Care for your garden
Several weeks ago, I wrote about the Monterey Bay Iris Society’s annual iris show, the first in-person show after two years of pandemic restrictions. The event was quite successful, with more entries and more visitors than in 2019.
The judges recognized individual plants with awards in specific categories of the diverse world of irises. The People’s Choice award went to one of my favorite irises, “That’s All Folks,” displayed by local gardener Jane Jordan. This column shows this plant growing in my garden.
That column provided a broad overview of the iris genus’ multiple sub-genera, hundred of species, and thousands of hybrids. Read that review by visiting tinyurl.com/2bb9dkmb.
In this column, we narrow this enormous range of plants to the most popular variety: the tall bearded iris. These plants rise to about 3 feet tall, and typically bloom in late spring and early summer.
I visited a friend’s iris garden last week on the day after he had hosted hundreds of visitors on a local garden tour. The growers, Jim and Irene Cummins, long-time members of the local iris society, have thousands of plants, providing a stunning display of blossoms, even though the plants had peaked around Mother’s Day.
Irises grow from a rhizome, which Wikipedia defines as “a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes.” The plant propagates by creating additional rhizomes and can become crowded underground after three or four years of development. Then, it’s time to lift and divide the rhizomes, and either replant them with more room to grow, or share them with other gardeners.
When I visited, Jim was planning to lift rhizomes from his garden. He and other gardeners freely share their rhizomes for the Society’s annual rhizome sale in August.
When you have thousands of plants, many have grown to the point when they should be divided, so this task can be a substantial enterprise. It becomes even more challenging by the need to keep track of the names of the plants. When the grower lifts the plant, he or she trims the leaves to about 6 inches long and writes each plant’s name on its leaves with a felt-tip pen.
The unique name of each iris plant is essential information to collectors because the American Iris Society records the names of plants that are officially introduced, along with the hybridizer’s name, the date of introduction, the plant’s parentage, a description and photo of the blossoms, and the plant’s awards.
This information is meaningful and important to iris collectors, while some gardeners might be interested only in each iris’ name, to differentiate it from other irises in the garden.
The AIS’ Iris Encyclopedia is a formidable enterprise, available for free access at wiki.irises.org/. The captions with this column’s photos are from the Iris Encyclopedia.
Hybridizers have been working creatively and diligently with tall bearded irises to come up with new ideas, refinements of the classic forms, larger blossoms, more numerous blossom stalks, greater vigor, disease resistance, and other traits. There is a seemingly endless range of possibilities so that collectors anticipate new introductions and casual growers appreciate the plant’s versatility in the garden.
As you review the photos in today’s column, look for the often-subtle differences (besides colors) between the blossoms, and compare the 1939 introduction with the more contemporary hybrid cultivars.
Advance your knowledge
Reminder: The Mount Vernon Ladies Association is holding an online symposium, “Gardens and Landscapes in the Age of George Washington and Now,” from June 3-5. This fee-based event includes 10 online lectures that can be viewed during or after the symposium. For example, one talk will discuss America’s oldest landscaped gardens. For a list of the talks and registration information, visit tinyurl.com/2p9es7uc.
Enrich your gardening days
Mark your calendar for the Monterey Bay Iris Society’s annual rhizome sales in August. These events will be held on different days and locations during the month, which is the beginning of the season for installing iris rhizomes in your garden. The rhizomes (admittedly not appealing in themselves) will be identified with plant names and blossom photos for both avid collectors and casual gardeners.
Enjoy your garden!
Tom Karwin is past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). He is now a board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and active with the Pacific Horticultural Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. For garden coaching info and an archive of previous On Gardening columns, visit http://ongardening.com. https://cactusandsucculentsociety.org/
