Showing posts with label Sunny Disposition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunny Disposition. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Iris if the Day. "Sea Power". And Others. 5.21.19

Sea Power.  5.21.19

Sea Power.  5.21.19
 Today's iris of the day is "Sea Power", a modern, very ruffled blue tall bearded iris.  I've had it several years but this is the first bloom.  Mildly fragrant.  Nice color, big blue flowers.  Very nice.

I may have to re-label that previous "American Classic".  I think that wasn't from my own originals but rather a curbside pile of rhizomes with a "free" sign.  I didn't know I still had"American Classic" and bought a new one last summer from Schreiners.  That new one is about to bloom, with what appears to be richer color and more modern form.  That brings the question, what is is iris, and I don't know,  I will need to recaption when I'm on my computer.

The others are new photos of varieties that continue to bloom,  It's nice walking around looking at them and sniffing for scent.
Opening Flower, American Classic.  5.21.19

Immortality

Dark Blue Iris.  Blue Knight?  Before the Storm?  5.22119

Sunny Disposition.  5.21.19

Los Coyotes.  5.21.19

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Bearded Iris Fall Bloom. 10.17.15

Bearded Iris "Sunny Disposition"  10.17.15
This bearded iris reblooms fairly reliably each fall.  I don't care for fall blooming iris because the rains have usually started.  Rain on these flowers makes them look like wet nose tissue paper.  This year it's not raining at the moment, so we get a pretty nice flower.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Bearded Iris Progress Report. 7.19.14

Historic Bearded Iris Raised Bed #2

Historic Bearded Iris Raised Bed #1
I really messed up the historic iris beds last year.  I gave them lots of TLC, compost, lime, coffee grounds, eggshells, and a small nitrogen boost.  Growth was lush and thick.  They looked great going into winter.

Then this Spring, they grew lush again, then were hit with multiple waves of bacterial rot.  Clump after clump was affected, with some losing almost all of the leaf fans, some losing a few.  A few were lost entirely.  Some have one tiny shoot remaining.

Meanwhile, the irises I planted in the fence-row, and in borders by the house, were entirely neglected and had no bacterial rot.  They bloomed reasonably well.

Realizing the TLC was the problem, but not knowing what aspect of TLC, I left the historic iris raised beds alone for the rest of Spring and early summer.

Meanwhile, this Spring I received an order of several varieties from Old House Gardens, and this week a partial order from Schreiner's.  I would not have ordered them, had I known the bacterial rot would be so challenging, but those orders were from some time back.

Today I weeded and culled Historic Bearded Iris Bed #2.  Culls:  All but one cluster of Cherry Garden.  That variety did survive the epidemic, but blooms too early, in the rain, which destroys many of the flowers.  The bloom time is short.  I still like it, very pretty, so kept one cluster.   I culled Romeo, which may be mislabeled, was ugly, bloomed only in Fall for 2 years, when the flowers are made even uglier by the rains.  Some varieties came through the epidemic like champions - Loreley, Sunny Disposition, and some fans of Los Coyotes.  The new rhizomes of Owyhee Desert and Gay Geisha barely survived, but have some small baby shoots.  The rest were in between.  From the areas where I removed rhizomes, or where there was no longer a cluster, I dug out the soil, replacing with powderized mole hill soil, without supplement or compost.  I planted the replacement Gingersnap  from Schreiners, where the prior one died.  I planted Mrs. George Darwin, Dauntless, and Crimson King where others were removed, in the replacement soil.  Dauntless has a suspicious area, may have bacterial rot.  Will try anyway.  I removed the weeds and all of the sedum, so there would not be plants shading the rhizomes.    I watered them in.  Debated doing that.  The summer days are hot, sunny, and dry.  I hope that means no further epidemic, and the watering helps them establish.  But no other TLC.

I pulled just enough weeds from bed #3 to plant the new variety "June Krauss".  That is also in un-enriched replacement soil.

I pulled some weeds and removed clusters of Chinese Chives from Historic Iris Bed #1. I liked the Chinese Chives there but they take too much room.  I dug out the first row, including the tiny remaining sprout of Shannopin and small sprouts of Flavescens and Alcazar.  I replaced the soil with unimproved soil, and replanted those 3 plants.  They may not have enough growth to bloom next year.  If they produce enough for growth the following year, that will make me happy.  I removed a few more weeds, watered the rest lightly because the soil is too hard to get the weeds out, and watered in the replanted irises.

I don't want to lose the Alcazar.  I hope it survives.

The Chinese chives are sitting in the shade.  They need a new location.  They are seedlings from my parents' yard, so I don't want to lose them.





Sunday, October 27, 2013

Bearded Iris Beds, maintenance and unexpected blooming.

Sunny Disposition Oct 29 2013

Bearded Iris Bed #1 ready for winter
 Today did some minor cleanup of the bearded Iris beds.  Very superficial, using garden fork to break up the soil surface and remove weed seedlings.  Cut off dying leaves, using garden scissors.

Interesting, this is the first time I've had a rebloom for Bearded Iris "Sunny Disposition".  Nice thick petal substance.  Nice fragrance.
Bearded Iris Beds #2 and #3 ready for winter

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Bearded Irises in Bloom.

Sunny Disposition 1989, Accent 1952, Bumblebee Deelite 1986

Accent 1952
 Irises in bloom.  These photos were from a few days ago.  It's raining too much today.  All of these were divided and replanted last year.  From clumps that were filled with grass and not blooming.  After dividing and replanting, I watered multiple times in the summer with 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of Miracle Gro for tomatoes.  Not organic.  But no pesticide or herbicide.  I considered this intensive care for these irises.  It worked well.  They recovered very well.  This method was successful.  The clumps are each in a tree circle of edging to keep out grass.  That helps a lot.

Sunny Disposition.  One of the first ones I grew.  There are starts of this one around the yard, and at the Battleground place.  Sunny Disposition is fragrant.  It blooms despite neglect.  It sometimes falls over in the rain.

Accent.  Identified via HIPS website.  Accent is reliable, rugged, takes neglect, and does not fall over in the rain.

Bumblebee Deelite.  Much smaller.  These have also multiplied and grow nicely.  I planted them in the fence rows at the Battleground place.   None of those bloomed this year.  It's a cute variety.

Redondo.  Doesn't look anything like the web photo.  Red type colors do not come true in photos and the internet.  This is also a smaller variety.  It was an early bloomer.

Immortality.  As of last year, considered a heritage variety.  Lush white flower.  I'm glad it recovered.

Gay Parasol.  Nice with a light fragrance.  Will either keep  here or add to heritage varieties at Battleground.

Pink Bubbles.  A border variety.  The leaves were not vigorous but the flowers are nice.  Also a heritage variety that I might move to the Battleground place, but also like here.

Edith Wolford.  Not a heritage variety yet.  This clump recovered very well with the treatment above.  Many flower spikes and each with multiple flowers.  Very nice.

Red Oriental Poppy.  I grew these from seeds in about 2002.  They needed a year or two to bloom.  I've moved them once since establishment.  Lush and bright.  Nice.   Last winter I read about growing Papaver somniferum, and found seeds at Portland Nursery.  Then I read about potential legal problems with growing that species.  So I didn't grow those.  Papaver orientalis is just as lush, and no legal issues.
Redondo 2000


Immortality 1982

Gay Parasol 1974, Pink Bubbles 1980

Edith Wolford 1986, Gay Parasol, Pink Bubbles


Red Poppy