Oncoseason 2010

[Miriam]

And more:

[Rafa]

Amazing display!! Miriam and Oron, thank you once again for show us theses  botanical relics

[Armin]

My first thought too, Rafa - amazing display!
Many thanks Miriam.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Gorgeous flowers Miriam !!!
Thanks for showing them !

[David Nicholson]

Drooling again Luc! Lovely stuff Miriam.

[Gail]

Gorgeous pics of some lovely flowers - loved the shot of Iris bismarckiana with the ?burnet moth Miriam!

[BULBISSIME]

Stunning pics, flowers and forms Miriam and Oron !
And many many thank's to share them with all of us.
Nothing else to add, just would like to walk with you 

[TheOnionMan]

Miriam, thank you for the spectacle of Iris haynei and bismarckiana.. WOW

Tremendous amount of variability in I. haynei.  With I. bismarckiana, your photo bism2.jpg shows a rich radially arranged pattern of purple dashes.  With bism5.jpg, fine purple lines in the standards and nearly black falls, such incredible variability.

Miriam and Oron, do any of these Iris have a rich juicy scent (I always associate Iris with a strong fruity grape-like perfume)... they look as if they should have a wonderful perfume when sniffing these flowers.

Can any of these Iris be cultivated, under greenhouse conditions perhaps?

[Oron Peri]

Mark as far as i recall non of these species perfume, the only Iris species to perfume here is I. mesopotamica, which is highly perfumed, and in my opinion the best , something between a Freesia and Polianthes tuberosa.

In order to grow these oncos you need a lot of sun, highly ventilated area, dry, free drainage soil, nerves made of iron and lot of patient unluckily i don't poses any of these requirements...

[Ragged Robin]

Oron, Miriam and Hans, your photographs are truly magnificent showing Oncos in their element in their natural habitat.  I have never seen such unusual rich colours and markings in such a clear, fantastic desert light....thanks so much for the images to dream about.

[Miriam]

Glad you enjoyed the pictures  

Gail,
This is Zygaena graslini. There were many of these flying around.

Mark,
Iris haynei has a nice scent, but only noticeable when you get really close to it.
I know Iris auranitica from Syria has a strong scent.

I will add to Oron's saying about growing Oncos something very important-during summer dormancy, DO NOT water them.

[Oron Peri]

Miriam you are right i forgot to mention it, but i have to add that our summer starts in April and lasts until well Mid November, that is to say more than 7 months without a drop of water.

[Hans A.]

  WOW
Oron and Miriam, thanks for showing these glorious plants in its habitat in such a variation!

Thanks Robin - I think you could not make a better compliment.

[arillady]

Have been off air for a while with laptop problems hence my slow reply and drooling. Miriam could you please name some of the other plants growing with the Iris haynei on Mt Gilboa.
Do you come across ants and if so what sort where the arils grow as ants are supposed to relish the aril on the seed?
I have replanted this week all the aril rhizomes which I dug up in mid December after fairly good rains (for here). I have added much more gravel around and on top of the rhizomes in the hopes that they can stay insitu for a few years.
What are your thoughts on slow release 12month rose food as a fertilizer on the arils - I was thinking only a light sprinkling. We are on the lime side of neutral. Dolomite thoughts too??
We are having 30C days so have not watered in the arils at all. Most were shooting so I had to get them back in the ground as soon as possible.

[Oron Peri]

During the last few days, Miriam, Fred [Bulbissime], David Shachak and me met in order to see some of the best colonies of oncos.
Dew to the hotest February recorded  in the last 80 years, all Irises have almost finished their blooming season, much earlier than normal.

Today we went to see a very intresting colony of Iris haynei, growing in a semidesert area, a most variable population having much darker colors than the type.