growth habit of LA iris..

I'm finding it more difficult to ID clumps of my louisiana iris than the TB's. TB's grow in a circle but the attached "tubers" are easy to follow. These LA's seem to be more spread out. Anyone else have experience ?

charlotte

Yes, LAs are travelers. They'll wander all over your garden. It's one of the reasons why I'm not too keen on trying to see if I can find any that are hardy in my climate.

I can see that I planted mine a bit too close and will have to relocated them farther apart :)

I wish mine would travel! I've planted them where they had some root competition hoping that they would take over but I don't think that they are very happy. The ones I have in better soil are going gangbusters but I haven't had them long enough to figure out how you mark them so you would know which plant you had dug up.

Anybody know how?

You mean how to trace a particular plant back to the marked group ?

I have a bed with about 12 different cultivars planted together. Right now I can tell them apart - but I'm not sure that I'll be able to ID them when they've grown together even though I have them marked well now. I think that I mean when they grow together. Maybe it's a silly question - may not be possible.

Here's my 2 cents: :-)
I separate the Louisiana's that grow in the pond every year - - so I can catch them before they travel too far. Then there are others I put in pots. One named LA variety in a wide (but not deep) pot. They can travel all they want, and they stay in the pot, so with those I'm never confused.

I haven't tried putting them straight into the ground here.............because 1.) we don't receive much rain, 2.) our ground drys and drains too easily and 3.) they prefer swamp or bog-like conditions. However, I would suspect they could be easily traced back to the mother rhizome (if they don't easily break away and) if one is VERY careful as they remove the top soil.

~Margie

A good way to control and enjoy LAs are those little kiddie pools at wal-mart. Fill 'em with a mix of dirt and a little sand and compost and plant the LAs. The pool allows retention of moisture although I do poke holes about 3" above the bottom so they are not floating.
:)
Anita

I have mine in a "bog". I dug out a depression...laid in some old pond liner and then filled it with soil/ compost etc. They are planted about 2 feet apart - well they were :) Now I might have trouble telling for sure "who belongs to who" on a few fans. I'm going to gently scratch around a bit and see if I can tell anything.

They don't really "travel"; they grow new rhizomes on either side of the parent rhizome. LA Iris should be planted in a triangular format (about 24-36" apart--closer if the variety is the same). LA Iris grow in the direction they face when they are planted; and two or more offset rhizomes generally form on either side of the original rhizome. Each rhizome blooms only once, then the offsets bloom in subsequent years. Because the rhizomes grow longer as new leaves appear, varieties planted too close together will become mixed and difficult to identify. This rate of "traveling" varies with the particular variety. If the triangular format of 36" is followed, LA Iris can be left in place 3-4 years and will form nice clumps before having to be divided.

I don't grow them in a pond or bog (which isn't necessary--particularly since I don't have one). This is my opinion and experience with them.
Debbie

Thanks so much! This is their second bloom season so I'll keep an eye on them. I guess it would be a good idea to keep them in a pot and sink the pots. I'll do that next time I transplant them.

I wish mine were that vigorous! They still seem to be adjusting to Iowa's climate. Only Black Gamecock has bloomed so far.

Wanda,

Go look for Chownings. I had quite a few when I was in Ontario zone 4b. And DKW. Dorothea K. Williamson grew very well. Here of course, they are in pots and come in for the winter.

Lauarie, you might find that DKW does OK for you, with lots of winter mulch after freezeup or maybe even a bag of leaves on top. I use bagged leaves on my oriental lilium and they do OK. Not fantastic but they do increase v e r y slowly.
inanda

I'm having to stake mine - they are already getting buds. Does anyone else have to stake them?

This is a pretty bad pic but they do stand up on their own. There is a large shrub behind me that badly needs trimming so I can't show wide view it very well--also lots of other stuff that needs cleaning up (at least the iris part is not cluttered up--lol). Mine are really heavily mulched--probably deeper than a lot of people do but we have very hot summers and the rhizomes will scorch like crazy if I don't. I have a lot of buds now--definitely not the first, but I use all organics. Actually, I just fed them for the first time last weekend. I definitely have some "different" cultivars so ya'll might enjoy that. They will be blooming by next week end--about 8 are going to bloom at one time. I get the majority of mine from Louisiana hybridizers, so not the usual varieties most of the mail order places carry.

Great looking plants Debbie. Pretty please can you post a picture when they bloom?

Thanks teacup, I shall surely do that. Another really bad picture from a different angle--believe it or not all the brown dead stuff is really far back in that corner. The back always looks so bad this time of year. The yellow hose really makes the shot--but at least there are some calla lilies blooming. You can sort of see in the lower right corner where they are roughly planted in triangular patterns. Lots of buds on the lower right corner--I think that's 'Early On'--an early Patrick O'Connor Iris. The back drains down into the iris bed and the front (where the gargoyle and the 2 still bare Cypress trees are) drains back into the iris. They are definitely planted in a low spot but in ordinary garden soil. I use lots of soil sulfur and holly tone; and I feed foliar.

Debbie, How much water can LA iris take?I have one of those big light fiberglass pots that look like carved stone. It doesn't have any holes drilled in the bottom and I have some bog plants planted in it. The soil is pretty damp but no standing water. Just muddy I guess you'd say. Would they do OK in that much constant water?I really like th form of iris leaves and it would ,make a nice contrast to what is already in there(corkscrew rush,etc.)
On another note I didn't realize we could really grow calla lilies here. I've seen them in Lowe's etc and thought it would be a waste of money.What conditions do you have them in? thanks for the info..nancy

Yes teacup--they like a lot of water. They can grow in either bogs, ponds, or ordinary garden beds kept wept. Never, I mean never, let them dry out between Oct and mid-May down here or blooms will definitely suffer.