Superstition

Day 243: Although I do enjoy iris, Superstition is the only full-sized one I grow. Why? Because they are such a pain in the neck to keep weeded. The tubers allow dandelions and grass to poke up through while blocking access to their tenacious roots. While it's possible to lift the iris tubers annually to pick out the weeds, the process weakens the plant over time. Having found no other satisfactory solution, I moved "Superstition" from my main flower bed to a spot along the fence where it can surprise me by lifting its rich purple-black heads above the tall grass. In any event, my yard is not about landscaping. It's about habitat and colour. Having come to a more casual attitude toward gardening than that of the "Better Homes and Gardens" set, my back aches less and the birds and pollinators have plenty to enjoy.

Superstition

Day 239: Friday the 13th? Black cat cross your path? Do your ears tingle when someone is talking about you? We all have our superstitions, but mine grows under a Sitka Mountain Ash and sweetens the yard with its fragrance on warm afternoons. One of the deepest purple varieties of bearded iris, Superstition is marketed as black, but is quite variable depending on soil conditions. When I first planted mine thirty years ago, it remained quite dark for several years before fading to a rich mahogany red as the bed failed to supply the proper nutrients. I shifted it to a new spot where the soil was richer, and it reverted to "black" within two years. It's been happy there, and despite having its rhizomes fairly well grassed-over, it continues to reward me with a flush of blooms every year. It's difficult to maintain iris weed-free since seeds (particularly grasses) work their way into the crevices of the root system where they can't be pulled without damaging the tubers. Sometimes it's easier to just dig them up and move them, so why not divide them at the same time and share them with your friends?

Iris Superstition

Day 228: Tonight, you get Superstition, my favourite standard iris. Although it looks dark purple in this photo, it appears to be almost black in sunlight. And those two sentences required 90% of my remaining energy. Y'see, today was a Team Biota adventure; no, capitalize that "A" - Adventure. Why? Well, we were assigned the task of documenting and collecting herbarium specimens of a species heretofore unrecorded in the Park. A possible sighting had been reported to our Plant Ecologist by someone on the Owl Survey team, but it needed to be officially confirmed. Enter Joe and Crow.

No, I'm too tired to tell this story tonight, and it doesn't go with Superstition anyway. Call it a cliff-hanger, if you will. Tomorrow, then. I need another cup of tea and a good night's sleep. Oh, and some Tylenol.

Superstition

Day 226: I have a particular fondness for "black" flowers and Superstition is about as black as iris can be. Seen here in bright light at close range, it looks purple, but from a distance (my living room window, for example), its hue deepens until the purple is no more than a highlight on its midnight falls. It is susceptible to variations in soil pH, however. Rootstock from this same plant produced mahogany-red blossoms when grown in another part of the yard.

Pure Black Magic

Day 227: "Black magic"...that's how I'd describe "Superstition," one of the blackest varieties of iris on the market. It holds its color well, although it can be quite variable depending on soil conditions as I discovered when I attempted to move one tuber to a less acidic bed. The following year, the flowers in that space emerged maroon-red and the ones in the original location were as black as ever. I wasn't sure at the time if disease or soil pH was the cause, so I decided to go with the simplest remedy and again transplanted the tubers to their present spot. Superstition resumed working its old black magic, much to my delight.

That Old Black Magic

Day 245: Mysterious as a midnight rendezvous, "Superstition" is one of the most intense blacks available in an iris, and its color holds well through the blooming period. However, the color is somewhat sensitive to soil conditions, although I haven't determined what influences a possible fade to red. I will say that I was almost tempted to leave these where they were when after two years, they bleached to an unusually rich mahogany, but shifting them to a different part of the garden brought them back to a full black which has been consistent over the last decade.

I love black flowers. The squirrels made off with my "Queen of Night" tulips, though. Like "Superstition," they also hold their strong color throughout their life cycle when other purportedly "black" tulips fade to purple as the blossoms age.

That Old Black Magic

Day 252: That old black magic has me under its spell! This "black" iris is called Superstition and looks much darker on an overcast Pacific Northwest Day than it appears in this image. It holds its color well, but is somewhat sensitive to soil pH. Planted in another location only ten feet from its present spot, the blooms were a rich mahogany red! The only other "blacks" I've cultivated successfully have been tulips: Black Parrot and Queen of Night. Both retain their color better than other varieties.