Iris ensata hardiness test

I have had different growers tell me that Japanese iris should be hardy to zone 4, but I've not found any solid information to back that up. I would like to try a test in my own gardens to see what happens.

Would anyone have a common, even less desirable cultivar that they would be willing to trade me for? I would pay postage too if you would be willing to do that in the name of research and I don't have anything you are looking for. LOL

I considered ordering some from the co-op, but I only need three divisions to plant in various parts of my yard to see how they do. With the co-op you have to order 6 and since I don't know what's going to happen to them, I don't want to do that. I also don't need three different cultivars. Three divisions of the same cultivar would do.

Can anyone help me with this?

Joan

Joan,

I've been growing 7 different JIs in pots here in zone 3b since 2003. They haven't increased much or bloomed much (only 3 of them have bloomed at all, and each of them has only done so once since I acquired them), but at least they're still alive. I really haven't been treating them terribly well, either, so their lack of increase and bloom performance may very well be my fault.

In my very limited experience, the JIs I'm growing are perfectly cold hardy. If you give them what they need for optimal growth -- acid soil, full sun, LOTS of water, pine needle mulch, and a balanced fertilizer -- I would expect them to do fine for you.

I'm sure you realize that testing a single cultivar will only tell you what that particular iris will or won't do in your garden. It won't tell you much of anything about how JIs in general will perform for you. If you want a somewhat more meaningful test, go ahead and order at least 6 different JIs from the co-op and see how they do.

Laurie

Thanks Laurie.

I thought I'd start with just one cheap cultivar first. I realize that it won't tell me how they will do in general, but it would tell me if they *might* survive before I go into this with a lot of money involved. The co-op would be an expensive test to start out. Call this a preliminary test if you want. :)

Have you tried putting some in the ground to see how they would survive the winter?

Hi Joan. I've grown Pink Frost at the edge of my natural pond for a few years. New last year and doing great this year is Mt Fujiyama. They don't get much pampering, but I do try and increase the acid and throw some sort of leaf mulch on over winter. Last year wasn't much of a winter test here, just about a perfect winter. I think they are a lot hardier though, than what we're told. I know Lilypon in SK grows them too, and they do well.

I could probably send you a piece of PF when it finishes blooming, but I'm not sure about that border thing.

Thanks for sharing your experience too echos. Yeah, the border thing would stop them from coming across.

I think I'll do a search to see if anybody has some cheap ones for sale without charging an arm and a leg for shipping. That way I could test several different cultivars in several places in my yard. I really do want to test this, if nothing else, to satisfy my own curiosity and see if what some of the growers are telling me is true.

I haven't tried direct planting my JIs because I haven't wanted to deal with that "soil poisoning" thing they're supposed to do after a few years. It's a whole lot easier to give them fresh soil in a pot than in-ground. I don't want to fuss with rotating their planting areas every few years.

My JIs do spend the winters outside, though, so winter hardiness isn't an issue. I just bury their pots up to the rims for the winter, and they do fine.

Laurie

Well, if they can survive buried in the ground in a pot, then they should be able to survive being directly planted in the ground. I'm not too worried about the soil poisoning, because from what I've read, you can replant something other than iris there without that plant being affected. It only affects plants in the genus Iris. Is that the way you understand it?

Yes, that's the way I understand it, too, but since I grow primarily irises, I don't want to relinquish planting space just to be able to grow JIs in-ground.

Yeah, I understand that. I grow a little of anything that's hardy for me, and even some things that aren't hardy for me, so I can find something else to put in there. The problem will be trying to find another moisture loving plant for those areas, since I'll be planting them where they will get lots of moisture.

Joan, I ordered from the Jap.iris coop and I am in zone 4a also. Will keep tabs on them and let you know how they come out. I don't have time to pamper them also.
I split 2 with a friend at the Janesville RU in June, tried them in the pot just barely in the water, but then noticed after a couple of weeks a couple of the leaves were turning yellow, so took them out and planted them in the dirt. My Ensata iris garden book says to plant them out but make a ring around the base of the plant to hold water. Since I live on sand and must water ever 6 to 7 days in order for my plants to survive, I am hoping that will be enough water for them.
Should have clarified what I said about about the water. I have 2 ponds with the larger one by the house so we can hear the water at night when we sit out on the porch.

Sorry about rambling on.

Maxine

Thanks Maxine. I'm still debating the co-op. I've had enough people tell me that they can grow them that I just might try. It'll take a few years to really get a good feel for their hardiness, but it's worth a try I think. I love the ensatas, and would love to be able to grow them.

I have mostly sandy soil too, but I have some boggy areas that they would love. I'm planning on building a pond too, but it's not gonna happen this summer anymore. Too many other things got in the way of that project.

Please do report back on how they do. This thread will be a good place to keep the research/trial info so that all can participate.