Reblooming IrisDefinition: A reblooming (RE) iris is one that produces more than one crop of bloomstalks in a single growing season. The Reblooming Iris Society, a section of the AIS, has attempted to classify these iris according to climactic growing conditions. Hot summer temperatures, particularly in the South and Midwest, can trigger a dormancy as definitive as that of a frigid winter temperatures. However, to the person growing a number of modern reblooming iris, it might be more realistic to determine classification by plant behavior and growth patterns. There are basically four distinguishable behavior patterns in modern reblooming iris: CONTINUOUS BLOOMERS are those varieties that send up bloomstalks throughout the growing season whenever a rhizome has sufficiently matured. The most insistent are so genetically programmed that they will continue to send up stalks in the scorching heat of summer. Generally, if one wishes for the summer blooms to develop normally, some protection from the intense heat may be necessary. CYCLE REBLOOMERS, long the standard for this group, are varieties which complete two distinct cycles of growth, blossoming and increase in any one growing season. The spring flowering and the second period of flowering can usually be reasonably predicted. REPEATERS produce additional bloomstalks with unpredictable regularity immediately following the initial production of spring bloom. It is not uncommon for these varieties to extend the spring bloom season of a variety from four to eight weeks. SPORADIC REBLOOMERS are varieties which unpredictably produce bloomstalks throughout the entire growing season. Many sporadic rebloomers perform only in the coastal climates of California; hence, these types are less esteemed and less predictable than other reblooming types. It is suspected that rebloom in the sporadic rebloomers may be triggered by one or more of the following factors: Soil and/or plant temperatures Cultural practices Rhizome maturity Climate Genetic instability Unknown factors A variety which blooms well only in the summer or autumn months must not be considered a rebloomer but rather a summer or autumn bloomer. To a dedicated rebloomer enthusiast, a compromise in rebloom dependability and/or flower quality may be acceptable simply because a variety will rebloom. There is some disagreement among reblooming enthusiasts as to the proper, all encompassing definition of a reblooming iris. Nonetheless, a reblooming iris should produce enough additional bloomstalks to at least double the total number of days of bloom produced annually. Quoted from Handbook for Judges and Show Officials The American Iris Society 1985 5th edition. |