As adults, Heather and Chris settled in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and planted irises of their own for the first time. We established iris beds along the driveway of our home. Although the area was in full sun, the ground was unlike anything we had seen before during our childhood in North Carolina.
A dominant soil order in many parts of the southeastern United States is Ultisol, and it is especially prevalent in North Carolina’s Piedmont. North Carolina also has heavy rainfall (over 50 inches per year). The combination of climate and soil characteristics required Heather and Chris to acquire some new skills and learn techniques for gardening in “red clay.”
Complete text appears in the World of Irises blog post Growing Irises Our East: Draining Well in the Piedmont. Heather volunteers as the managing editor of this blog, and it is our pleasure to support the mission of the American Iris Society to organize and share knowledge about the genus Iris.