Iris reticulata and forms 2008

[Lesley Cox]

Well that was it Paul, white in comparison to the dark one. I did say ALMOST white.

[art600]

Lesley
What mix to you use for your reticulate Iris?  Do you leave them exposed all year round? - I know thy like a summer bake and not sure what summers are like at the foot of the world.

[Lesley Cox]

With respect to the English climate Arthur, our summers are rather warmer and drier than yours, in general. There can be periods of two months when we have not a drop of rain and the temps may be to 33C though here, near Dunedin they are more usually around the high 20s.

I use just my ordinary gritty potting mix as for everything else. It's based on pine bark very finely crushed and composted, a local product known as "superdirt," with a little loam, about 10% and a total of about 20% sharp and course grit. I add some Osmacote Plus (trace elements), high potash, 9 month formulation. I use this for everything, including seeds. I might add some extra humus such as leaf mould for gentians or other cool soil plants, but there's nothing scientific about any of my potting methods.

The reticulate irises are let dry off when the foliage begins to look tatty and they're not watered at all from then but if there IS rain, they get it because they're not grown under cover at all. (Should say that I. winogradowii and KH and SAG are grown in the more humusy mixture. They are not encouraged to get too dry, and really are better planted in the garden, in a coolish, non-drying place.)

Otherwise all the reticulate iris are very nice in the rock garden and do well in what is mostly loam with a bit of grit added at planting time. Again, they get whatever rain there is, plus some watering as well, because after all, there are herbaceous plants there as well, but not a lot of watering as they are in the places where sun-loving plants are happiest.

These two out today. The first is 'Pauline' and the second is an odd little aberration in the pot of very pale blue/white seedlings, shown above. There is prominent pollen, not quite ready yet but if it ripens tomorrow I'll try in on something. The pale seedlings are just beginning to push their buds through.

[art600]

Thanks Lesley

Mine thrive in the garden, I am just hoping to get a better yield in pots - especially my seedlings from Alan McMurtrie seed.

[Paul T]

Lesley,

Very nice.  The first of my retics opened today as well, one called 'Gordon' with a blue and violet combination.  I shall probably be putting some histrio pollen onto it tomorrow!    Worth a try at least. 

[Lesley Cox]

'Gordon' is bakeriana x reticulata so it will be an interesting hybrid if it takes.

[Paul T]

And that is the big "if" isn't it!    Not sure whether to try to save histrio pollen for particular crosses, or just cross them as they come out.  Tried cross pollinating retics before but have never been successful, which is why I am somewhat surprised that the histrio selfing on the original flowers appears to have taken.  Maybe just more fertile?  I have quite a few named "retics" (i.e not knowing the exact parents involved, but probably not pure retic), but no idea which ones to aim for with the histrio, or which ones to cross between themselves.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi these are soem pics that Otto took in his garden (which i posted for him on the Winter in the Southern Hemisphere thread) and we're hoping for some confirmation about the first:
Is this Iris histrioides "Lady beatrix Stanley"?

The next one is Iris histrio (or histrioides) received from E.B. Anderson

This is iris danfordiae, from Janis Ruksans,

And this is Iris histrio ssp aintabensis MT4501 collected by mathew and Tomlinson in Turkey,

And a large clump of "Harmony"

cheers
fermi on behalf of Otto Fauser in the Dandenongs!

[Lesley Cox]

Re the 'Beatrix Stanley,' it's one I've never had so can't help at all. The various forms seems to have been mixed around too, as different people have supplied them in the UK. Hard to say what any is with any confidence (failing someone like Brian Mathew checking into the Forum occasionally).

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

A couple of retics in flower at the moment.  'Gordon' is a little more violet in the falls than in the pic.... can't quite capture the intensity of colour.... and if anyone can tell me the ID of the unknown that would be great.  It is a mistaken supply, definitely not what it is supposed to be, and I am figuring it is 'Purple Gem' or 'J.S. Djit' or something like that but I can never remember which has white signals and which have yellow etc, plus there are still others that I don't have that it could also be.  I figured that people up here might be the best ones to ask.  Pretty, whichever it is. 

[Jim McKenney]

and if anyone can tell me the ID of the unknown that would be great.  It is a mistaken supply, definitely not what it is supposed to be, and I am figuring it is 'Purple Gem' or 'J.S. Djit' or something like that but I can never remember which has white signals and which have yellow etc, plus there are still others that I don't have that it could also be.  I figured that people up here might be the best ones to ask.  Pretty, whichever it is. 

Paul, that looks like what I know as 'Pauline'. What do others think? For me, this is one of the most persistent of the reticulate irises.

Under my conditions, few reticulate irises are reliable garden plants over the long run. However, if one is willing to go to the trouble of keeping them dry during the summer, most do well and persist indefinitely.

The old "original" clone of Iris reticulata has been here for over forty years, growing without any care or special attention! In general, the reticulate irises of the color range shown in 'Pauline' and 'J S Dijt' seem to have the best staying power as garden plants here.

[David Nicholson]

Lord knows I'm no expert and these little beggers, although very beautiful, are sometimes very difficult to tell apart. I think Otto's 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' probably is and I have posted a picture below taken a picture from Rob Potterton's Web Site which might be useful.

The following I have extracted from Janis Ruksan's 'Buried Treasures might also be helpful:-

"Another two relatives of iris reticulata grow in Turkey; I. histrio and I. histrioides. Both can be distinguished by their larger falls and by their bract and bracteole, which in I. reticulata are green and rather rigid but in the other two species are thin and papery, white, or only faintly tinged green. Iris histrio has falls that gradually merge into the claws, while in I. histrioides there is a clearly defined sinus between the falls and claw. I have never had an occasion to collect I. histrioides in the wild, and all the forms I grow are of Dutch origin. The most spectacular is 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' with large bright blue flowers and falls covered with white spots. It is so similar to all the samples of I. histrio that I have collected from Turkey that without studying the falls and claws it is not easy to tell which species is in front of me. In the case of I. histrio I would characterise the fals as white with blue spots in the middle. The forms of I. histrio from Syria are more violet in shade, with smaller falls that look more nervate than spotted. In general they more closely resemble I. histrioides var. sophenensis......."

Or does it muddy the waters?

As far as Paul's purple form is concerned it looks to me rather like Pauline (Lesley posted a pic of her's a few days ago) but there are other possibilities ie: Purple Gem  

[Lesley Cox]

I think it would have to be either 'Pauline' or 'Purple Gem.' 'J.S.Dijt' has a bright orange signal stripe on the fall and is slightly redder than the other two. 'Pauline' may be marginally lighter coloured than 'Purple Gem.'

[Paul T]

I knew that one of them had the strong colour on the signal, but get them all confused which was why I ask.  So the differences between 'Pauline and 'Purple Gem' are minimal?  Why in teh world register them separately then.   Economics, I guess.

[Otto Fauser]

Lesley, all the I. reticulata crosses I have grown over the years from Alan Mc. Murtries seeds have flowered much of a muchness, a bit disapointing,
 
Paul, I,m almost certain your unitentified I. ret. is "Pauline" with its white  signals, it has been available in Australia for many years.

  David , Thank you so much for quoting Janis Ruksans on I.histrioides and histrio . ,and for the photo of I.h. "Lady Beatrix Stanley".I'm almost certain now that I have the right Lady, and also that E.B.Anderson's Iris is the Syrian form I. histrio.
     Ciao Otto.