When we moved in I bought a dozen different tall bearded Iris from Schreiner's of the Beautiful Iris Catalogs. Most of them did not survive, because my definition of "not-too-moist, well-drained soil" is most people's definition of "the Mojave Desert". The Iris died of thirst. I killed an innocent Salvia greggii at the same time, as I remember. This Salvia x 'Ultra Violet' has gotten better treatment, probably because I still feel guilty about that S. greggii. The S. greggii label did say "don't over water", but again, I translated "don't over water" as Sahara-like conditions.
By chance, a couple of the doomed dozen Iris survived, a blue/purple one, and a very pale lavender/blue, and one yellow that survived underneath a Baccharis 'Twin Peaks' that overran it, but also shaded it. Finally eleven years on, the yellow Iris has a decent spot in which to grow. Today, as the sprinkler hit it, it said "Thank you."
Sometimes plants are as forgiving as dogs. Not always, but sometimes.
We think alike. I planted repeat blooming bearded iris in the gravel garden. So many degrees of drought tolerant! The iris withered. And eryngiums! Alway described as tough, drought tolerant. Not in my garden. First good bloom I've had this year was on a plant treated with love. Now maybe it will reseed and its babies grow up a little tougher...
ReplyDeleteTrue, I don't remember seeing many bearded irises in the Mojave. And I seem to treat Mojave plants as if they were from the Atacama Desert. Yes, I've killed "drought tolerant" bearded irises in numbers too large to admit. A big yay for your survivors, though. It's good when a plant finds water and forgiveness at the same time.
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