Showing posts with label bloom season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bloom season. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2022

A Year in the Life: A Tall Bearded Iris in a French Garden

by Sylvain Ruaud

The irises in Les Liliacées (1812) were illustrated by Pierre-Joseph Redouté.
Source: gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France

An iris is immortal! At least in theory. Let's say, rather, that it cannot die. It is this faculty that allows us to enjoy an iris in our gardens which was illustrated, described, or selected by Messieurs RedoutéJacques or Lémon in the 19th century. A predictable process of vegetative propagation gives irises the extraordinary power to clone themselves. Not only can irises live forever, but they also do not age. Irises produced asexually retain all genetic characteristics of the original plant. So, one year in the life of an iris is not much. A healthy iris will live many years and throughout this time it will look very similar except for variations due to weather or tribulations inflicted by humans.

A year in the life of an iris is a perpetual narrative punctuated by the movement of the Earth around the Sun. In France (and other places in the Northern Hemisphere), let’s say the iris year begins in September. This is when temperatures decrease and the iris clump wakes from a period of rest.  It is time for each iris to resume growth and prepare for the future. In our modern irises, those containing I. aphylla genes, the foliage which usually captures energy from the Sun has almost completely dried up. All that remains are short stumps that provide the bare minimum. These leaves will grow a little to facilitate photosynthesis. Just what is needed…a break from fasting. Breakfast!

I. aphylla, a mountain plant, knew not to expose its delicate tissues to frost. The needs of its descendants could be satisfied with a few centimeters of leaf growth. New leaves will remain sheltered within older ones in case of snow. Most new growth will occur below ground and manifests itself by the appearance and development of buds on the sides of the rhizome. These buds are the beginnings of the new plants that will replace irises that lived during the previous season. Assuming sufficient water is available, the combination of rhizome and buds is all that will be required to reproduce identical replacements for a plant that lived the previous year. There is no loss, no degeneration. 

Little by little, the small buds develop into rhizomes. A few weeks after they appear, the round white structures give birth to the three initial shoots at the tip of their tiny rhizomes. These shoots don’t do very much when temperatures are low but enjoy active and vigorous growth when conditions are warm. When the shoots get large enough, three small leaf plumes will spring up from the ground. 

The rhizome is actually a modified stem. As the rhizome grows, lateral plumes become true leaves that frame the central plume. The central plume rises vertically as a cylindrical stem. This stem is also referred to as a bloom stalk; it is solidly anchored to the rhizome in the ground and supports flowers for a new generation. 

Although slow at the beginning, the growth of the iris will suddenly accelerate starting in mid-March (for this latitude). The timing of the growth spurt varies according to the sunshine and the heat of the air, but it is a crucial time in the life of new irises. Plants will not only have to prepare for skyward take-off, but they must also build up flesh in the rhizome. The flesh of the rhizome acts as an energy reserve for the growth spurt that pushes magnificent flowering structures high into the air.  If an open flower is successfully fertilized, then the rhizome must also nourish a seed capsule until it reaches maturity. Necessary materials are drawn not only from the Earth but also from the air around the plant. Leaves must take in a compound necessary for plant metabolism (carbon dioxide) and release a gas produced during photosynthesis (oxygen). Hence it is absolutely necessary that leaves be healthy and well developed. If they are broken or cut, our iris will be weakened.

The stalk that supports tall bearded iris flowers has an exceptionally fast growth rate: roughly 1.5 cm per day! This is the most active period of the year for an iris. To achieve this, the iris draws on energy from the rhizome and water from the soil. Spring rains are essential to transport materials above the foliage and into flowers offering rewards to pollinating insects. When spring arrives a tall bearded iris stem has reached its maximum height: between 75 cm and 1 meter. Although some varieties exceed these dimensions, is not advantageous because of possible damage from wind or rain showers. Neither is lacking in my location. Foul weather may easily knock down a tall iris stem — destroying the efforts of the plant and the hopes of the gardener. 

