Iain wrote: >IRIS. ...two here have cheered me up no .., the first is Iris >milesii and the second is Iris typhifolia but missing out Iris >lutescens would be a mistake although it is now 'going over' a bit. >The next big job, Iris maackii will be in a couple of weeks so >plenty to look forward to. Dear Iain and all, Iris milesii is a sadly overlooked relative of the far more common I. tectorum. I. milesii has been called the 'red' iris although it is far from true to color, it is reminiscent of a crested iris in flower and a bearded iris in growth form. A bit tender here, I have grown it off and on from seed, but it fails in a hard winter. Defintely recommended. I. typhifolia and I. maackii have an odd somewhat similar history. Both grow in extreme NW China around the Amur and Ussuri River swamps on the Russian border. Both were described a long time ago (the former in the 1920s, the later around 1880) but both were introduced to cultivation (partly by me) around my first trip to China (1989) and discussed in detail in my book on the Iris of China Iris typhifoia was greeted with some skepticism partly because the two other species of (garden*) Siberian Iris are so well known and at first growing looked nothing very special. Its uniqueness soon became apparent. The gently twisted Cattail (Typha) like foliage and clear blue-violet flowers easily 6 weeks ahead of all others in bloom. Today (partly due to my distribution of seeds and seedlings) the species is firmly in cultivation and many hybrids with other species have extended the bloom season of Siberian Irises in a major way. Today it is fully accepted and considered a prime garden plant. I maackii remains problematical as Iain suggested. The original collection consisted of seed pods only, later id'ed as I laevigata. But no other yellow iris is considered native there...unless the later plants were wild I. pseudacorus perhaps a local form. In cultivation it behaves like I pseudacorus and hybridizes readily. Considering the weedy attributes of I. pseudacorus, I maacki has not been so readily accepted as a garden iris. It is for the iris fan and a great object of study. And speaking of iris, I don't think we have discussed the 'so called' English iris here in quite a while. The species I latifolia is NOT native to England, but the French/Spanish Pyrenees. It is bulbous and two color forms are in bloom right now in my garden: 'Mt. Blanc' a pure white and 'King of the Blues' a deep velvety blue-purple with a great bright yellow signal on the falls. They are very similar to Dutch Iris, but more reliable and hardy (we HAVE discussed the difficulty of Dutch Iris as garden plants). The flowers of English Iris are larger and with good substance. There are many named cvs, but few regularly available. None are yellow (unlike Dutch Iris). The older name I xiphiodes, is sometime erroneously used for the species I have grown these before and recall loosing them in either an especially cold winter or very dry summer (they hate both). Growing to about 2 ft tall, they are suitable to middle of any perennial beds and their clear bright colors are excellent. Usually fairly inexpensive as fall bulbs, give them a try. And further, the nearly bulbous spurias are in bloom as Jim McK mentioned. The rhizomes can be short and nearly woody, but can also be treated like a bulbs (almost) when dormant. They run a range of colors from white to yellow, blue, blue, purple and reddish brown and every combination. I especially like the pure clear colors that stand out in the garden. Once established they are long (VERY LONG) lived and carefree. If they have a fault it is their potentially large size in both height and spread. Foliage and stems can top 3 ft and really old clumps can spread 20 feet across (but glorious in bloom). Some newer cvs are not as floriferous as they should be, but newer colors and form are excellent. Most people think of Iris as spring flowers, but growing a range of types you can have flowers over a very long period and we aren't nearly over the Iris season which easily extend to July and August before the reblooming types start up again. I seem to have gotten carried away...again. Try more species if you have the room. Enjoy Best Jim W. * as opposed to the 40 chromosome of Sino-Siberian irises. -- Dr. James W. Waddick 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 USA Ph. 816-746-1949 Zone 5 Record low -23F Summer 100F +