From: nicmad!klebba%astroatc.uucp@spool.cs.wisc.edu (Bob Klebba)
Subject: Spurious Iris
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 14:40:13 GMT

I was at the Chicago Botanic Garden on Sunday and saw a whole bunch of
fun things.  I couldn't resist the plant sale that was going on and
amongst the ordinary day lilies and irises, a garden club was selling
Iris spuria.  I was told that I. spuria has the following attributes:
        likes water
        doesn't mind the cold
        pH adaptable
        blooms after beardeds
        goes dormant in mid summer
        habit like I. pseudocorus
        some varieties have "bronze" flowers
        no standards

Does anyone else know about these iris?  I bought two rhizomes and am
wondering whether they are truly pH adaptable (my soil is ca. 7.5 -
8).  They are supposed to come from the middle of Asia, so I was told
not to worry about hardiness.  Wet spots are not a problem this year
(two of the roads leading from my house are closed today due to
flooding).  Any additional information about this "spurious" iris are
appreciated, particularly experience with pH.  thanks in advance.
===

From: jwilson@bach.udel.edu (Jim Wilson)
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 15:16:21 GMT

I. spuria includes quite a wide variety of plants, native to places
from China to Spain, and that probably accounts for their adapting to
a wide variety of conditions.  The 40-chromosome ones account for most
of the modern garden hybrids.  These grow real well in the warm and
sunny parts of the U. S.  but also have been grown successfully even
in places like Michigan.  Neutral or slightly alkaline soils are best,
but they also like organic matter and good drainage--a combination
that some places takes some work to achieve.  They do like water, but
some garden varieties also demand a dry dormant period in August and
early September.  They like to be fed too.  When grown well, clumps
can go over ten years without being divided.  Flowers do have
standards, although not the full and closed type that you may be used
to seeing on beardeds.  Zone 4 may be a challenge--be choosy with
varieties.  Besides meeting the cultural needs above, your biggest
challenges might be viruses, mustard seed fungus, and aphids.
Breeding work is making some progress to get to virus-resistant
varieties.  You may want to treat your soil with Terraclor to keep the
fungus from being a problem.  And you can pick your favorite aphid
cure.  I don't really know how far you can stretch an individual
plant's pH tolerances, but I just now tested the soil of a happy clump
here (DE) and found it about 6.1, even though the references say
higher is better.  The tried and true method is to find the nearest
successful grower and learn the local lore.

Some good sources for further information--a chapter on Spurias in
_The World of Irises_ by Bee Warburton and Melba Hamblen, the July
1984 issue of the Bulletin of the American Iris Society, and finally
you may want to join the Spuria Iris Society, a section of AIS.

Some of these plants are true giants in the iris world, and their
flowers are very striking in the garden and when cut and when used in
arrangements.  They can be well worth the effort.  --
===

From: jwilson@bach.udel.edu (Jim Wilson)
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 17:15:43 GMT

jwilson@bach.udel.edu (Jim Wilson) writes:
> I. spuria includes quite a wide variety of plants, native to places
> from China to Spain, and that probably accounts for their adapting
> to a wide variety of conditions.

Correction: I meant here "The Spuria series," not I. spuria.  Some of
the other species included are I. monnieri, I. ochroleuca, and I.
graminea--there are about 15 in all., --
===

From: billmc@microsoft.com (Bill McJohn)
Subject: Re: Spurious Iris
Date: 08 Jul 93 22:17:28 GMT

I have some spuria irises that I love--one is an old clump in a
neglected corner that was on the property when I bought it
two-and-a-half years ago; the other is Iris 'Sunny Day' from Garden
Perennials in Nebraska.

They are beardless Iris with a wonderfully elegant open shape.  Sunny
Day is a saturated yellow (very close in color to Achillea 'Coronation
Gold'); the unnamed clump is white with yellow markings on the falls.
The leaves are stiffly upright in fans, and stay handsome throughout
the season.  The flowers appear late in the Iris season; both of mine
are about four feet tall.

Spurias like plenty of water while they're growing actively and
blooming, but prefer (so I've read) to dry out a bit in summer.  In
other words, they're tailor-suited to Seattle's climate. (But given
that I got Sunny Day from a nursery in Nebraska, I expect they'd do
fine in Wisconsin, too.)  They grow into large clumps; I've read that
they resent disturbance, but the plants of Sunny Day that I planted
last November bloomed beautifully this year.  (The quantities of
compost & manure that went into the planting holes may have something
to do with that.)  I did dig up a chunk of the old clump to transplant
into the garden proper last spring, and it didn't bloom this year.
Digging them up is difficult; when I hit the main root, I thought it
was a tree root.  Plan on leaving them wherever you put them!

My experience so far has been that these plants are tough as
nails--the old clump is growing under a virtual heap of blackberries
and bindweed, and bloomed even so.  They also seem to respond to a
modicum of care by blooming even more generously.  I find their
flowers much more graceful than bearded iris, and their foliage is a
real asset to the garden.