One may wonder how nature solved the problem of keeping irises upright. Indeed, there is a natural imbalance: most of the load is positioned away from the base, and the rain that falls on the flowers adds weight to the structure. To resist, the iris extends its roots towards the front of the plant. It is like claws that cling to the ground. To perfect this anchorage, the roots differentiate their form based on soil structure. In soft soils, iris roots are long and thin. In rocky soils, they are few but thick. That's why the iris likes stony soils and dreads light soils. In spite of everything, some tall bearded stems fall over. This may be due to genetic weakness in the plant, but the fault is more often due to a lack of water or sunlight. Tall bearded irises require at least half a day of sunlight.

It is now spring, and we are in full-bloom season. The buds open one by one. It is not necessary for many flowers to open at the same time. There are several reasons for this: 1) a staggered opening extends the flowering period for pollinators (and human iris lovers); 2) by opening at the same time, large, showy flowers get in the way of each other; and 3) when many flowers are open, weight at the end of the stalk increases, increasing the risk of falling. Each is something an iris hybridizer examines before selecting a new plant for introduction.  Thus, such imperfections have become rare. 

The big bumblebees, greedy of the nectar of the iris, multiply the landings on the sepals and introduce themselves in the calyx then leave it backwards, carrying their load of pollen towards another flower which they will fertilize…unless a human hybridizer has came along beforehand to dab pollen for a cross of their own. There is a lot of activity in the garden, but it will not last long! The iris season is short...

This brings us to the month of June. Most of the flowers have faded and the plant, which has made an intense effort, enters summer dormancy. With its duty accomplished, the iris forgoes growth processes and instead will focus on keeping existing structures healthy. As temperatures rise throughout the summer,  iris leaves may dry up. Meanwhile, processes underground prepare the plant for the following season. The rhizome slowly reconstitutes its reserves and prepares a new set of buds. Above ground, mysterious work continues within the ovary of the fertilized flower. The watermelon-shaped capsules swell as seeds inside develop. At the beginning of August, seeds approach maturity until one day the capsule containing them bursts open.  The attentive gardener will watch for this event and harvest the seeds he covets before they fall to the ground and scatter. Meanwhile, under the crust of earth warmed by the summer sun, nature completes the development of new rhizomes, those that will be responsible for renewing the initial variety.

The annual cycle is completed. Our iris is ready for the new season...

Monday, July 4, 2016

This is Normal, I Swear...

By Vanessa Spady

As happens to many of us who have fallen in love with irises, my plans, schedule, diet, and social life are all drastically altered when bloom season approaches. It’s just a truth that I have learned to acknowledge, and have had to gently acclimate the important people in my life to this as well.

You, too, may suffer from Seasonal Monopolistic Iris Lallygagging Epidemic (SMILE).

I know the month and week varies regionally, but for me the syndrome begins in March. See if you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself:


  • A willingness to allow otherwise important life activities to lapse
  • A surge in getting up extra-early to walk through your garden to see if any buds have developed
  • A sense of urgency to repeat the above activity several times daily
  • A refusal to heed weather conditions that would otherwise keep you indoors
  • A complete disregard for social engagements that would cause you to be away from your garden for more than ten hours
  • A compulsion to count—and recount—the buds and stalks forming on your iris
  • Several sets of otherwise “past their prime” garments kept on-hand for sudden excursions to your garden to adjust sprinklers, fencing, and other items that might interfere with the growth of buds
  • A strong drive to look at photos of irises you already own in anticipation of your own blooms
  • A lack of social skills in any arena not directly related to your buds, blooms, hybridizing, or other critical maintenance of your iris garden
  • An aversion to having any “wildcard” elements in your garden, such as children, pets, neighbors, less-attuned spouses and friends, and anyone possibly less obsessed with irises than yourself



These are serious symptoms, and if you find that you recognize yourself in any of the above listed behaviors, do not panic! The good news is that you are going to be fine. Bloom season is limited, and chances are you will be able to resume a somewhat normal life within two to three weeks after the last bloom appears. It helps if you have someone in your life who also has SMILE, and you can have a “buddy system” for ensuring that you eat, sleep, and bathe enough to keep gardening.

