The beginning of the end ... or not - The Beardless

Although the beardless irises typically end my iris season, SHAKER'S PRAYER decided to bloom in mid-IB season this year. Go figure. Regardless, SP continues to be my very favorite Siberian iris.

Is it the first sib for you? My bearded & sibs seem to be neck and neck this year. I think a lot of them will blooming at the same time together.

Yes, Sue, SP is always my first Sib to open. Which is your earliest Sib?

Soft Blue was the first to open here. Lots of buds are coming along. I think the steamy heat we're getting has sped them up.

Illini Charm always opens first for me here followed by Caesar's Brother. The heat has been nasty on them this year.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2005 12:15 AM

Versicolors are proving to be strong and vigorous here, quickly becoming one of my favorite beardless types. This is CANDYSTRIPER. Gotta love those veins!

Hi Laurie~

I've never grown Iris Versicolor, and if they're growing well in your zone, they must be very hardy! What kind of growing conditions do they prefer? Do you know a good source of information about them?

Laura,

Versicolors are great in the cold zones. Nothing phases them, though I have heard that borers like them. I don't know how they'd do in zone 7. You might be better off with their warm-climate counterparts, Iris virginica. Both of these species are native to boggy situations, though I know that versicolor can be grown in regular garden conditions as well. I think they'd probably do best grown like Sibs or JIs. You can see pics and learn more about these iris species and many others at the SIGNA Species Database website:

http://www.badbear.com/signa/signa.pl?Introduction

Back to the matter at hand ...

ECHO THE WIND opened in the rain yesterday. Maiden bloom revealed a beautiful blend of blues and purples on a delightfully full Siberian flower.



This message was edited Jun 14, 2005 9:10 PM

BANISH MISFORTUNE is another new Siberian this year and one I hope will perform as well as my beloved (and quite similar) SHAKER'S PRAYER. I love the veining and traditional form on these species types.

This message was edited Jun 14, 2005 9:02 PM

Love the Banish Misfortune. and Candystriper. Do the versicolors need a lot of water? sun? I can grow sibs just fine under a maple, as long as I keep them near the edge of the shaded part. I have trouble balancing the need for water retention (shade) with my dry sandy soil for the sibs.

lezro,

I'm sorry if my postings to this thread have been confusing. I have gone back to each pic and specified the type of plant pictured so there won't be any confusion about which are versicolors and which are Sibs. BANISH MISFORTUNE is a Sib. CANDYSTRIPER is a versicolor.

I suspect it might be difficult to keep versicolor happy in dry sand. Even in part shade under a tree, you're looking at tree roots sucking the soil dry of moisture. Versicolor is a native swamp iris. It loves water. You might get away with growing them in part shade, heavily mulched and deeply watered, esp. if you amend your sand heavily with moisture-retentive materials like sphagnum peat, aged manure, and/or compost.

Laurie, ECHO THE WIND takes my breath away. BANISH MISFORTUNE is beautiful too.

Oh dear, Laurie, sorry! I understood that CS was the versicolor, but my comment wasn't real clear. I just loved both of the pics.

I do have a "bog" made of a buried old holey swimming pool cover, filled in with sand and peatmoss (50/50). Most things do fine....now if I can just find some room.... :)

Wow, a whole new range of places to grow pretty flowers...We have a dairy farm, and have a few always moist runoff areas...hmmmm....

Another one of those irresistible, veiny versicolors that loves northern MN - BETWEEN THE LINES.

I don't often have zone envy - but here I am green at the gills. :-)
Beautiful!

Laurie--enjoying your versi-color iris! Almost make me wish that i hadn't made them tile the little stream running down our fenceline 14 years ago when we bulit.

Wanda, you can grow versicolors anywhere you can grow Sibs. Same culture, basically, though versicolors will also do just fine in a swamp.

REPRISE is a new bloomer this year, and I'm hoping it'll give me the repeat bloom for which it is well known. A nice vigorous Siberian.

Gee, learn something everyday. thanks!

This is our northern MN native versicolor. I dug this beauty out of a low area in the native pasture at my other farm. There's a farm down the road that has a large area of versicolor in a swampy part of their pasture, as well. I should run down there and take a look.

You know, It's nice to have friends with extra plants...

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/521477/

PANSY PURPLE makes a strong statement with very dark purple flowers topping a vigorous clump in full bloom. This Siberian is particularlly awe-inspiring when a low sun catches it in early morning and evening.

