Photo by Molly McNeal.
Diane Louw is a bonafide spur-wearing cowgirl. But when she is not tending to her grand, majestic horses, it’s the delicate iris that commands her attention. She says her love of the flower began when she was a young girl. But it was breeder Joe Mussachia’s Acadian Sky, a mid blue-hued hybrid, that solidified her addiction. Since then, Louw has dedicated her free time to iris cultivation and advocacy through her work as the treasurer of the Society for Louisiana Irises and her company Blue Monday Louisiana Iris.
Such fixations over a single plant or plant family have always intrigued me. They remind me of a kid I knew in horticulture class who was the third generation of renowned camellia breeders. Everything that family did was attuned toward camellias. I am more of a generalist, and possess deep love for so many different species. I go through seasonal infatuations, sure, but have never singularly dedicated my time to learning every possible thing I can about one plant group. Something about that dedication is admirable to me.
I am starting to understand it more, all the ways you can fall in love with and understand a singular plant so intimately. I think about the way I come to know a tree after sitting in its canopy for hours, pruning winter worn branches up close after the leaves have fallen. Or how one comes to understand the difference between a bulb, corm, and a tuber after sorting through hundreds in one sitting. Profound botanical acts such as these could easily spawn a lifelong fling with muscle wood trees or daffodils.
[Read this: "Chasing the Louisiana Iris: Following a trail of flowers"]
Part of Louw’s motivation is to inspire such obsessions. She says that today, there are very few young people cultivating irises in Louisiana, prompting her to share what she has learned with others. As older generations of breeders slip away from the scene, she works to keep the provocation alive by continuing the search for the next magical iris offspring.
During my time spent with this iris obsessive, I learned things I never knew—here are some gems of knowledge I found worth sharing:
Hybridizing
Irises are not “true to seed”—meaning they do not produce offspring identical to the parent. They produce “varieties,” naturally occurring plant offspring that are genetically different from their parent plants. Think humans—not a single one of us is “true to seed.” We differ greatly from either of our parents. A “hybrid” is when two species are crossed, usually by the hand of man, in attempts to create new shades of color, particular sizes, and other new characteristics.
Since irises do not bloom true to seed, when a seed germinates to create a new iris, it will always be genetically different from its parent. Louw capitalizes on this occurrence—observing natural stands of iris, seeking out the one unique bloom color that may have emerged. Because offspring can be so different from their previous generation, hybridizing of iris is especially exciting. There is an endless world of possibilities when you purposely cross two flowers you enjoy.
Louw suggests that if you desire to keep your stands of iris true to the parent variety, then you should cut your seed pods before they fall, inhibiting cross pollination. I think of my own garden—I have stands of native iris, along with a few non-natives across the yard. I do very much want to keep my native stands native, so this tidbit is gold. If you do grow iris by seed, wait patiently, as they do not bloom until their second year.
Transplanting
The ideal time to transplant iris in Louisiana, historically, has been late August/September when temperatures drop and rain sets in to break the plants’ summer dormancy. Our summers, though, have tended to be longer and more harsh in recent years, so Louw finds herself pushing this timeline deeper into fall.
Where and How to Plant
If your irises are not blooming, Louw says it is likely one of two things: sun or nutrients. Irises need around six hours of sun daily to bloom. A caveat, though, that she has had success with is making use of deciduous trees. She finds that irises planted under deciduous trees often still bloom in shady summer conditions, as they collect their sun hours in winter and early spring before the trees’ leaves re-emerge.
Irises desire super nutrient-dense soil, so Louw suggests using a lot of fertilizer. Personally, I shy away from chemical fertilizers completely and instead recommend nutrient-dense compost or general organic fertilizers, made of naturally occurring animal or plant materials.
If you think about where irises naturally occur, it’s usually in a wet, often low, setting, where water accumulates and contributes to the breaking down of organic matter, continually increasing nutrient density.
Identifying Irises
There are literally thousands of iris cultivars out there. Even the most renowned iris breeder would be hard-pressed to know and identify them all. A cool trick that Louw shared with me is how to easily tell a native cultivar from a non-native one: slide your hand down the blade of an iris. If there is a middle vein, it’s non-native; if it’s flat, it’s a native iris. This is especially helpful when attempting to differentiate our natives from the invasive Iris pseudacorus, or yellow flag iris.
Below, find links for information on local irises and advocacy, including the great work of the Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative, a group that organizes rescue and planting projects to save our native wild irises from destruction.
licisaveirises.com • louisianas.org • louisianairisgnois.com
