Juno - Rare Irises For Rocky Gardens. Planting, Care, Reproduction. Kinds. Photo

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Juno - Rare Irises For Rocky Gardens. Planting, Care, Reproduction. Kinds. Photo
Juno - Rare Irises For Rocky Gardens. Planting, Care, Reproduction. Kinds. Photo

Video: Juno - Rare Irises For Rocky Gardens. Planting, Care, Reproduction. Kinds. Photo

Video: Juno - Rare Irises For Rocky Gardens. Planting, Care, Reproduction. Kinds. Photo
Video: How to Plant Iris Correctly for Long Term Success 2024, March
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The Iris family is capable of surprising with its diversity. The range of irises is by no means limited to your favorite bearded, Siberian or Japanese irises. Among the relatives of incomparable garden stars, sometimes you can find unexpected and very original plants. One of these rare exotics is the beautiful Juno. Capricious and specific in agricultural technology, she prefers to settle in rocky gardens. Juno is one of the earliest flowering bulbous irises.

Bukhara iris (Iris bucharica) or Juno bucharica (Juno bucharica)
Bukhara iris (Iris bucharica) or Juno bucharica (Juno bucharica)

Content:

  • Stone-loving "not so" irises
  • Types of Juno
  • Conditions Needed by Junons
  • Juno's landing
  • Juno care
  • Breeding Juno

Stone-loving "not so" irises

Juno is one of the most original plants belonging to the Kasaticov family. Their classification is very confusing, since certain species constantly "migrate" to the genus of Irises and back, which is the cause of considerable confusion. But juno are not close relatives of the most popular rhizome irises, radically different from them in most characteristics. The plant got its name in honor of the goddess Juno - the patroness of women and the legendary goddess of the moon.

Juno (Juno) is a representative of perennial bulbous, medium-sized, but seemingly quite impressive due to densely leafy stems, plants. In the development of Junon, periods of long summer dormancy and short spring vegetation, lasting only 3-4 weeks, are pronounced.

In fact, this is a unique bulbous, the decorative period of which is so limited in time that it turns the juno into an exclusive, unprecedented decoration. This plant is planted exactly as an original accent, exotic, which not everyone can admire.

The maximum height of juno is limited to 50 cm, but plants 10-30 cm high are much more common. Bulbs consist of non-accrete fleshy scales (from 3 to 5) and dry film scales. The roots are powerful, cordlike, most often thickened, not dying off during the rest period. Juno's leaves bend in a sickle shape, hugging the shoots, being arranged alternately and creating a bizarre and massive silhouette. Narrow-grooved or broadly grooved, Juno leaves always flaunt a glossy sheen that emphasizes the deep green tone.

The color of the foliage changes from a light bluish-blue tint at the bottom of the shoots to a bright light or medium green at the top. Single flowers bloom on the shoots (at the top and in the axils of the leaves). Most often, one plant produces 2-4 flowers, but sometimes up to 7 flowers bloom on the shoots.

Fragrant, with a six-lobed perianth and a pronounced tube, flowers only vaguely resemble irises. The outer perianth lobes are always decorated with a marigold, passing into a winged plate, several times larger than the inner lobes extended to the sides or bent down.

Juno always blooms in mid-spring. Usually the plant is "tied" to April, but the growing season of this bulbous one directly depends on the characteristics of the weather throughout the year.

Junon's color palette is very diverse, but only in shades: the flowers of this plant are always painted either white and cream, or in different tones of yellow and light purple.

Juno caucasica
Juno caucasica

Types of Juno

Despite the fact that earlier more than fifty plants were combined into the genus Juno, today most of the species have been reclassified as irises. Only 3 out of 5 types of Junon are used as ornamental plants. All of them are united by beautiful foliage and spectacular white or yellow flowering, comparative unpretentiousness and endurance. Juno is naturally found throughout Eurasia, but the spread in their ranges is quite large. Some of the species are North African. These plants live in dry steppes and on mountain slopes, which largely determines the specifics of their cultivation.

Juno Caucasian (Juno caucasica) - zheltotsvetuschy compact view in height and 25 cm Small, bulbs flat width of up to 2 cm thick roots and produce strong shoots crowning inflorescence few-flowered.. The leaves are crowded or widely spaced, hugging the stem, gray-green. The flowers are asymmetrical, up to 5 cm in diameter, with long, elegant and short inner marigold lobes of the perianth. The pale yellow color is accentuated by a bright spot on the outer petals. This is one of the earliest flowering irises, which can bloom even at the end of March in favorable weather.

Foster Juno (Juno fosterana) - compact plant height up to 20 cm centimeter elongated bulb, surprises with its huge number of brown dry flakes. Stems with close, sickle-curved leaves with a bordered edge look spectacular and unusual. Each shoot blooms from 1 to 4 flowers, the diameter of which reaches 5 cm. The perianth tube is long, up to 4 cm, the outer lobes are pale yellow, the inner ones are pale purple. This is the only "multi-colored" species of genuine Juno.

