom Waters you’re awesome!


Shipment of iris seeds
photo by Grahame Ware 


f) But I wasn’t finished with my Year of the Iris Binge. Just this month, I  couldn’t resist being a part of the Society for Siberian Iris because  (you’re not going to believe it but…) I heard that they too were going to have a seed exchange with many of the top hybridizers providing seeds of their top irises and new crosses as well. I know! I went weak in the knees and transferred by osmosis or some other mysterious energy .to my hands. Somehow, I was clicking away with my mouse and a PayPal thing.

The good news is that soon, I’ll be able to donate seeds or plants to the rhizome exchange of the groups that I’ve joined.  I take comfort in knowing that this fire of mine burns safely because it doesn’t add to our global warming nor make home insurance rates go up. 

Finally, peace has washed over me and cooled the flames of my Year of the Iris Binge. I have now planted all of the rhizomes from the exchanges, and they’re thriving. I’m thrilled at what I was able to get. It meant I had to create new beds from scratch to display the historics and other irises. What a motivation the rhizome exchange was.On the seed side, I have some wonderful-looking Pacifica seedlngs and many packets of iris seeds dutifully awaiting germination.

Now, here I am, the curator of new iris plants and seeds and the inspiration that comes from those plants and seedlings. I’ll admit that I feel somewhat like comedian Martin Short’s character, Ed Grimley Jr., in his “Night Before  Xmas” skit. With all these iris plants and seeds, I couldn’t be happier. In fairness to myself, and as a way of explaining this conflagration to my dear wife, the passion for irises didn’t happen overnight. She’s seen this movie before, but I still assure her (out of having-to-do-this-again guilt, I  suppose) that, once again, I’ll be okay. She just nods and smirks with a “Sure you .will” expression.


Bare root iris rhizomes waiting for replant
photo by Grahame Ware 

So know this dear reader: you too can let your iris fire blaze away and not worry— just smile— because it won't burn down any forest or house— just singe your pocketbook ever so slightly. 


 “It is”, as the saying goes, “but a mere pittance.”


Monday, December 7, 2020

Growing Irises Out East: Draining Well in the Piedmont

by Heather Haley and Alleah Barnes Haley


Irises growing beside Heather's driveway

Greetings from the Piedmont, a plateau in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains. This is our first post for the World of Irises blog. As a mother-daughter team, we joyfully spent many hours at Heather’s kitchen table working on the booklet for the 2019 national convention and are pleased to serve the American Iris Society in a new way. 


Keren, Heather, and Susan with their mother Alleah Haley at a national convention

Aitken’s Salmon Creek Garden, Portland, Oregon 


Members of our family have grown irises from one coast of the United States to the other since the 1940s. Although climate and soil characteristics differ from one location to the next, one piece of advice is timeless and universal: bearded irises prefer full sun and well-drained soil.


As a child in New Mexico, Alleah learned this the hard way. At the age of nine, she was given the area along a shaded driveway where she planted bearded iris rhizomes from her mother Gertie. The irises grew poorly. Alleah’s early experiment taught her a basic principle of iris culture: plant bearded irises in full sun with well-drained soil. Three years later she used a sunny spot and planted gifts from her mother’s iris friends: a new introduction from hybridizer Georgia Hinkle and two advanced seedlings from hybridizer Steve Varner. They grew well!


As an adult in California, Alleah provided optimal growing conditions for irises using raised beds with full sun. Alleah constructed wooden beds over wire to keep gophers from eating her irises, and filled the beds with purchased sandy loam soil. Although the surface of  raised beds is flat, a combination of soil type and elevated planting ensures that irises are well-drained.


Raised beds at Alleah's home in California 


From a young age, Alleah’s youngest daughter Heather enjoyed helping her mother in the garden. For about a decade, mother and daughter bonded while weeding, digging, and replanting mom’s irises. Heather learned a lot about growing irises while she lived on the West Coast. However, moving to the East Coast gave Heather an opportunity to learn an important lesson for herself. Bearded irises grow best when planted in well-drained soil.


Source: National Resources Conservation Service, USDA


As an adult, Heather settled in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and planted irises of her own for the first time. With help from her husband Chris, Heather established iris beds along the driveway of their first home. Although the area was in full sun, the ground was unlike anything the two California natives had seen before. A dominant soil order in many parts of the southeastern United States is Ultisol, and it is especially prevalent in North Carolina’s Piedmont. North Carolina also has heavy rainfall (over 50 inches per year). The combination of climate and soil characteristics required Heather and Chris to acquire some new skills and learn techniques for gardening in “red clay.”  Due to limited finances, Heather chose not to construct raised beds like Alleah’s. She planted her irises directly into the dense, characteristically rust-colored Ultisol. 


