Arilbred Question

I have yet to complete an entire year with arilbreds, though I have about 20 of them growing in flower pots. I got them fall, 2007, but didn't have a place to put them so I planted them in flower pots. They have grown pleasingly even though the growing season was almost over when I planted them. I just let them get buy on the natural moisture that fell over the winter - which wasn't much, but that didn't seem to bother them. I guess I did wet them down when I first put them in the pots, but after that they had no extra water.
So this spring, I found a place for one and naturally picked my favorite to plant. I noticed that it had grown lots of roots over the winter. I dug a whole, enriched it with compost and bone meal, then planted the whole thing. I watered it once to settle it in, then went away for 2 weeks. It has alternating between cold and warm lately, and freezes most nights. There has also been quite a bit of wind. But the leaves on my plant now look terrible. They have gone from green to green and brown. If any other plant did that, I would think it needed water, but from what I need, arilbreds don't like to be watered.
Anyone want to guess about what is wrong with the one I planted? Did I water it too much, not enough, plant it at the wrong time or what? I won't transplant any more until I know what is wrong.
I would really appreciate advice from anyone here who knows something about arilbreds. The one I transplanted was Sheik.

Arilbreds get water in the spring when they bloom but depending on aril content depends on if they need water after they bloom
pure Aril go dormant in the summer and should Never be watered but OB-, OGB-
Should be treated as any bearded
:)
Anita

Thanks! Sheik is listed as OGB and as 1/2 Aril. Is that consistant with watering before bloom?

mine including a pure regelia I. hoogiana does very well with spring rain and watering

Okay, I will water all of them until after they bloom.

Here's a link that might help you.

http://www.arilsociety.org/arilsociety.pl?culture

Except at planting, I never water my arilbreds at all or move/dig around them except when they're dormant in late summer. Your's just may be putting its energy into growing new roots and will recover. Good luck.

Neil

It is the watering that is confusing to me. We don't get much moisture at all here in New Mexico, somewhere between 13 and 14 inches per year in Los Alamos. I do water my tall bearded, but have been nervous about watering arilbred. I think you probably get a lot more moisture in Tennessee than we do, here in New Mexico, so maybe a little extra water would be good for arilbreds here. I will be going to the Aril Society convention in Albuquerque at the end of April and will no doubt learn a thing or two then about how people in the high deserts of New Mexico deal with water on their arilbreds. In the meanwhile, I am gathering all the facts I can from this forum.

This message was edited Apr 11, 2008 4:44 PM

I got my first one last fall and potted it up, leaving it on the back patio for the winter. It has done very well with practically no water all winter. We've recently began having some measureable rainfall so I try to keep it under the eaves. It's Mrs. Mohr and it has 2 increases and purple at the base of the leaves.
Wish I had some information regarding your high desert situation. I used to live in Alamogordo NM down near El Paso TX in the Tularosa Basin. We had mountains on 3 sides and were in a valley so we did get a bit more moisture than some other places in the state.


This message was edited Apr 11, 2008 6:49 PM

I live in Los Alamos, NM. It is at 7,300 ft. and we get more rain than nearby Santa Fe and quite a bit more than Albuquerque. We are also cooler than Albuquerque. Santa Fe is about the same temp and altitude. The soil can be alkaline or neutral, rarely acid. Mine is sand, but clay is common in some areas and so is caliche -- a hard layer of lime, just a few inches down in the soil. Caliche really makes gardening difficult. I am lucky not to have it.
Winters are sunny but can get pretty cold. Summers in Los Alamos and Santa Fe area mild, springs are windy, winters are cold and we get some snow, falls are magnificent. Cottonwoods are yellow and the brush called Chamisa is covered with golden plumes.
We have lots of arilbred breeders in the area, but I haven't met any yet. In fact, I don't actually know any locals who grow arilbreds -- but I will after the Albuquerque Arilbred Society convention at the end of this month.
I hear arilbreds do really well here. I just worry about exactly how to treat them.

Hey, dmac-

It's Lady Mohr (I sent it to you) and it grows more like a tall bearded than an AB. I'm glad it's growing for you.

Hi Neil:) It really is doing very well. I was a bit nervous about it but everything you sent is doing beautifully and all have little increases. I've got a little wish list going for a few more to try. I fell in love with dardanus originally so I might try to track one down:)

One other thought - is it planted too deeply. I have one that's formed a nice clump all of a sudden over the past two weeks the foliage is browning all the way to the center. I noticed yesterday that the rains had puddled up the mud around the foliage. The rhizomes were firm, but buried.... so I've dug the extra dirt away hoping for new growth.

This is Point Well Taken that opened yesterday:

This message was edited Apr 13, 2008 1:24 PM

Beautiful! I will check to see if it is planted too deeply. That could be the problem! Meanwhile I watered it and then it snowed on it a little. But I don't plan to transplant any more of them from pots until I figure this one out.

