an Iris question
Chad Schroter (Tue, 31 Aug 2004 09:12:42 PDT)

If Conroe is just North of Houston then I think the idea that the
winters are too warm and the summers too hot is probably correct.
Perhaps some shade at midday would help in the summer. Iris rebloomers
in general are most active during moderate weather in the spring and
fall, a long hot summer may take too much energy out of the rhizome for
it to flower that fall. On the other hand in San Diego CA (also zone
9-10) many beared Iris are ever bloomers, the temperatures near the
coast are more moderate and allow year-round growth. There are MANY
bearded Iris cultivars so there may be some which will flower well
there. Another Iris grower who moved to N. Florida reported similar
problems with Bearded Iris. The very few which did OK appear to be the
re-bloomers, since they are less (or more) daylength and/or temperature
dependent. The best bet is to get to know your gardening neighbors and
find out what works for them.

Chad Schroter

At 06:34 PM 8/30/2004, you wrote:

Hi,

I have a wonderful bearded Iris called 'Victoria Falls'. It think it

was

introduced 25-30 years ago. I grew it before in Alabama, and

enjoyed it

because
of the color, the rebloom, and the ease of care. It took care of
itself--never
seeming to need water and only a top dressing with aged manure once

or twice

a year.

Here in Conroe, zone 9a, it has been in the ground for about 2 years

in full

sun, in good-draining not-too-rich soil. It hardly blooms and does

not

rebloom. It grows well, and seems happy enough, except for July and

August when it
seems to sulk (I suspect it is heat).

So, what can I do to make this plant do better? I have a few other
reblooming bearded Iris hybrids, and they almost never bloom. They

grow

OK, but don't
bloom. Do they need a colder winter? The past 2 years temperatures

have

only
dropped to 25 F.

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