I also find it helps if you can acknowledge to those around you, early on if possible, that you will be subject to SMILE when your irises begin to form stalks. Their understanding that you will be influenced by SMILE for a short period each Spring will allow you to re-integrate into your normal life with fewer apologies required.

Let me see if my story will help you in your recovery from SMILE:

I go out to my garden as often as five times a day when the buds are forming. I count them. I write down which ones form on which dates. Then, when they begin opening, I write down which ones open on which date. I make a photo box (more on that later), and shoot the blooms on the first day they open, as early in the morning as possible. I take multiple photos of each first bloom, sometimes as many as 20 each, to ensure I have a good, focused shot. I will then shoot the same blooms around day 3 (or day 2 if it has been warm), to compare the progression of the bloom.

I enter all this data into my computer.

I get up as early as possible so that I’m in my garden in the earliest part of the day, with the best light, to catch the blooms as they first open.

AND I have been helping my friend Chris hybridize, which means spending hours each weekend morning, as early as we can, harvesting anthers, hybridizing, record-keeping, tagging, photographing, and of course, admiring all the new blooms.

I do this until it is too hot, or too late to hybridize (yes, here in central California, it can get too hot to work outside after about 11 am, even in early Spring). So once I am forced inside by the heat, I can download all my photos, catalog the data, and then start sharing them online. Maybe, somewhere in there, I will remember to eat.

Soon after that, it begins to cool down, and I go outside to start watering and checking for new blooms. I do this until after dark. Perhaps I might come inside and eat, and have a shower. If I’m not too tired.

It only lasts a few weeks... that’s my justification for ignoring friends, family, pets, work, other chores, housework, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and pretty much the rest of my life. The heat here means our bloom season comes fast and doesn’t last too long, so I give myself up to my garden as much as I possibly can. I SMILE, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

So, good-bye normalcy, hello SMILE. Iris, you really got a hold on me. See you next year, ok?

A fraction of the results:

'Orange Harvest' Bennett Jones, R. 1986). Seedling #74-34-5. TB, 32" (81 cm). Midseason bloom and rebloom (late October in Oregon). Bright medium orange; red beard; slight fragrance. 'Orange Chiffon' X seedling #69-24-5: ((( 'Spanish Gift' x 'Marilyn C') x Shoop seedling #63-18) x (( 'Spanish Affair' x 'Marilyn C') x Hamblen seedling #H5-35)). Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden, B Jones 1988.


'Can Can Dancer' Larry Lauer, R. 1997) Sdlg. 91-195. TB, 36" (91 cm), Midseason bloom. Standarads and style arms yellow; Falls purple, edged brown, shoulders yellow; beards mustard; ruffled; slight sweet fragrance. ('Edith Wolford' x 'Ragtime') X (('Edith Wolford' x 'Ragtime') x M. Dunn M78-657, 'Personal Friend' sib). Stockton 1997. Honorable Mention 1999.


'Let's Fly' (Schreiner, R. 2015) Seedling TT 1024-C. TB, 34" (86 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards yellow (RHS 8A); Falls veined purple-violet (81B), edged yellow; beards orange. KK 914-A: (CC 1402-2: ('Burgermeister' x AA 1638-A: (S 324-40: ('Latin Lady' x  'Bristo Magic') x 'Leading Edge')) x CC 760-A, 'Bold Fashion' sibling) X 'Jamaican Dream'. 2015 Schreiner.


'Revere' (Joseph Ghio, R. 2001). Seedling 97-36B. TB, height 40" (102 cm). Very early to early mid season bloom. Standards white, yellow halo; style arms white, fringed gold;Falls white, blue rim; beards gold. 95-36C. 'Impulsive' sibling, X 'Dear Jean'. Bay View 2002.


'Crystal Gazer' Keith Keppel, R. 2002). Seedling 96-45D. TB, 34" (86 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards medium violet blue (M&P 42-FG-8/9) paling (42-C-7) toward edge; style arms light violet blue (42-C-7); Falls blue lilac (42-BC-4) paling to silvery lilac white center; beards lilac lavender (42-BC-2/3), soft ibis pink (1-B-10) in throat; ruffled, lightly laced. 'Lotus Land' X 'Fogbound'. Keppel 2002.



