Hermodactylus tuberosus

[Alan_b]

Formerly known as Iris tuberosus this should produce velvety brown iris-like flowers in spring but I only got one flower this year from quite a sizeable clump and it's a rare year where I get more than a few flowers.  Seemingly my light dry soil on chalk should be fine for it and it's in the tree-shaded rear of my garden where nothing much grows in summer.  Should I try some in full sun or is it the lack of spring rain in dry Cambridgeshire that is the problem?  Where do others flower this successfully?

[gordon julian]

I grow this  Iris here in Tasmania in a very sunny position , one tuber coming originally from the late Miss Essie Huxley in the South of Tasmania ; over the past 15 years it has multiplied extremely well and sets seed after flowering. The garden is only watered from any rain that falls as we are on limited tank water. Our 7 acre 'Maple Glen'  Deloraine property is currently for sale  and when sold we  will be moving back to Toowoomba in Queensland to a smaller size property

[Maggi Young]

A provenance from Miss Huxley is a good one, eh?!

 7 acres is a lot to cope with  - downsizing seems a good idea -  Best of luck with the sale of your property and a successful move, Gordon.

[Alan_b]

Hitherto I had always assumed that my problem with this plant was lack of rainfall but Gordon's comments (together with a bit of reading) have convinced me to try some in full sun to see if that does the trick.  The flowers are lovely if you can get them to appear but the paucity of comments here leads me to believe that they cannot be widely grown.  If somebody would like to try some I can certainly spare some tubers.  They are liable to end up on the compost heap if I cannot persuade them to flower more reliably.     

[Maggi Young]

They would never survive for us outside, Alan. We used to grow them quite successfully in a pot for showing though.  Lot the lot when the pot got left outside after a re-shuffle many years ago.

 I would love to try them  under glass again, if you could spare a couple. I find their colouring to be just beautiful.

[Darren]

I hadn't replied previously as my experience is only from growing it in pots. They won't survive outside here, despite our having similar soil to yours, as they would get eaten by slugs. We can't even keep normal reticulate Iris in the open garden for long for this reason.

I agree that full sun is likely essential. Brian Burrow, who lives nearby, tells me that light soils are actually not ideal for bulbous Iris, which prefer something a bit heavier provided it doesn't stay too wet in summer.

Like Maggi and Ian did, I grow and flower it well in pots under glass (a biggish potful made it to the Kendal show this year). Of my two clones originally from Mike Salmon, one is definitely more floriferous. So I wonder also if your clump is clonal and a more reluctant flowerer?

[Alan_b]

Mine all derive from a kind gift from Sylvia Norton, an expert in Lathyrus who lives not too far away.  I started them in a fairly sunny spot but where they tended to get shaded out by other surrounding plants during the summer.  They did not flower at all there.  So I moved about half to a spot in the shade where nothing much manages to grow in summer and they did a little better there - they will get some sun there from mid-afternoon in summer.  I've never knowingly had problems with either slugs or tenderness but I guess I might have a less floriferous clone.

I'll wait a while until they go dormant then I'll did them up, try some in sun and send some to you, Maggi. 

[arillady]

The best spots in my garden where they thrive is in full sun in an area with aril irises so they get a beating in summer and full sun all other times. We get around 20" of rain a year.

[Diane Clement]

I always thought this plant needed typical Mediterranean conditions, i.e. warm summers and not too wet.  However, I have grown it in the open garden, in a part shady bed for many years (we don't do full sun in our garden  ). 
It has survived for at least 15 or so years, sailed through all the very bad winters and whatever wet conditions it gets.  And the funny thing is that it has flowered best for me after the wettest winters, so I really don't know what it needs except that it seems to do OK for me.