Iris - where does it sit?

AW awilson@avonia.com
Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:18:05 PDT
Glad to get the information. I'll look into it. I am growing these ones
about five inches below water. They appear to thrive, are spreading
laterally with many blooms open together. In this dry climate it is
unthinkable to plant them closer to the margins and be sure that they will
not suffer. That's quite different from how I treat the also very beautiful
Pacific Coast group that are flourishing here after a wet and, more
important, lengthy cool season. They will be allowed to go dry in a fewweeks
and then take the rest of the season off. 

Andrew   


Louisiana Irises are beardless irises in the series Hexagonae.  There are
five species:  Iris brevicaulis, Iris fulva, Iris giganticaerulea, Iris
nelsonii, and Iris hexagona.  And there are countless hybrids between them.
All these species & hybrids are classified as "Louisianas".

There's a society for them (of which I'm a life member):
http://www.louisianas.org/

There's even a Facebook page for them:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/LouisianaIris

Yours is probably not a pure brevicaulis.  It's too dark.  It looks like a
hybrid with fulva or nelsonii in it.  It's hard to guess exactly.

Are the stems heavily zig-zag shaped, like this?
http://signa.org/index.pl/…

I've grown Black Gamecock and Dorothea K. Williamson, and Black Gamecock is
darker.  Again, it's hard to guess exactly, but B.G. wouldn't be my top pick
based on your photo.

Modern Louisiana hybrids are exceptionally flamboyant, as you can see here:
http://iriscitygardens.com/newintroductions.html
I think they are superior to tall bearded irises, and they have displaced
all others as "my favorites" in my garden.  Iris borer is not a problem
because I grow them submerged in water.  The borer larvae can't reach the
rhizomes!  Mwahahahaha...  ;-)

Dennis in Cincy
(where LA irises will be blooming in a couple weeks)


> Thanks to all who have answered so far. I do not know the varietal 
> name, but I suspect 'Black Gamecock' is a possibility. What I really 
> wanted to know is whether it belongs to I. brevicaulis as a varietal 
> or whether it might be a hybrid of some sort. People use the term 
> 'Louisiana Iris' somewhat loosely.
> As I read it, this group includes several species. Thanks
>
> Andrew
>
>
> My guess would be Black Gamecock which shows a lot of Iris brevicaulis 
> influence for a Louisiana hybrid in flower shape and size but is much 
> darker and richer in color such as the photo shows.
>
> --
> Alani
> Tallahassee, Florida
>
> _______________________________________________
> pbs mailing list
> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php
> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/
>



More information about the pbs mailing list