Pakistan Gardening Forum

Lets locate the beard first i think it is clean shaved IRIS

Syed Adnan wrote:Lets locate the beard first i think it is clean shaved IRIS

hehehe... good joke
Either bearded or clean shaved ...these are beautiful ...

Syed Adnan wrote:Lets locate the beard first i think it is clean shaved IRIS

The hairy strip on the lower petal the pinkish yellow in the picture below is called the beard.

Muhammad Arif Khan wrote:

Syed Adnan wrote:Lets locate the beard first :) :D i think it is clean shaved IRIS ;)

Urdu poety has another image of irises. It is called so-san. If someone has read Daya Shanker Naseem's Gul-e-Bukaolee...he mentions "So-san nay zubaan daraaziyan ki"...because this very long conspicuous petal looks more like a tongue...so Iris is a ill mannered flower with a long tongue!

Westerners of course had a better image of Iris- it means rainbow :-)

Regards,

Farooq

Thanks Brig. SB. and Farooq for sharing info, the naming of the flowers is sometimes very interesting, snowdrops baby tears, Lilly of the valley, sunflower, etc etc

Syed Adnan wrote:Thanks Brig. SB. and Farooq for sharing info, the naming of the flowers is sometimes very interesting, snowdrops baby tears, Lilly of the valley, sunflower, etc etc :D

If you are interested in origins and meanings of plant names, you can buy the book which I coincidentally saw today and could not resist to buy Latin for Gardeners, over 3,000 Names Explained and Explored by Lorraine Harrison ($ 25).

Nice, meanwhile I will refer to you for the names if needed.

The other fan has also two scapes one of them is in bloom.



The beard

Wah! Brig saheb! Unfortunately my purple one has not bloomed yet. TB in ground are going fine. I did have 4 rot while in ground during the monsoon which is such a tragedy and waste. I think if they get bigger this year before the monsoon they'll pull through the coming monsoon. Brig saheb has them in pots which is a good idea, atleast till you can divide to some extra fans for the ground.

Great pictures. I have some FYI for all of you. The rhizomes grow best when planted at or slightly below the soil surface with feeder roots penetrating the soil below. Success with iris depends on keeping the rhizomes firm and healthy. In general, this is done by providing the rhizome good drainage while the feeder roots below remain moist but not wet. In winter the temperature is around 2 degree F and rhizomes are above the ground in my garden. A full sun exposure is preferred; however, some of the delicate pink and blue iris hold their color better in partial shade. Excessive shade will reduce or prevent flowering. A tight clay soil may keep the rhizome too wet and should have organic matter (pine bark, compost) incorporated to improve drainage. Manure is not usually recommended for iris but can be used if well-rotted and incorporated at least 6 inches deep into the bed and should not come in contact with rhizomes.

Poor flowering -- is normally due to planting in excessive shade, using excessive nitrogen fertilizer, or planting the rhizomes too deep. Limited flowering may also occur if plants become too crowded and need dividing.

I have grown every single Iris that is available in the usa. I have one variety which produces one single dark purple flower and it is almost 12 inches across. I have not been able to find this same iris in the states.