Heather's first iris bed - October 2012  


In 2012, Heather began establishing iris beds.  Her first tasks were removing grass and “double-digging” to the best of her ability. As a frugal beginner, Heather spent her vacation using a shovel and brute force to break up the red clay along the driveway. Heather became VERY tired. Next, Chris helped Heather apply and incorporate a 3-inch thick layer of “flower and vegetable garden soil” purchased at a big-box store. This amendment was intended to increase organic matter, improve drainage, and supply irises with a modest amount of nutrients. Heather planted irises as she had in her mother’s garden in California, and Chris applied a thick layer of hardwood mulch to keep the weeds down. Unfortunately, neither strategy was ideal for growing irises in North Carolina. When a heavy clay soil is flat, or covered with mulch, irises struggle because the surrounding soil doesn’t drain well. The next spring, Heather started losing irises to rot. She pulled the mulch about 5 inches back from each of the remaining plants. Thankfully, no other irises were lost but several varieties known to increase well in other gardens didn’t. 

Tall bearded iris 'Broadband' (Tasco, 2002) before pulling back mulch -  April 2013


Replanting iris using sloped beds - October 2014


Clearing the backyard - February 2013


Planting iris on mounds in the backyard - October 2014


After spending much of 2013 preparing Chris’ vegetable beds in the backyard, Heather wanted to try changing the shape of the iris beds along the driveway to improve drainage. Heather dug all of her irises, amended the clay with more “flower and vegetable garden soil,” and adjusted the slope of the bed so that heavy rainfall would drain away from the irises (and the foundation of the house). Also in 2014, Heather tried forming mounds of soil 2 feet in diameter and 4 inches tall in the backyard, planting each with 3 rhizomes of the same variety. This time around, all irises grew and increased well. These early experiments taught Heather her own lessons about growing irises in the Piedmont. In clay with poor drainage, Heather amends her soil generously with organic material. If clay needs better drainage, she recommends planting irises in sloped beds or on mounds about 4 inches high. In locations with heavy rainfall, gardeners should avoid applying mulch in bearded iris beds.


Reblooming iris ‘Peggy Sue’ (Lauer, 2006) planted in a sloped iris bed near a warm brick wall - December 2015


Irises in the sloped bed near driveway in peak bloom - April 2016


In the years that followed, Heather’s iris collection continued to expand and space for Chris to grow his vegetables got harder to come by. In desperation, Chris told Heather “You can grow as many irises as you want if you can make them pay for themselves.” He didn’t expect Heather would actually try doing this, let alone be successful. However, his idea to grow all iris she wanted got stuck in her head. Heather tested distribution methods, and tried potting up increases to see how much care they would require. Heather and Chris also experimented with planting irises like a row crop. They planted irises on ridges of long, narrow mounds. Instead of buying “garden soil” amendments by the bag, truckloads of leaf compost arrived from an independent garden center that made it themselves. Chris experimented with using a flame weeder* between rows instead of mulch. More iris rhizomes were grown successfully, more iris varieties were increasing well, and there were fewer weeds to pull. However, Chris and Heather faced a new problem. Growing additional iris varieties would require more space in full sun.  Although it was tempting, they decided against digging up their front lawn and converting the space to irises, as many have been known to do. They started imagining a yard big enough for fruit trees, greenhouses, irises, AND vegetables.*Note that the propane-fueled flame weeder can be used only on windless days and in wet regions.

Chris incorporating a 3-inch layer of leaf compost - August 2017  


Iris planted on ridges in the driveway - August 2017


 Iris planted on ridges in the backyard - August 2017


An early experiment with potted irises - April 2018


Irises in pots and rows surrounding Chris’ vegetable beds - April 2019


In 2019, Heather enrolled and completed North Carolina Farm School; a business course for small and beginning farmers offered by NC State Extension. A pair of small-scale market tests provided evidence that Heather’s business plan had potential and that preserving her family’s iris collection could pay for itself. Heather and Chris had also come to appreciate their families’ agricultural roots, and they wanted to try preserving an old farmhouse. Halfway through 2019, Heather and Chris purchased a 100-year-old restored farmhouse on 7 acres in rural North Carolina. The former tobacco farm has suitable, well-drained soil and is now home to “Broley Homestead and Iris Farm.” [Broley is a mashup of the couple’s last names, Broberg and Haley.]


