Iris and some Irids 2011

[PeterT]

Nice one David  , I havn't flowerd it yet despite sowing several times 

[David Nicholson]

Thanks Peter. Just the one flower from four plants and the other three look as though they won't flower this year.

[Arykana]

[Pascal B]

Iris barbatula, a Crug-farm collection

[daveyp1970]

Very nice Pascal,mine died this winter

[Pascal B]

Very nice Pascal,mine died this winter

Any idea why? This is the first season I grow it and it has survived the past tough winter without harm. I grow it in a medium moist raised bed of sand, composted bark and peat and the north side of my house where it gets ~ 6 hrs of sun during the height of summer. It should at least be fully hardy given the altitude it comes from?

[PeterT]

I Barbatula is winter dormant, It may simply have rotted through warming up to soon in wet ground or rotted with wet ground in winter. My plants are grown from seeds of a plant from Crug, in the west of Scotland where it has bulked up well in the open ground next to Mirtraeria, Iris cristata, Roscoea, and Auriculas.
I grow it in a humus rich raised bed. so far so good.

[daveyp1970]

Peter mine was in a pot and was only a young plant,and your right i think i may have got water in the pot to early,but a lesson learned.Oh by the way thank you for the cristata.

[arillady]

The only iris that has been in flower for at least a month is Iris planifolia

The unguicularis are beginning to flower as well. Here is the variegated form.

[Ezeiza]

Variegated, Pat?

[arillady]

Well some say it is virused which it may be but I keep it far from my extra specials. What do you think? It is always the deeper purple - if virused what is the form or species?

[Maggi Young]

See this for some smart Dutch Iris.......
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1315.msg204389#msg204389

[Ezeiza]

Normally, variegated means variegated foliage.

That flowers show mosaic means an advanced stage of infection.

If you have valuable irises, do not risk them by keeping a plant that is infected with a virus THAT INFECTS IRISES.

[PeterT]

I wouldn't Keep that unguic Pat, the streaking is not even as in I variagatas markings, nor a simple colour break as in something like Rosa mundi. I have seen an Unguic I think it was "Killarney Marble" which was mottled and said not to be virised. My plant went in the bin very quickly. There was another (possiably the same?) plant called "Caprice" in the 1960s with very even marbling, grown by an eminent alpine gardener of the day, and said not to have been virused, I wouldnt risk it though.
Virus can sit in one plant without transmitting for years but when it starts to spread it is like a chain of dominoes.

[arillady]

OK it will go to iris heaven forthwith. Thanks for the comments everyone.