Juno waryleyensis is a very ornamental plant with larger, up to 2.5 cm bulbs and stems about 30 cm tall, with widely spaced leaves and symmetrical internodes. Unlike other Juno, the Worilean leaves are not dark, but light, with a beautiful border around the edge and a rough surface. The flowers are unscented, but with a beautiful purple color, the shades of which can vary from dark to light. The perianth with a long tube adorns with a spectacular marigold and a velvety dark plate on the outer lobes and deep purple inner lobes.

Juno caucasica
Juno caucasica
Juno waryleyensis
Juno waryleyensis
Juno fosterana
Juno fosterana

Two other species of Juno are considered exceptional rarity - Juno porphyrochrysa and Juno issica.

Genuine Juno is very rarely found on sale, with the exception of the Caucasian Juno. But more and more often in the catalogs of exotics, hybrid junoes appear, obtained by crossing and breeding plants, which are better adapted to the conditions of regions with severe winters and are more promising.

But those Junoes, which were transferred to the Iris family, are much more widespread and popular. So, it is with the name "Juno" that the most famous of the early flowering bulbous irises is associated - Bukhara iris.

Bukhara iris (Iris bucharica (synonym - Juno bucharica)) is a bulbous perennial, the bulbs of which are limited to a maximum of 2 cm in height and diameter. Stems 15 to 30 cm high are covered with crescent-curving, light green grooved leaves, narrowed at the top. Up to 5 flowers with a diameter of about 7 cm bloom on each stem. The inner perianth lobes are white, sharp, with a rhombic-three-lobed plate. The outer lobes are painted in dark or light yellow tones, flaunting a marigold gradually expanding into an elongated plate. Bukhara iris seems delicate and watercolor. Flowers appear in late April, contrast beautifully with glossy leaves, flowering lasts up to 3 weeks.

Bukhara iris (Iris bucharica) or Juno bucharica (Juno bucharica)
Bukhara iris (Iris bucharica) or Juno bucharica (Juno bucharica)

Other plants reclassified back to irises continue to spread under the old name Juno:

1) Iris orchid or juno orchid (Iris orchioides, formerly Juno orchioides) is a very decorative and popular bulbous perennial. Stems with rather large internodes reach 30 cm in height. In the axils of the leaves, up to 5 flowers bloom. Leaves are bordered, light, rough. The pale yellow flowers are very effective due to the bright golden color of the plates with purple strokes, the dark ridge of the outer lobes and the sharp three-lobed plate - the inner ones. Orchid iris blooms in early spring, it is considered a very valuable and exclusive plant.

2) Iris dwarf (Iris pumila, synonym - juno blue (Juno coerulea)) is a catchy white-lilac look, in which flowers contrast especially beautifully with foliage. The dwarf iris bulbs do not exceed 2.5 cm in diameter. The leaves have a bright, rich green color, they sit close together, internodes are practically invisible. On each peduncle, up to 5 flowers bloom, the shoots themselves are low, only up to 7 cm. Lilac-blue flowers up to 7 cm in diameter adorn with lanceolate light inner lobes and twice as large - outer ones, on which a non-pterygoid marigold with practically parallel edges is clearly visible. Dwarf iris blooms in the middle of spring, looks fresh and bright.

3) Iris replacing (Iris vicaria or juno replacing - Juno vicaria)) - a plant with larger, up to 3.5 cm bulbs, stems capable of growing up to half a meter and light glossy foliage, on which a yellowish tint at the base and bluish tint is noticeable. the edge of the sheet plates. The flowers are non-aromatic, pale, creamy lilac, with a dark yellow spot and crest. It is considered one of the easiest to grow bulbous irises for the middle lane.

These are plants with the same leafy shoots, but slightly different flowering, mainly of a two-color palette and some differences in vegetation. Such "Juno" is much easier to grow, they thrive in any loose soil, but still their requirements are almost identical.

Iris replacing (Iris vicaria) or Juno replacing (Juno vicaria)
Iris replacing (Iris vicaria) or Juno replacing (Juno vicaria)
Iris dwarf (Iris pumila) or Juno blue (Juno coerulea)
Iris dwarf (Iris pumila) or Juno blue (Juno coerulea)
Orchid iris (Iris orchioides) or Juno orchioides (Juno orchioides)
Orchid iris (Iris orchioides) or Juno orchioides (Juno orchioides)

In the design of the garden, Juno is used:

  • on the alpine slides;
  • in rockeries;
  • to introduce contrasts with carpet plants and boulders in rocky gardens;
  • in landscape groups with spring stars;
  • in the foreground of flower beds;
  • for the design of southern slopes and terraced gardens;
  • to decorate the front edge of groups and hedges with flowering shrubs;
  • as a spring decoration under large trees;
  • in a pot culture;
  • in mobile rock gardens;
  • as a cut and greenhouse plant;
  • for forcing;
  • as an indoor garden culture.

