I put this photo of 'Ryugan' in the database to show how I have been growing it for almost two years now. Since the species involved are both water loving iris and my conditions tend to be naturally dry, I began to leave the container sitting a pan of water, but initially didn't leave it during the cold winter months. But early summer of 2017 it graduated from a pan to the stock trough and I left it there with wet feet throughout the winter months. We had at least one night where the temp fell below 0F and many others where the trough formed a solid sheet of ice. It is thriving. I also grow the variety 'Shirabyoshi' which has now also graduated to a stock trough and has begun to grow much better since the move. It has not been as strong a grower as 'Ryugan' and I was more cautious about experimenting until I saw the results from 'Ryugan'. I'm not recommending growing this way necessarily, but it may work for anyone attempting to grow it under natural hot, dry conditions.

I've been looking for at way to grow water-loving irises and I like this idea a lot!

Though I think I would dig a hole to put the trough in to give a more 'natural' look. (Or rather have someone else dig the hole for me as it will obviously need to be a big hole! )

so much for sharing!

@IrisLilli
Well the cattle are loaning me the troughs and occasionally they need them back for their use. They could certainly be made to look more attractive, but for me they are functional for the time being. I think this trough may be a lot harder to return to the cows because of the Nymphaeas. Those are planted in concrete-like meter boxes and filled with gummy red clay for them to grow in. Made for an awful mess and opaque water for a long time .

Thanks for the acorn!

Well, I imagine that water irises and cattle do not match.

I like the stock trough look in a garden. I guess because i was raised on a farm troughs look like they belong in a rural setting.

Here are two with spring tulips in them. After the tulips die back there are many other things that will come up including asters.


My horse troughs are oblong and not round. I like your round one.

I grow LA iris in wash tubs that have drainage holes six inches up the sides of the tubs. If i left water in a tub here i am afraid water moccasins would take up home there.

@grannysgarden
When the drought was full blown, I had water snakes. I think Yellow Bellied Snakes. The toad frog population still hasn't recovered. I only had 3 snakes, but in less than a month the toad population was decimated. Plus they were very aggressive. Ordinarily I leave non-venomous snakes alone, but that combination proved too much for me. I really like having the toads and it's discouraging at how slow they have been to recover in numbers.

Lilli
Thanks for the tip Donald. If I have standing water on my property I end up breeding mosquitoes. I also worry about my cat drinking those mosquitoes.

Just thought I'd show 'Ryugan' blooming. This was taken after the noon hour with wind gusting 20-30 mph and temps around 90F. Not good for the fragile blooms. They look good from a distance, but suffering from heat and wind up close. I think the wind is worse for them than the heat. They move like flags in the wind. I'm surprised they don't rip off, but they don't.

My other I. pseudata 'Shirabyoshi' started blooming yesterday. Last year they bloomed with the early daylilies, but the first daylily bloom only opened this morning, so the pseudatas are more in line with the spuria iris this year.

It's nice to see some pseudatas. Thanks for sharing these photos with us