Heather with potted irises during a small-scale test - April 2019


The family iris collection spent a year growing and increasing in 3-gallon pots. Meanwhile, Chris and Heather cleared land and established iris production beds. Soil at the farm contains less clay; and now they add leaf compost by the dump truck-load to improve soil texture, increase drainage, and add organic matter. In the summer of 2020, iris beds in the production field were formed using a tractor with a garden bedder attachment. They are about 6 inches tall, 30 inches across, and 150 feet long.  Heather is currently experimenting with pre-emergent herbicides and Chris continues using a flame weeder* between iris rows. 


            Potted Iris at the Broley Homestead - April 2020


Tractor Max with garden bedder attachment - August 2020


Tractor Max helping apply leaf compost to production beds. - August 2020


Chris watering recently planted irises in raised production beds - September 2020 


Also in 2020, Alleah sold her home in California and relocated to North Carolina. She now lives about 20 minutes from Heather and Chris’ farm. Most of the varieties from Alleah’s collection are now growing on the farm, and she goes there frequently to lend a hand. With strategic purchases and donations from iris friends, the family collection now numbers about 700 varieties. Although forming iris beds on a production scale has required new techniques and equipment, the principles we learned early on remain equally useful today: Bearded irises grow best in full sun with well-drained soil.



For Comments:

What advice do you have for others growing iris and how did you learn it?

What iris topics would you like to read about in a future post?

Monday, September 21, 2020

Spring is in the air in New Zealand

by Maggie Asplet

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly it comes around to my turn to write.  Just about got caught short when I suddenly remembered I need this for Monday morning. Just as well we are a day ahead of my American friends.

I must say, it has been a very troubling time for us here in New Zealand, worrying about our friends and the horrific fires you have had in some areas.  Thank goodness for being above to make phone call to check you are all OK.

I certainly hope that the fires are more under control now than they were a week ago.

As you now head towards you colder month, we are moving through Spring and towards our Summer.  Yay.

My excitement is building as this will be the first flowering of my seedlings.  This is from crosses I did mainly at Thomas Johnsons, Mid America Iris Garden in 2018.  Sadly, all the seed that Thomas sent from 2019 was destroyed by our MPI people, an error they said, so I will not have any from that work, and with COVID19 who knows when I can return.

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Seedlings are putting on good growth, just in the process of putting out the watering system now.  It is starting to get very dry and our overhead water had iron in it and marks the plants badly.

These first few sets of images I will show you are Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB's) irises, that have been successful, and I am now waiting with baited breath for the outcome.  I will post images of the outcomes in the next article for you all to see how well (or not so well) I did.

Alaia by Thomas Johnson'18

Kerpow by Thomas Johnson '18

From this cross I had only 1 seed from 22 germinate but I'm very happy to say it is growing well and hopefully will be flowering soon.

My second successful cross with the SDB's was Slightly Tipsy X Kerpow.  This cross I have done both ways and was successful with both.  It will be interesting to see the differences with the new cultivars.

Slightly Tipsy by Paul Black '18

It is fair to say, that I did many crosses that did not set any seed at all, which is probably just as well, as it would have been a daunting task planting more than what I had.

Another successful cross has been Color X Kerpow.  Interesting to note there were 71 seeds but only 2 germinated.  Two is just fine by me.

Color by Paul Black '18

I would like to point out that I spell colour differently, and have to think twice when I type the name of this cultivar.  I automatically want to correct it.  Sorry Paul.

The next successful SDB cross was Love Spell X Peppito.  58 seeds arrived and 13 germinated.
Love Spell by Paul Black '10

Peppito by Paul Black '16

Another cross using Peppito was with Stylish Miss.  This was done both ways but with success only in the Stylish Miss X Peppito.  Not a lot of seed, just 12 and 7 germinated.

Stylish Miss by Thomas Johnson '17

I then crossed Stylish Miss with Lovable Pink, again a very successful cross producing 64 seeds of which 45 germinated.  So one would hope there is something great from all of those.

Lovable Pink by Paul Black '13

The last of the SDB's that I will showcase now is a cross between Carrot Flash X Eye of the Tiger.  26 seeds, 13 germinated.

Carrot Flash by Paul Black '17

Eye of the Tiger by Paul Black '08

So, if I don't have anything of much interest from these, then I will be very surprised.  By the time comes for me to write again, hopefully it will be to show you the outcome of some of these crosses.

A very big thank you to both Thomas Johnson and Paul Black for allowing me to annoy them so much and so look forward to when it is possible to return.  I so miss seeing all my 
American friends.

Please take care at such uncertain times, stay well and stay safe.