ERIC THE RED was my very first Sib, and he's still my most reliable. His red-violet hue adds a spot of bright color to a beardless bed awash with various shades of lavender and purple.

I've been hoping CORONATION ANTHEM would bloom so I could enjoy in person what I've seen in so many photos. This Sib is gorgeous! I must have taken 30-40 pics before even lifting my camera away from this single bloom. When I downloaded the pics to my computer and went through them to choose the best one for posting, I was surprised to find a BLUE flower in every frame. Danged camera! I had to go back out to the garden to make sure my unreliable memory wasn't playing tricks on me again. Sure enough, CA is NOT blue. Since I only have one stalk out there on this maiden bloom, I can't cut it to bring in for color correction on my computer, so this photo is as close to accurate color as I can manage running from garden to computer while trying to retain the color in my head. ACK!

Anyhow, I believe this is pretty close to how CA looks in the garden.

That lovely thug, Iris pseudacorus, is not allowed in my garden or iris beds, but I'm happy to give it a home by the edge of my small, landlocked pond behind the barn. It's very well behaved there, probably because the pond goes bone dry from midsummer until the following spring. I do enjoy my pseud, but I'm not foolish enough to trust it!

ROARING JELLY is an award winning Sib, and rightly so. It does well for me here in the frigid north - as reliable as it is beautiful.

Laurie, we all appreciate your dedication to posting the iris colors properly. My digital gives me fits too, so I'm back to film tocapture the color the way I want.

Wanda,

Thing is, next time I went out to the garden at a different time of day in different light, CORONATION ANTHEM and ERIC THE RED both looked considerably different than the photos I have posted to this thread. CA looked very blue-purple, and EtR looked bright raspberry! The more photos I take and the closer I analyze living flowers under different lighting conditions, the more convinced I become that color simply can't be accurately interpreted in a photo except as a representation of a particular bloom in a particular moment in time taken from a particular angle. An hour later, a change in light, or a few degrees shift in viewing angle can change the visual perception of color from one hue to an altogether different one.

It has often been stated by iris folks that photos should not be used to compare color to living flowers. Photos are more useful in comparing overall form and pattern, including haft marks. In that regard, black and white photos may be even more useful for identification purposes than color.

Laurie

ROKU OJI is one of the 6-fall, flat-form Sibs from the Japanese hybridizer, Shimizu. It makes a unique statement in a clump and certainly adds visual interest to a Sib bed filled with traditional 3-fall irises.

GLOW OF HAPPINESS (Sib) pops out of the purple masses in smooth ivory bliss.

This message was edited Jun 24, 2005 8:15 AM

I love Roku Oji~and Glow Of Happiness is so sweet! Looks like I have to add a couple more to my siberian wish list!

SHEBANG is one of several multipetaled Sibs I have blooming for the first time this year, and I must admit I'm not enjoying them as I thought I would. They look terrific in Ensata's catalog, but in my garden the petals aren't opening properly, and the flowers look like a jumble of petals all wadded and curled up into each other. Not an attractive display. I much prefer the traditional 3+3 petal distribution and flower form. Live and learn. I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't seen the multipetal form for myself.

Of course these are new plants blooming on single stalks after a bunch of late freezes this spring, so their performance may not even be close to representative of what they'll do as mature clumps in a few years.

For now, I'm not impressed. In the future, that may change.

There's no mystery as to why this Sib carries the name SILVER EDGE. It took several years to settle in here, but this maiden bloom was worth waiting for. A nice, clean flower.

This message was edited Jun 24, 2005 8:15 AM

This message was edited Jun 24, 2005 8:09 AM

PLEASURES OF MAY is one of several pink-toned Sibs to bloom here this year. They balance the blues and purples beautifully with their pastel grace.

Sorry about the double post above. Sloppy fingers this morning.

SHALL WE DANCE gave maiden bloom this year on a single stalk with surprisingly large blooms! A very nice Sib that I'm eager to see in a larger clump.

Another gorgeous versicolor this time. MYSTERIOUS MONIQUE lives up to her name in fantastic dark glory. She's not as vigorous here as the other versicolors, which is a shame because I'd love to see her in a large, flowering clump.

RIKUGI SAKURA is another of the 6-fall, flat type Sibs, this time in pink hue. I like these. They add wonderful visual diversity and interest to the beardless bed.

JIGGLES is another multipetaled Sib that is doing odd things in its maiden bloom here this year. This flower shows the hose-in-hose form typical of this cv, but again this type of flower doesn't seem to want to open and expand fully for me.