THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 Page 15 SAUGUS GARDENS IN THE PANDEMIC Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener T he new Saugus police cars aren’t the only hybrids you might notice around town this week! Tall bearded iris are everywhere. Because several Eurasian iris species were already hybridized by both nature and gardeners before horticultural record keeping began, it is hard to assign a species name to these plants. One of the oldest species with these characteristics is German iris (Iris germanica). Sweet iris or Dalmatian iris (Iris pallida) is known for its fragrance, which can be detected in many of the hybrid varieties. Overall there are nearly 300 different species of iris, some of which fit into the bearded iris category, but others like Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica) have a very different root system and much narrower leaves, and there are a number of species which grow from bulbs. Unlike tulips where both petals and sepals are usually very similar in color, shape, size and position, the sepals and petals on irises are distinct. Most irises have a distinctive flower shape consisting of six colorful parts, three outer sepals called falls that droop, and three inner petals called IN MY GARDEN: Tall yellow bearded iris. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) SAUGUS CENTER: Bright green, new growth on yews and arborvitae that spell out Saugus signify a new beginning like the banners for graduates waving from the lamp posts. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) LADY SLIPPER: The flower is pollinated by native bumblebees. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) ROCK STAR IRIS: Tall bearded, reblooming type; pale purple with apricot center on falls. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) standards that are erect. The familiar bearded irises are from Europe and STRAWBERRY AT SAUGUS IRONWORKS: The plant’s flower and fruit. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Laura Eisener) grow from rhizomes that look a bit like ginger root. These starchy rhizomes help the plant survive dry or challenging conditions, but they also provide food for one of the iris’s most serious pests, the iris borer. Iris borer larvae hollow out the rhizomes and ultimately can kill the plants, then as winged adults look for other iris gardens to lay their eggs. These pests were the bane of my iris bed some years ago, but they have apparently decreased since I have had no trouble with them recently. Bearded irises bloom in a wide range of colors, like the rainbow for which this genus was named: red, orange, yellow, green, nearly blue, purple and white. Various shades of purple and yellow are most common. As long as they have a sunny spot and well-drained soil, they usually thrive. In recent decades some breeders have been working on producing reblooming varieties of bearded irises. Not only do these bloom in late May to early June, like the familiar bearded iris varieties, but once established they often rebloom in October or even November. One of the most reliable of these is a tall, white flowering one named ‘Immortality,’ but there are many others now available, including a shorter one named ‘Rock Star,’ pale purple with an apricot center on the falls, which I recently added to my garden. We’ll see what happens in the fall! Sometimes it takes a few years for the root system to become strong enough to support a second bloom season. Our region’s native orchid, pink lady slipper or moccasin flower (Cypripedium acaule), is blooming in the woods of eastern Massachusetts. It likes very acidic soil and often grows in pine woods, but it can also be seen in oak woods and other shaded areas. It is unlikely to survive transplanting and should never be collected from the wild. The flower is pollinated by native bumblebees. Other native lady slippers, like the yellow lady slipper (Cypripedium calceolus, parviflorum or pubescens) and showy lady slipper (Cypripedium reginae), are somewhat less challenging to propagate and grow successfully, but the pink lady slipper is fairly widespread in wild habitats throughout New England. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking.
16 Publizr Home