Joshua Siskin's column appears every Saturday in this section. Hewelcomes questions from readers and will answer them in his column.If you have a question, please send an email toJoshua@perfectplants.com. Include your full name and the city youlive in.
The time is now for irises, whether you prefer classic beardedfleur-de-lis irises or native, Pacific Coast irises. Last week I hadthe privilege to visit two horticultural venues that featured irisesamong their many botanical gems. One was the Theodore PayneFoundation in Sun Valley and the other was the backyard slope ofPaul Weinberger in Woodland Hills.
Iris comes from the Greek word for rainbow and you can find themin any color, but especially in purples, pinks and yellows.
Of course, a garden does not need to feature irises. Irisessimply steal the show and do not require top billing. Irises haveearned the appellation of backyard orchids, an anomaly of sortssince backyard implies easy to care for, and orchids are commonlythought of as finicky plants.
Yet irises, although their beauty rivals that of orchids, areprobably the easiest plants to maintain since all you really have todo is look at them. They do not demand summer irrigation yet, atleast where bearded irises are concerned, they are not bothered byit either. You can plant bearded irises in a drought-tolerant or amore thirsty English garden yet be rewarded with the same voluptuousflowers in each.
The popular tall bearded irises are known, by their Latin name,as Iris germanica, a misnomer since the habitat of these hybridirises is not Germany, but rather the dry open fields and hillcountry of Mediterranean lands from Italy to Morocco. So muchhybridization has occurred, however, that no one can accuratelytrace the origin of these most recognizable irises. Although irisesare not typically fragrant, you will find fragrance in some of them,and a plethora of iris types, including scented ones, are easyenough to find among Internet vendors. Incidentally, the perfume ofbearded iris rhizomes (their fleshy semi-underground bulblikestems), referred to as orris root, is legendary and expensive. Orrisroot requires a five-year drying and processing period before it canbe made into perfume.
Moreover, one ton of iris rhizomes produces less than five poundsof orris root essential oil, whose unique fragrance, both woodsy andflowery at once, is worth the effort its lengthy manufacturerequires.
Weinberger has spent 15 years transforming his backyard slope inWoodland Hills into a garden. Carpeted with geraniums, coral bellsand succulents, he has done a wonderful job of eliminating anypossibility of erosion. Coming up here and there are severalbreathtaking bearded irises.
Pacific Coast irises (Iris douglasiana), although native toCalifornia, are more temperamental than the common fleur-de-lis orbearded irises. Many varieties are on sale at the Theodore PayneFoundation Native Plant Nursery. They prefer dry soil during summerand are recommended choices for planting under pines and oaks.
Visiting the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley is alwaysfull of surprises, especially in spring when so many Californianatives are in bloom. At the entrance to the nursery is a groundcover primrose I had never seen before. Its silky yellow flowersstop you in your tracks. It will remind you of the weedy Hooker'sevening primrose (Oenothera elata 'Hookeri'), which bears similarflowers atop 3-foot stalks.
Speaking of yellow-flowered ground covers, there is a fascinatingdwarf buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum 'Shasta sulfur') on displaythat you will want to take home. I had never noticed anythingspecial about Ceanothus bark until studying the angular, 12-footgreenbark ceanothus (Ceanothus spinosus) growing outside theTheodore Payne offices and bookstore. This would make a fine treefor a small backyard. If you can resist watering it, it may live forhalf a century or longer.
Q. I hope you can advise us regarding our lemon tree, which Ibelieve to be more than 25 years old. It's been doing great,especially after we removed a few larger trees next to it that haddied and had shaded it before from the sun. But now, the lemons haverecently been showing lots of bumps. Peels are thicker and bumpierthan before. I don't know if this is due to all the rain we had orto a calcium deficiency and would appreciate your advice. Wefertilize it regularly with citrus food.
- Rich Hollow,
Chatsworth
A. Examine your tree to see where the branches producing yourbumpy fruit originate. In all likelihood, they originate in woodcoming from the base of your tree.
Fruit trees consist of a named scion variety, such as 'Meyer' or'Eureka' lemon (Citrus limon), grafted onto a rootstock. In the caseof lemon trees, the rootstock is an entirely different species, suchas Volkamer (Citrus volkameriana) or rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri).These rootstocks are used because of the virus resistance theyimpart to the scion variety.
The fruit of both rootstock types is bumpy. In older lemon orother citrus trees of declining vigor, it often happens that asucker from the rootstock grows into a vigorous trunk of its ownwith fruit-bearing branches.
You will have to cut this unwanted growth back to the originaltrunk before you can hope to see normal lemons which, as long assome of the original scion remains, will now have the ability todevelop, absent competition from rootstock growth. Heavy rain has nodoubt given a push to the wayward growth of your tree but calcium,while its lack causes peel lesions in apples, for example, is not afactor in growth of bumpy citrus peels.
Q. My orange tree fruit is so bitter it is inedible. I am closeto cutting down the tree. Is there any way to make the tree produceedible oranges?
- Bill Rice,
Winnetka
A. There are two possible explanations for your bitter oranges.If the tree produced sweet oranges at one time, then your rootstock(see above) has taken over the tree and the fruit produced comesfrom it. Alternatively, if the oranges have always been bitter, youhave a seedling or ungrafted tree. If you take a seed from asupermarket orange and plant it, the fruit from the resulting treeis likely to be bitter.
Tip of the week
Paul Weinberger's large clumps of coral bells (Heuchera species)are several years old. This is highly unusual since coral bellsseldom survive more than two years in the garden. Most coral bellsdie from soil that is too moist and leads to root rot. The health ofWeinberger's plants may be attributed to his sloping terrain,topography that ensures excellent drainage and dry roots.
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