Pakistan Gardening Forum

Anyone growing Iris? There are lots of irises from Dutch Iris to Tall Bearded.Which variety performs better and has a better chance of survival.

Bearded Iris,years after years beautiful large flowers in so many colors.Dutch will flower once in our cimate.its suitable in Hilly cool stations & even naturalises there.its just like Daffodiles they do not flower in second season.bearded are just like coomon nargis or paperwhites,years after years enjoyment of colors.

What about louisiana? I m planning to import around 200 from abroad.

Where can one plant tall bearded Iris so they don't die in the summer heat of Lahore or the wet monsoon. Can they be planted in a full sun soil bed? Will they be able to take the 45 degree temps in May and June? They might not bloom that well if planted in shade. Please advise..

I am told that they need well drained soil so you can use nehri bhal.I think morning sun/half shade/under the trees would be best.

How about adding sand mixed with bhal and some peat moss for the soil beds for better drainage? I think I have a drainage problem.

aykhan wrote:How about adding sand mixed with bhal and some peat moss for the soil beds for better drainage? I think I have a drainage problem.

You'll be troubled during the summer time.Just keep it a bit high umm may be an inch or two.Nehri bhal would be fine.

aykhan wrote:Where can one plant tall bearded Iris so they don't die in the summer heat of Lahore or the wet monsoon. Can they be planted in a full sun soil bed? Will they be able to take the 45 degree temps in May and June? They might not bloom that well if planted in shade. Please advise..

Doc what ever you do, Iris wont survive lahore. It is not made for lahore. Nehri bhal is good but i do not think it will die of poor drainage. Like most lilies when temp hits 40's they die regardless of perfect drainage. Same with the Iris. But do try more than one soil composition for experimenting. Do try sandy soil as well.

Having said that, there are many species of B.Iris which are naturalized in Arizona and even death valley!!!! Then there should not be any reason that they do not grow well in lahore

I guess for TB Iris my best bet would be planting them on the 'pahari' i made under my huge trees. They won't get much direct sunshine but will be protected from direct sunlight in the hot summers and will have excellent drainage, hopefully I'll be able to keep them alive. I've purchased some Iris which are for Zone 10. I know zone 10 is listed upto 40 degrees and sadly we get much hotter than that in Lahore ........... Oh the heartache of gardening...........

I know someone who grows a few TBs in Lahore and lots of Louisiana Irises. Another person that I know grows louisiana iris in multan :0) Take Heart.I bought around 100 louisianas along with new daylily varieties.They ll be arriving at the end of this month.Let's see how they fare.

Btw, many people said clematis wont grow but I imported 15 varieties. Most of them made it thru the summer heat and produced flowers in abundance.