Iris are wonderful to grow in Arizona. They handle any temperature. They are drought tolerant. Hell, I never water mine and they bloom every year. The Javalina don’t eat them. They’re indestructible.
These photos are from ma’s front and back yard. Mine are kinda native and suffer my neglect with good natured aplomb. Ma however loves neat and orderly colors. She’s a Libra.
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One thing she hasn’t gotten into is breeding. I find the culture of breeding Iris to be quite interesting, as there is a huge amount of creativity and imagination in it. If someone creates a new breed, they get to name it whatever they want. Some of my favorites are Act of Kindness, Dangerous Mood, Let’s Be Brazen, Motown Sister and Southwest Tattooed Lady.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not separating the rhizomes every four years. This helps avoid over crowding and stunted growth from lack of nutrients. Plus, never re plant the inner most old rhizomes, as they have already bloomed and will not do so again.
There really are some amazing varieties out there and more are being created every year. It’s rather simple to cross pollinate to create your own variety. Just use a q-tip and select qualities that you want. If you have a big white one and would like it to be blue, and you a small blue one, just mix the pollen from the blue iris with the large flower and see what happens.
Breeding is an exercise in patience. You have to wait at least a year to find out what your results are. But what the heck, it’s better than reading about tRump’s latest asinine tweet.
These next photos were taken yesterday. I love the background of the red Photinia hedge.
A new one has proven to be taller than any I’ve seen. The stalks are a good three foot plus in height.
The best time of year to plant Iris is mid to late summer. Like fruit trees, they like the winter to get established and grow their root system before putting on a show.
Transplanting Iris should happen soon after they bloom. Trim back the foliage to encourage root growth.
A lot of literature says they need acidic soil. Tell that to these beauties that are growing in soil that is 8 or 9 pH.
A lot of varieties are re-bloomers. They will come out again in the fall, so you get two shows for the price of one. We’ve had them in bloom as late as November!
So, if you’re into Iris, what are your favorite varieties?
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