'Trajectory' Paul Black, R. 1997). Sdlg. 91207A. SDB, 13" (33 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards dark purple; style arms white, edged purple; Falls darker purple, white luminata patch; beards white; pronounced spicy fragrance. 'Black Star' X 87130J: ( 'Chubby Cheeks' x 85319B: ( 'Gentle Air' x 'Chubby Cheeks' sibling)). Mid-America 1997.



'Lip Service' Joseph Ghio, R. 2000) Seedling 96-153Q. TB, height 34" (86 cm), Early, midseason, late bloom. Standards violet, paling to apricot at edge; style arms apricot pink; Falls apricot with violet overlay; beards light tangerine. 94-170K, 'Stage Lights' sibling, X 'Entangled'. Bay View 2001. Honorable Mention 2004.











Saturday, May 18, 2013

Louisiana Iris Bloom Season on Caddo Lake

Enjoying the Louisiana Iris bloom season on Caddo Lake, LA
By Ron Killingsworth


Louisiana irises, mostly iris.giganticaerulea alba, growing in a pond

Spring bloom turned out to be very nice, even though we had an unusual April this year.  After a really early spring last year, the year began normally enough, only for old man winter to return with a few exceptionally cold days and nights. Cloudy weather followed.  We even had a couple of very late freezes that made it all the way to New Orleans.  The poor irises did not know what to do.  Just about the time things seemed to settle down, my wife Sue and I headed out to Dallas, Texas, to attend the American Iris Society convention, immediately followed by the Society for Louisiana Irises convention.  The crazy weather followed us to Dallas and we experienced some cold and raining weather while trying to tour gardens.

After a week and a half in Dallas, we returned to Northwest Louisiana and irises in bloom.  The next few weeks were busy with tours, photographing and marking off irises that had strayed from their beds.  And here it is, already fall, and I finally found time to share some spring photographs with you.

Usually I just take pictures of the irises to insure that the correct iris is in the assigned bed.  Sometimes the irises in the adjoining bed will stray into a neighboring bed and bloom season is the only time to tell one iris from another.  This year, however, I decided to also take quite a few "scene shots" of irises growing in the many locations here on Caddo Lake.

'Fringed Gold'  D. L. Sheppard (1992)

'Fringed Gold' closeup

'Our Friend Harry'  Ron Killingsworth (2011)


'Cocka The Walk'  Joe Musacchia (2005)

'Heavenly Glow'  Richard Morgan (1988)

Louisiana irises abound by Caddo Lake in Northwest Louisiana

Louisiana irises with Caddo Lake and bald cypress trees in background

Louisiana irises grow by pond in front of the greenhouse

'Professor Neil'  Mertzweiller, J 1990 and 'Her Highness' Livingston 1967

Louisiana irises with pond and Caddo Lake in background

'Professor Neil' in foreground with iris.pseudacorus (yellow) in background and Caddo Lake with bald cypress trees

'Longue Vue'  Dormon Haymon 1999 with Caddo Lake in background.
I hope you have enjoyed the views.  Learn more about growing Louisiana irises at the Society for Louisiana Irises website. For more information on Caddo Lake in NW Louisiana visit Caddo Lake website.  For more information about the bald cypress trees in Louisiana just visit Bald Cypress Trees.  Simply click on any of the links to view the information.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Exploring the Mysteries of Bloom Season & Height: Rebloomers

by Betty Wilkerson


Height

According to the American Iris Society, rebloomers must meet the same criteria that are stated for their individual classes.  My breeding program deals with tall bearded iris with the occasional cross in other classes.  The height qualification for tall bearded irises is 27 1/2" and above.  There is no upper limit stated, but an iris must stay in balance.  Many tall bearded irises have problems with falling stalks when the height is excessive. 