Friday, January 1, 2016

Begin at the beginning...if you can remember when it began

By Vanessa Spady

It all started for me quite some time ago, at least several decades, but the exact moment is lost. It probably wasn’t really a moment, though, it was more like a gradual awareness, and then an appreciation, and before I knew it, like so many others, I was officially an iris enthusiast. If you aren’t aware of the dramatic and exciting world of iris, then, yes, I am referring to the flowers.

When did I fall in love with iris? I can’t really say. But fall in love I did, and that love has inspired a project, the breadth and scope of which only love could inspire! Yes, this is a love story, to be sure!


'Twice Told' (William Maryott, R. 1994). Sdlg. L172D. TB, 34-36" (86-91 cm). 
Midseason bloom and rebloom. Standards flesh to light beige, slight maroon at midrib; Falls velvety medium red maroon; beards tangerine. H92B: (F154D: (('Latin Lover' x 'Victorian Days') x Keppel 74-32E: (('Roundup' x 'Artwork' sib) x 'Osage Buff')) x E31D: (('Dream Fantasy' x 'Pink Sleigh') x 'Heather Blush')) X 'Cameo Wine'. Maryott 1994.

 


So, onto the players: Vanessa (that’s me) and Chris, two ladies who have pesky day jobs but still garden with a passion. We are members of local chapters of The American Iris Society, and have had plenty of dirt under our nails. We met because of iris, and we have an absolute hoot gardening and talking shop and getting grimy in our gardens together. What fun it is to have an iris buddy!

The plot is a simple one, or rather, it seemed simple when we first conceived it: grow iris. Well, ok, we are already doing that, so grow more iris. Have a touring garden. Work on a larger scale. Experiment with growing environments, layouts, watering systems. Meet the challenges of our climate and topography. Walk the line between full-on, blown-out love for iris growing, and the tweaky, quirky, danger zone of iris obsession. So, it seems this is a comedy.

The setting: an almost rural neighborhood in central California. Chris has beds at her place, and I have some almost-feral beds at my home, but the primary focus of the growing project is at a separate property on my block. The weather here varies from very hot summer days (often over 110°F) to below freezing winter nights. The soil varies, too: concrete in the summer, pudding in the winter. And we have our share of hazardous critters, primarily ground squirrels and large gophers, but also sheep, dogs, gardeners, and the occasional raccoon. Thus you can tell this story is a farce.

The inspiration: We have toured professional grower’s facilities, and have been educated and warned that growing for fun and growing for profit are very different activities. Since we’re both level-headed and practical, we are not proposing to put anyone growing professionally out of business, but we want to expand our gardens to a more-than-average scope. We will be growing iris out of love for the plants, not a grab for gold. So obviously, this story is a drama.

 'Heartbreak Hotel' ( George Sutton, R. 1997). Sdlg. G-19-ARSA. TB, 37" (94 cm), Midseason late bloom. Standards and style arms salmon (RHS 27A); Falls imperial purple (78A); beards nasturtium red (32B), 1" salmon and violet purple horn; ruffled, laced; slight sweet fragrance. 'Sweet Musette' X 'Twice Thrilling'. Sutton 1998.

To anyone who is already an iris enthusiast, or expert, or grower, or casual gardener, this may sound familiar. To anyone outside the world of iris, this story will probably be an eye opener, and a tour through a world you might hardly imagine really exists. It has all the makings of an epic, spanning centuries and continents, involving science and luck, with characters from every place that has enough dirt and enough sun and enough water to grow a few weeds.

I won’t cover that much ground in this first post, but no doubt I will eventually tell of the adventures of the humble and magnificent iris, and its swashbuckling journey from the old world to the new, from manor house to interstate rest-stop, and mostly, of how two nice ladies in the countryside are going to try their hands at growing iris for more than just the fun of it.

Certainly, there will be laughter and tears, great successes, and frustrating setbacks. And once a year, there will be a glorious, magnificent, stunning bloom season. That’s our reward.

While sharing our process will be fun and hopefully entertaining, sharing our blooms and our love of iris is really the main goal. Although we are well out of bloom season now, I promise to include photos in each post, to remind all of us why we go to so much trouble for one little plant.

Yes, it is a love story.

'Revere' (Joseph Ghio, R. 2001). Seedling 97-36B. TB, height 40" (102 cm). Very early to early mid season bloom. Standards white, yellow halo; style arms white, fringed gold;Falls white, blue rim; beards gold. 95-36C. 'Impulsive' sibling, X 'Dear Jean'. Bay View 2002.