On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 03:09:50 GMT, Pam wrote:


IMO, the iris looks more like a grass than it does a lot of other irises. It is
grown primarily for its valuable trait of being evergreen and readily adaptable
to dry shade and the brightly colored and long lasting fruit - the flowers are
quite insignifcant as irises go. I grow two different cultivars, too - the
straight species and a variegated one, both produce bright, red orange,
berry-like seeds. Mondo grass - regardless of color - is a great shade
grass-looking plant. The black is just such a striking contrast against anything
in the gold or chartreuse tones. Other than certain species of Carex, there are
really no evergreen grasses for shade. Some really nice deciduous ones, though -
Hakone grass, golden wood rush (Milium). Molinea. They'd add a lot of color
during the growing season.

pam

You sent me some of those irises and from a slip, they now cover about 10 square
feet in very dry shade. Everyone asks me what they are. Their foliage is much
strappier than most irises and yes, they are indeed evergreen. The hakone,
well, we'll see if it returns. It had one sprig last year all year! Maybe it
doesn't like the heat?

V