As you can see in this clump of 'Summer Radiance' (Wilkerson 96) there are stalks of various heights.  The stalks are measured from the ground to the top of the open bloom.  This should be done for a two year period.  The stated height is the average of these measurements in its home garden.

'Summer Radiance' (Wilkerson 96)  

As an introduction moves into the market, there will be some variations in the heights, and the iris may not reach these stated heights in the individual garden.  Soil contents, even micro elements, can change everything about an iris, including the height.  An early, hot season can create variations in height, too.



Spring Bloom Season


Tall bearded irises are the last of the bearded irises to bloom.  Season of bloom is designated within the tall bearded bloom season by VE for very early, E for early, M for medium, L for late and VL for very late.  These are determined in the garden of the hybridizer introducing them, and, based on my personal experience, may not be the same in your garden.  Again, VE means the iris should be one of the first tall bearded irises to bloom in your region and VL means the iris should be among the latest tall bearded irises to bloom.  These dates should be taken as suggestions, and may vary from garden to garden.  

It might seem that all rebloomers are very early (VE) to early (E) in the spring garden since they need time to bloom again, and indeed, most are.  'Star Gate' (Wilkerson 2005) is the only rebloomer I've introduced that isn't an early bloomer.  It blooms in mid season and can easily be used in breeding with later blooming spring only irises.  

'Star Gate' (Wilkerson 2005)  
As a hybridizer, you plan spring crosses during the winter.  The bloom season starts, but new acquisitions don't always bloom as hoped.  I rarely order very early irises because they can have a problem during a late freeze, although  I occasionally receive very early bonus irises.  So far, most of the new irises I've received with the VE classification are bloom EM in my garden.  

Rebloomers have pushed forward the beginning of spring bloom in my garden.  Here, tall bearded season begins with rebloomers and seedlings of mine that contain a lot of rebloom genes.  They will bloom for several days before regular spring blooming irises begin.  

In 2011 we had a light frost at the beginning of bloom season.  The blooms and pollen looked fine, but the pollen was damaged on open and nearly open blooms of 'Matrix' (Earl Hall by Lloyd Zurbrigg 1991)  'Echo Location' (Wilkerson 2007) and other open blooms.  When the frost hit, there were ten to fifteen stalks with open blooms on 'Lunar Whitewash'.  Crosses I made with this pollen did not take.  These are the difficulties faced by hybridizers working with early bloomers. It was three or four days before viable pollen was available.  

'Matrix' (Earl Hall by Lloyd Zurbrigg 1991)

'Echo Location' (Wilkerson 2007)

'Lunar Whitewash' (Sterling Innerst 2003)


By the time the late blooming irises are open, most of the rebloomers have finished blooming.  It’s hard to find anything other than ‘Star Gate’ to combine with late irises like ‘Iconic,’ ‘Haunted Heart,’ ‘Love Lines,’ or ‘Angel Among Us.’ Pollen from rebloomers can be stored in envelopes in the refrigerator for several weeks, but it’s such a busy time it’s often hard to remember to collect it!  


'Iconic' (Ghio 2010) Photo by Kent Pfeiffer

'Haunted Heart' (Keppel 2010)


'Love Lines' (Wilkerson 2006)

'Angel Among Us' (Wilkerson 2007)



Rebloom Season

My favorite rebloomers can bloom any time from the end of spring bloom until a killing frost.  To my knowledge, there is no correlation between the spring bloom season and the rebloom dates.  Rebloom can happen at any time and is determined by the genes of the cultivar, soil conditions, and weather conditions. There are only a few that can do this in my zone 6 garden during a normal season.  A few more can summer bloom in a moderate year, but few produce summer blooms in a hot and dry summer.  Cycle rebloomers are not genetically capable of summer rebloom and only rebloom in the fall when the temperatures cool and some fall rain has fallen.  

Additional information can be found at the American Iris Society website and the Reblooming Iris Society website.  Membership in the latter includes twice yearly publications called 'The Recorder.'  This publication reports rebloom from all over the continental U. S. and any other area that reports to them.

When do your rebloomers bloom?  Have you had summer as well as fall rebloom in your part of the country or the world?