Best partners for Juno: muscari, hyacinths, crocuses, daffodils, scillas, snowdrops, chionodoxes, anemones

Conditions Needed by Junons

The key to success in growing juno in the garden, especially in the middle lane, is to create conditions close to the natural growing areas of the plant. Climate change is also bringing our conditions closer to the beloved Juno - cold winters, dry summers and wet springs. For juno, they must provide warm, secluded, protected places, reliably protected from winds and drafts by large plantings. But at the same time, not shaded, but only well-lit areas are suitable for these plants. True, it should be borne in mind that even when planting under large trees, the juno will enjoy the sun during the growing season, because usually, by the time the juno withers, woody and shrubs just release their leaves.

Special attention must be paid to the characteristics of the soil. Juno cannot stand stagnant water and are accustomed to growing in rocky ground. For them, drained, light areas of rockeries and rock gardens are ideal, but not elevations, but hollows or relatively low places where there is no risk of increased freezing. On flower beds and in garden ensembles, light loams are better suited for Junons, which will completely replace the usual stony-clay soils. At the slightest risk of water stagnation in the area where the Juno is planned to be planted, it is better to immediately lay additional drainage.

Growing in containers is considered an easier way, because it is easier for Juno to provide a dry summer dormant period. When planting in pots and containers, Juno requires a sunny location and a versatile lightweight substrate with the addition of a double portion of sand and a small amount of organic fertilizers. Capacities for juno are selected large, deep, so that fleshy roots can freely develop in them and a very high drainage can be laid.

Iris replacing (Iris vicaria) or Juno replacing (Juno vicaria)
Iris replacing (Iris vicaria) or Juno replacing (Juno vicaria)

Juno's landing

Junos are planted a little later than tulips - in mid-September. When planting, you need to be very careful with the fleshy roots, trying to cause as little damage as possible even to the thin filamentous roots. Junos are planted in individual planting holes, placing the bulbs at a depth of 5-8 cm (despite their small size, a higher planting is associated with the risk of losing them in the first winter). The distance from neighboring plants is at least 30-40 cm, and preferably half a meter (these bulbs are actively growing). From above, it is advisable to mulch the planting with any available materials.

Junons are planted in containers at the same depth. But at the bottom of the tanks, a high layer of large drainage from 1/3 to? container height.

Juno care

Despite the plant's status as semi-wild and unpretentious, juno will require additional watering. Plants must be watered during dry periods in spring and fall. When the plant enters the summer dormancy period, it is not watered, and with too heavy rainfall, it is additionally protected from excess moisture by special greenhouses.

If there is no way to protect the plants from summer waterlogging, no measures were taken to drain the soil, then after the foliage wilted, you can dig up the bulbous ones and save them until planting in September in large containers, covering them with light soil or sand (you need to handle the roots very carefully). Since the growing season of juno is very short, additional watering will not cause difficulties.

Top dressing is carried out only for potted Junons (during the growing season - every week). Other maintenance measures are not needed, with the exception of young crops, which need protection from weeds.

These plants need regular rejuvenation and transplantation with a frequency of 1 every 4-5 years due to the tendency to actively grow and thicken to the detriment of flowering. In this case, they are dug out after wilting, separated and after summer in a container they are planted in September in a new place.

Due to the very short growing season, pests and diseases of Juno are not scary. But when waterlogged, especially in summer, the plant is extremely sensitive to rot. Juno bulbs rarely attract rodents.

Iris dwarf (Iris pumila) or Juno blue (Juno coerulea)
Iris dwarf (Iris pumila) or Juno blue (Juno coerulea)

Breeding Juno

This bulbous can be obtained both by vegetative methods and from seeds.

Juno forms daughter plants quite actively. When dense juno "nests" are formed, individual bulbs can be dug up and separated, each of which is planted as an independent plant. "Nests" are planted after the end of the growing season and the death of leaves. During separation, the roots are handled with extreme care, since the regeneration buds at their base are very easy to damage. The dug up bulbs are stored in sand or light soil in containers until mid-September.

Juno seeds are sown in the fall. Shallow sowing with mulching plantings for the winter allows you to preserve fragile shoots in the first spring. Young junoes require intensive care - protection from weeds, gentle loosening of the soil, watering in spring and autumn. Bulbs bloom in the third or fourth year. Transplanting to a permanent place is carried out in the second or third year, in the fall, digging up the plants in the spring after the leaves have wilted and keeping them in containers until planting. Juno seeds remain viable for 20 years.

Juno is also propagated by dividing the bottom of the onions - separating the roots with a bud at the base, from which an independent plant will develop.

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