Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 11/06/2013 18:32, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:06:43 +0100, wrote:

Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

Iris Tropic Night is a variety of Iris sibirica, and they are bog or
marginal irises, so like it moist or even wet. I have several
varieties in my bog garden, in flower ATM, but bear in mind it's very
mild down here and things do tend to flower slightly earlier than
further north. Whether where you have it and the soil it's in is
responsible for it not flowering or having crinkled leaves I don't
know, but it does like damp roots.




Thanks, Chris, that's really helpful! I shall move it temporarily to a
wettish pot until I have an appropriately damp bed prepared. I have a
few bog plants waiting for a home, so that will be an exciting project
for the weekend, weather permitting.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

In article , says...

Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

I grow a lot of sibiricas and the occasional concertina leaf is "normal";
I don't think its connected to thirst

Janet

On 11/06/2013 20:46, Janet wrote:
In , says...

Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

I grow a lot of sibiricas and the occasional concertina leaf is "normal";
I don't think its connected to thirst

Janet



I see. Thank you, Janet. I had thought that, in common with orchids
and a few other plants, concertina'd leaves indicated want of water as
the leaves expanded. Perhaps not. You don't say if you grow yours in
boggy conditions. However, I shall treat mine to a boggy pot and see
how it responds.

I don't actually remember the label even mentioning "sibirica", so
clearly I need to read up on Iris sibirica in general. I love bog
plants, so discovering I've got one more than I thought does not dismay
me. I definitely need a bigger bog garden.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 11/06/2013 18:52, Spider wrote:
On 11/06/2013 18:32, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:06:43 +0100, wrote:

Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

Iris Tropic Night is a variety of Iris sibirica, and they are bog or
marginal irises, so like it moist or even wet. I have several
varieties in my bog garden, in flower ATM, but bear in mind it's very
mild down here and things do tend to flower slightly earlier than
further north. Whether where you have it and the soil it's in is
responsible for it not flowering or having crinkled leaves I don't
know, but it does like damp roots.




Thanks, Chris, that's really helpful! I shall move it temporarily to a
wettish pot until I have an appropriately damp bed prepared. I have a
few bog plants waiting for a home, so that will be an exciting project
for the weekend, weather permitting.



I have Iris siberica flowering now in SW London in normal ( in fact
dryish) garden soil.


Paul

On 12/06/2013 14:54, Paul Luton wrote:
On 11/06/2013 18:52, Spider wrote:
On 11/06/2013 18:32, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:06:43 +0100, wrote:

Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

Iris Tropic Night is a variety of Iris sibirica, and they are bog or
marginal irises, so like it moist or even wet. I have several
varieties in my bog garden, in flower ATM, but bear in mind it's very
mild down here and things do tend to flower slightly earlier than
further north. Whether where you have it and the soil it's in is
responsible for it not flowering or having crinkled leaves I don't
know, but it does like damp roots.




Thanks, Chris, that's really helpful! I shall move it temporarily to a
wettish pot until I have an appropriately damp bed prepared. I have a
few bog plants waiting for a home, so that will be an exciting project
for the weekend, weather permitting.



I have Iris siberica flowering now in SW London in normal ( in fact
dryish) garden soil.


Paul






Now that's interesting!! Now I really don't know what to do:-/.
Perhaps I should lift my (small) clump, divide into 2 pieces and plant
one in boggy conditions and return one to its current home. That should
tell me which it prefers.

Thanks for that info, Paul. At least these iris seem to be fairly
tolerant of a range of conditions, even if mine is resisting flowering
at present.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 12/06/2013 08:17, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:25:20 +0100, wrote:

On 11/06/2013 20:46, Janet wrote:
In , says...

Does anyone on urg grow this iris? I bought it with guidelines to plant
out in a free-draining, moist soil in sun/partial shade. I have since
read that it can be grown as a marginal or in a pot of water. Mine has
doubled in size, but has a couple of concertina'd leaves which suggest
it may be short of water. It is currently grown in full sun in much
improved clay soil. I do water, but sparingly. If you have one, how do
you grow it?

Also, it has not flowered since I bought it and planted it last year.
Googling for flowering times, I get a rather mixed message. Some
articles suggest May/June, others suggest June/July. Comparing it with
other irises I grow, there is no sign of bud build-up within the leafy
growth. Usually I can tell about a month ahead if an iris is going to
bloom.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

I grow a lot of sibiricas and the occasional concertina leaf is "normal";
I don't think its connected to thirst

Janet



I see. Thank you, Janet. I had thought that, in common with orchids
and a few other plants, concertina'd leaves indicated want of water as
the leaves expanded. Perhaps not. You don't say if you grow yours in
boggy conditions. However, I shall treat mine to a boggy pot and see
how it responds.

I don't actually remember the label even mentioning "sibirica", so
clearly I need to read up on Iris sibirica in general. I love bog
plants, so discovering I've got one more than I thought does not dismay
me. I definitely need a bigger bog garden.

Just another comment. I had one I. sibirica (Flight of butterflies
IIIRC) that has been in the bog garden for two or three years, but has
only flowered properly for the first time this year, so some varieties
may take a little time to settle in.





Yes, that's certainly possible, Chris. I can't help thinking, though,
that if it's happy enough to double in size, it ought to be feeling
pretty settled. I will experiment a bit and report back.

Thanks for adding that, though. I'm not usually an impatient gardener,
but perhaps I am expecting too much too soon.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

"Paul Luton" wrote

I have Iris siberica flowering now in SW London in normal ( in fact dryish)
garden soil.


I have had mine growing as a marginal plant in my pond for decades, roots
just above water level. I split one clump up and planted some on our S.
facing front garden where the soil is well drained due to builders sand
being incorporated (by the builder!), they died out over a couple of years.
If your garden is heavy loam then that may explain why they have done OK but
I have always found they liked a damp spot.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 12/06/2013 17:59, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Paul Luton" wrote

I have Iris siberica flowering now in SW London in normal ( in fact
dryish) garden soil.


I have had mine growing as a marginal plant in my pond for decades,
roots just above water level. I split one clump up and planted some on
our S. facing front garden where the soil is well drained due to
builders sand being incorporated (by the builder!), they died out over a
couple of years. If your garden is heavy loam then that may explain why
they have done OK but I have always found they liked a damp spot.




Thanks, Bob, that's great! It does sound as if I've been lucky with
mine so far. I'll risk it no further, but get them into a boggy pot for
now, pending the building of my new bog garden. Too late to do it
tonight, but rain is forecast and I've already seen a flash of
lightening, so they should be happy tonight! :~).

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay