Species irises

[Garden_of_Mu]

Here's a few species irises I grow. If I remember right, there are over 400 species of irises worldwide, with the vast majority in the northern hemisphere, tho recent DNA analysis has just added a wide family of southern hemisphere species to the irisdiciae family.

I. foetidissima seedling - A seedling of the Citrina form. This species likes dry shade and has drab flowers but gorgeous seeds that display in fall when the pods break open and hang around for the winter being lovely. Citina has yellow flowers and yellow seeds. The usual variety has muddy purple flowers and orange seeds,a nd a rare form has white flowers and white seeds. I intend to inbreed this one in hopes of getting some wider mutations of form to do some line hybridizing. I have seeds for the white form but no plants yet.

I. versicolor - This is an east coast species that thrives in wet areas along waterways. Such a good performer and never gives me any problems. Very floriferous when happy.

Yellow spuria - A pretty variety of the spuria iris species that a friend gave me years ago. It is finally happy and blooms reliably. They like dry summers and usually go dormant once it gets hot. Our soil is more poor than they prefer so I do alot of mulching and fertilizing.

Half Magic - Not a species but a species cross - the product of a cross of a Pacific Coast iris with a Siberian iris. The result is sterile so no further refinement can be done, but it allows the color palette of the PCIs to be combined with the hardiness and vigor of Sibs. This one is exceptionally vigorous and floriferous.

English iris - I had always wanted to try these but could never find a source for them. Somehow I have chanced into two varieties from various friends. This dark purple one and a lavender one. They are bulbous irises, like dutch and spanish, but bloom much later and are much larger and hardier, IMO.

[Kas]

I love my Half Magic that Andi gave to me. I need to plant something purple or blue behind it, though, because it is blending in with my dwarf lilac. Still no bloom on the seedling I got from you, Mike. I moved it last year, so we will see what it does next season.