Two new favorites:

Emerald Fantasy

Child Song

Oooh! I've been looking at Emerald Fantasy for a couple of years now...so gorgeous!
Child Song is a beauty also!

I've been checking out my Lady Mohr daily for progress...just thickening stalk and plumping bud as yet:)

I did find that one of the ones you sent me that I hadn't been watching since it was little (thought is would take another season to acclimate) had bloomed! It was Cherry Garden and so beautiful a deep cherry color.

Neil, who do you buy your Aril's from? I found the biggest selection at Malevil and had planned to order a few from there.

Yes, most of mine are from Malevil. They send great plants and usually include a new introduction as a bonus. Emerald Fantasy and Child Song are both from there.

Remember that Cherry Garden is a standard dwarf iris so should be blooming now in most places, at least further south than new England which as yet not starting bloom season except for the I. reticulata & other bulbs.

Thanks, I'll make a note of that--it's my first standard dwarf:) And Lady Mohr my first arilbred. I now have a couple of new varieties to make wish lists for:lol:

I tried to grow arilbreds as an experiment so I had only one last year. I broke up the clay soil with sand and then I ordered about nineteen last summer and most of mine are from Malevile.

I had ordered Emerald Fantasy earlier this year. What a beautiful photo of it!

The other place I ordered arilbreds last year from is Superstition and so far, Maine being very wet, a place that is not supposed to be friendly to arilbreds, I only lost two out of about twenty. Byzantine Art and Concerto Grosso. Looks like some are even going to bloom this year. Turkish Topaz is an AR and all budded up. Can't wait!

Julianna

I think the first aril that I ever saw a photo of was Dardanus and I fell in love. I am going to get one of them too...it is a bit like Emerald Fantasy. My favorites tend to have a lot of veining and not so much the yellows.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendymerle/495504124/
http://img113.echo.cx/img113/125/irisdardanus4fo.jpg

That is really cool that they're doing well for you! I wish I had room for 20 but I'll have to be content with a choice few for the time being:)

I started with arilbreds this year -- some from the local AIS rhizome sale, some from the ASI society rhizome sale -- I put up the $10 and joined. I wasn't sure what to do with them and didn't have a place prepared for them so I put them in flower pots. Most are alive and growing, but I don't see any buds yet -- perhaps because they need to be in the ground. I moved one in the very early spring, Sheik it was, and it immediately looked terrible, though I think it is has started growing again. I have Emerald Fantasy and it looks very healthy so I don't want to touch it. I ordered Oyez for delivery this summer.
I am crazy for arils but have seen only one in bloom and haven't had any bloom in my garden. On the other hand, I only began growing them last summer, and had no clue what to do about them. I will have them all in the ground by the end of this summer and I have proved they will grow for me with virtually no care.
At the AIS convention in Austin a week or so ago, I saw one that is absolutely stunning. It was called Hakuna Matata. It looked just like a tall bearded, but the flower was way more exotic. I am hooked.
I will attach a picture of Hakuna Matata, though the ones in Plant Files are better.

I may have to take back what I said about not liking the yellow arils as much! That is rally beautiful! I'll have to see if we have a ASI here in my area. I've been thinking about joining some of the various plant societies around here.

My Lady Mohr is in a 5 inch pot and doing beautifully--only one stalk and bud, but since that was a surprise I'm happy!

The ASI doesn't have chapters. It is a sub-organization of the American Iris Society. You can join for $10 per year and that entitles you to buy from their wonderful plant sale each year. Here is its website ( which I got off the AIS site):

http://www.arilsociety.org/arilsociety.pl?index

It has a lot of good pictures on its sight and does a presentation each year at the AIS Convention. It sends out a publication and will have a convention in Albuquerque starting on Saturday. I am on my second year of membership and find it well worth the $10. But as far as I know, it has no local chapters. The rhizome sale is done by mail and works great -- bargain rhizomes.

But if you join for 3 years you get a gift certificate for the plant sale
:)
Anita

Thank you both! That looks like money well spent...just like my DG subscription:lol:

ASI is a co-operating society with AIS. When you join you might find someone in NC is a member and get their advice.

betsy Higgins is in NC and grows Arilbreds
:)
A

She is in Carolina Mountain Iris Society

Thanks! I think I'll be joining. I don't know how I ever missed seeing any of the arils over the years:lol: We always had TB iris growing up but now I'm starting to branch out and have found quite a few of the different types that I need to have.

here are a couple of pure aril from the Ariltrek
this is Purple Sequin a Howard Shockey pure aril introduction that never increased enough to distribute. This is the first time it has bloomed in 15 years

This is Iris paradoxa