Oncos 2009

[Oron Peri]

A friend just told me he had seen I. atropurpurea in flower yesterday,
I am adding photos i took last year, but next week I'll try to take a photo of the yellow form too.
It is the first Onco to flower in Israel.

[arillady]

Oron,
So good to see exactly where the species grow naturally - must be pretty sandy - and the other plants which grow in the same area.
Look forward to more.
Pat

[Oron Peri]

Yes Pat it grows in  Pure sand

[BULBISSIME]

Oron,
Fantatstic to see them in situ !
What a plant !!!
You're really lucky to have this beauties near your home .
Thank's for sharing !

[Miriam]

Today I visited several locations that are 5 kilometers from my house (lucky me ) to see if the Iris atropurpurea has started to flower.
And it definitely  has started!

Oron, are those photos from Natania?

[Oron Peri]

Hi Miriam,
Great clumps and some nice brown ones!!!
Yes my photos were taken in Poleg, are there yellow forms near you?

[Miriam]

Hi Oron,

Those pictures were taken in the hill of Humra and there is an orange form there, but I did not see it today.

[art600]

Breathtaking 

[Hans A.]

Just great! 
Thanks Oron and Miriam!

@Miriam is the soil in this habitat also sand? I am a bit surprised about seeing Urginea next to Iris atropurpurea.

[Miriam]

Hans,
This habitat is located 3.5 kilometers from the sea, on a low hill made out of Eolianite (Kurkar in Hebrew) and the soil above is a coarse sand with a bit of red loam-well drained soil.

[arillady]

Oron and Marian,
Is there a chance that this season as you post photos of the different species that you also say what the soil is like that they grow in- maybe the nearby plants too? - location too if you don't mind the world knowing - this is the internet where these messages can be found by a google seach as I found out when looking up something recently.
Pat

[Maggi Young]

Oron and Marian,
Is there a chance that this season as you post photos of the different species that you also say what the soil is like that they grow in- maybe the nearby plants too? - location too if you don't mind the world knowing - this is the internet where these messages can be found by a google seach as I found out when looking up something recently.
Pat

I agree with Pat, it is good to know what sort of soil and conditions these plants are growing in in the wild, but I would be anxious about much detail being given about their whereabouts...... these and so many of the other plants and bulbs discussed in this Forum are subject to CITES restrictions, over and above any local regulations about conservation and it would be a bad thing if any of these glorious plants were to be put at risk by disclosing their locations.

[Miriam]

Maggi,
You are absolutely right!
Even in Israel, we don't reveal the exact locations of the rare species and forms on public forums for the safety of these Irises.

[Maggi Young]

How wise you are, Miriam, to be cautious..... I was shown, only recently, references to  newspapers/websites, where there are reports of  well-known seed-seller V. Pilous  having been detained  last Spring in Turkey with many hundreds of rare Iris species in his possession, all dug from the wild .... and claiming they were for a migraine cure  

[arillady]

Miriam and Oron,
Good to see that exact sites are not disclosed. Maybe just, eg at 200m growing on .......sand/soil in the vicinity of ..... or SW Israel etc
If you are not likely to be suspected of interfering with the irises is there a chance of letting us know how deep down the rhizomes are growing. Do they want to be not far from the surface or do they dig themselves down deeper to a more even temperature in the sand/soil?  You probably know this already anyway.

I try to place a good layer of course gravel over my rhizomes - most have about 2" of gravel above them at least but I would like to add more gravel. Just wondering what the irises do in their native habitat. The more information the better prepared we are to be able to grow them successfully - hence no valuable seed wasted. By the way there is a good article in the new British Iris Society 2008 Iris Yearbook about how junos and oncos are successfuly grown in Cornwall.

As I type this I am reminded of a friend who thought she would sprinkle some water saving crystals around some old rose clumps on the roadside (this was summer and in the same district where someone was lighting fires) and she later had a visit from the police as to what she was up to.
Pat