Could it be Watsonia borbonica? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watsonia_borbonica
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#17
User Profiles / Re: MarcR
June 02, 2022, 10:38:33 AM
Oh my goodness, that list of irids is absolute music to my ears!!! I only grow about half of those, though. You need to try Alophia if you can get your hands on it. A. drummondii and A. veracruzana are two of my favorites.
#18
User Profiles / Iridaceae, Gesneriaceae, and Amaryllidaceae
June 02, 2022, 10:34:34 AM
Howdy from Ohio! I've been gardening here for 25 years and my 3 favorite families of plants are Irises, Gesneriads, and Amaryllids. I'm especially fond of the species from the Americas... and even more so those that are locally native. I'm doing lots of hybridizing work with Iris (outdoors) and Sinningia (indoors)... and I've dabbled in hybridizing Smithiantha, Eucodonia, Hippeastrum, Polianthes (now Agave), and Hymenocallis. Another hybridizing obsession I have is with Opuntia (some are geophytic, some are not) also known as prickly-pear cactus.
With Opuntia my focus is crossing the native Ohio species with nearly-native species from the east coast, deep south, and central plains. The idea is to expand the color pallet of what will happily grow outdoors here.
With Agave my focus is crossing the native Ohio species with fragrant and colorful species from the south & southwest. The idea is to get colorful, fragrant, showy plants that can happily grow outdoors here year round.
With Iris there's almost too much to talk about. To say I'm obsessed would be an understatement. For about 20 years I was the webmaster for the Aril Society International, and for over 20 years and counting I've been the webmaster for the Species Iris Group of North America. I have grown dozens of Iris species from around the world and hundreds if not thousands of hybrids. I've gone on Iris expeditions in Greece, Ohio, Kentucky, Newfoundland, and northern California. I love to hybridize irises too. Each year my focus shifts a little bit. Sometimes it's strictly arilbreds, sometimes it's Louisianas, and then this year it's crossing bearded irises with Iris tectorum.
With Sinningia, it's just pure fun. For reasons which defy my comprehension, I can easily grow species that other growers can't. And that gives me unique opportunities at hybridizing with them, and my success has been astonishing! Here in Ohio we get 4 to 6 months of wintery weather that keeps me indoors. That's when I play with my Sinningias. I do not grow them outside, and I am not hybridizing for hardiness. My overwhelming success with them indoors means that they are strictly indoor plants for me.
Despite all of my hybridizing activity I have only named & introduced one plant into commerce. It is ×Smithicodonia 'Clara the Storyteller', a hybrid between a Eucodonia and Smithiantha. Picture attached. It has pink flowers with yellow throats dotted heavily in pink. The leaves are chartreuse-green with red veins. There aren't a lot of ×Smithicodonia in commerce, and this one is totally unique.
With Opuntia my focus is crossing the native Ohio species with nearly-native species from the east coast, deep south, and central plains. The idea is to expand the color pallet of what will happily grow outdoors here.
With Agave my focus is crossing the native Ohio species with fragrant and colorful species from the south & southwest. The idea is to get colorful, fragrant, showy plants that can happily grow outdoors here year round.
With Iris there's almost too much to talk about. To say I'm obsessed would be an understatement. For about 20 years I was the webmaster for the Aril Society International, and for over 20 years and counting I've been the webmaster for the Species Iris Group of North America. I have grown dozens of Iris species from around the world and hundreds if not thousands of hybrids. I've gone on Iris expeditions in Greece, Ohio, Kentucky, Newfoundland, and northern California. I love to hybridize irises too. Each year my focus shifts a little bit. Sometimes it's strictly arilbreds, sometimes it's Louisianas, and then this year it's crossing bearded irises with Iris tectorum.
With Sinningia, it's just pure fun. For reasons which defy my comprehension, I can easily grow species that other growers can't. And that gives me unique opportunities at hybridizing with them, and my success has been astonishing! Here in Ohio we get 4 to 6 months of wintery weather that keeps me indoors. That's when I play with my Sinningias. I do not grow them outside, and I am not hybridizing for hardiness. My overwhelming success with them indoors means that they are strictly indoor plants for me.
Despite all of my hybridizing activity I have only named & introduced one plant into commerce. It is ×Smithicodonia 'Clara the Storyteller', a hybrid between a Eucodonia and Smithiantha. Picture attached. It has pink flowers with yellow throats dotted heavily in pink. The leaves are chartreuse-green with red veins. There aren't a lot of ×Smithicodonia in commerce, and this one is totally unique.
#19
General Discussion / Iris × tetra-versata
June 02, 2022, 09:26:01 AM
Iris × tetra-versata, a hybrid between Iris versicolor (of eastern North America) and Iris ensata (of eastern Asia). Both parent species are diploid but my plants are derived from tetraploid parents & so should be fertile, but in all my years I haven't succeeded in hybridizing it with anything but other tetra-versatas.
This week I'll get pollen of some tetraploid Cal-Sibs from a kind & generous grower on the west coast. I'm hoping that proves compatible.
Dennis in Cincinnati
This week I'll get pollen of some tetraploid Cal-Sibs from a kind & generous grower on the west coast. I'm hoping that proves compatible.
Dennis in Cincinnati