More Bearded Iris Blossoms. 5.14.2020

Here is the white orphaned irise today.  It's nice.  Unlike "Immortality", it doesn't look like wet tissue paper after a rain. 

Here is what that iris rhizome looked like 5.21.2020 after I cleaned it up, after pulling it out of the brush pile.  It's amazing that it bloomed in almost exactly one year.  Irises are rugged.  That blossom was probably from the largest of these rhizome pieces.

Here is a view of the iris garden today.

"Immortality".  It actually does not look like wet tissue paper this time.  5.14.2020

Honorabile or Sans Souci, which may be the same thing.  5.14.2020

"Spiced Custard"  5.14.2020

"Red Dirt Road".  5.14.2020

"Edith Wolford".  5.14.2020

Orphaned Bearded Irises, First Bloom. 5.13.2020

These grew from rhizomes found while walking Rufus.  The white one was in the power company easement where a lot of people walk their dogs, and some dump yard waste, which is probably illegal.  The others were from a curbside "Free Irises" box, just rhizomes.  The sign said "purple and yellow" but that doesn't quite seem accurate.  One is not quite open, looks similar to Shah Jehan.  The last is the variety "Sunny Disposition", which I thought had died and I three the rhizomes into the woodlot, discovering growing rhizomes a year or two later and planting to see what would grow.  At the time, the only yellow that I had was "Sunny Disposition", and this looks exactly like it, so that clinches the ID.

Unknown White Iris from Walking Rufus.  5.12.2020

Unknown Irises From Walking Rufus.  5.13.2020

Iris Sunny Disposition.  5.13.2020

More Bearded Iris Blossoms. 5.11.2020

Bearded irises are my favorite flower.  Here are some more photos, taken today 5.11.2020

This was a "free rhizome" from the curbside while walking Rufus.

I pollinated "Immortality" with "Spiced Custard" and this is what grew.  I call it "Golden Caterpillar Climbing the Snowy Mountain to the Temple".  :-)

"Repeat Performance"

"Zin City"

Not an iris!  I planted this Itoh Peony from Home Depot a few months ago.  It's nice to have a sample flower now.  "Scarlet Heaven", I think.  5.11.2020

Another photo of  curbside rhizome, I think is "Blue Shimmer"  5.11.2020

Bearded Irises. 5.11.2020

Bearded iris "Iris pallida dalmatica"  5.11.2020

 Here are some irises in bloom today.  This is the best they've ever done for me.  Many are recovered from a few years ago when I gave up and deposited the rhizomes in the woodlot, only to find they did well in that situation so I recovered them and replanted.

I think the biggest problem is I'm reluctant to mulch them.  Everything I read says "don't mulch irises" but in reality, I think they do better that way, less fungal and bacterial disease.  Maybe this year I'll do that.

The watermark is my prior blog.  I'll change Picasa so it correctly shows this blog, in the future.

On the left, "Hemstitched" (I think).  Unknown on the right.

Modern bearded iris from Schreiners, "Red Dirt Road".  5.11.2020

The yellow iris is "Sunny Disposition".  I've grown this one for 20 years.

Various historic iris.  5.11.2020

Historic iris "Alcazar".  5.11.2020

"Left on the curb, free!" iris rhizome.  Possibly "Blue Shimmer".  5.11.2020

Iris "Play to Win".  5.11.2020

Iris "Sunny Disposition".  5.11.2020

Iris "Spiced Custard".  5.11.2020

Two More Rescued Iris Cultivars. 5.19.19

Bearded Iris "American Classic".  5.19.19

 These are two more rescues from the woodlot.  Now having bloomed, I can identify them.  It's a little like going through an o,d closet or attic and finding clothes that are useable and liked.

"American Classic" is modern, developed by Schreiners in 1996.  "Gay Parasol" is modern to my eyes, but also considered historic, developed by Schreiners in 1973.

Historic varieties are at least 30 years old.  This  one has nice color and form, and a little bit of ruffle, but is not as big and lavish as many of the 21st century developments.  Now that they are identified, I'll label them again and move them to big iris bed when they are dormant.

Today while delivering meals, I saw a large, obviously many-years ago established, border of Gay Parasol.  The house  is much older than the 1973 date, so it's possible that this iris was planted there 20 or more years ago.  There were others that I could not identify.  All very nice.

Bearded Iris "Gay Parasol".  5.19.19

Bearded Iris Test Garden. 5.19.19

 I'm pretty happy with how the irises have done this year.  Some are not done yet, but I can see the results.  Only two of the old, rescued clumps were not up to producing at least one flower.  Of the new cultivars, bought by mail order, only one ("Cheetah Cheese") produced flower at all.  I had 2 rhizomes of that variety, and unfortunately the one of those that did bloom was something else entirely.  I also had a new one, "Blatant", that I had bought locally and which was small, dried out, dead looking rhizomes, that I think I planted in October.  I didn't have a big expectation that they would survive, let alone bloom.  They did survive, are growing vigorously, so might bloom next year.   I expect that next year, these new ones may have more flowers, and the stems may be taller because the plants will be more established.

Next I will want to cull a few that are really not worth the space and effort.  In addition, I want to re-combine a few cultivars that are separated into more than one bunch, which will free up some spaces and look better.

I think I want the smaller cultivars together at one end of the bed.  I also want the re-bloomers together, because they benefit from extra care during the summer while others will be dormant.

The main thing now is I get to enjoy these beautiful flowers, and the bonus is most bloomed this year, a year sooner than I expected.

Irises Today. 5.15.19

Most of these are the same as other recent photos, but it wasn't raining today and I have a better camera this time.

Iris bed.  5.15.19

Mostly, Iris "Golden Caterpillar Climbs Snowy Mountain".  5.15.19

Iris Helen Collingwood.  5.15.19  Variety created in 1949 by Smith.

Iris Honorabile.  5.15.19  Variety created in 1840 by Lémon

Iris Loreley.  5.15.19  Variety created about 1909 or before, by Max Goos & August Koenemann

Iris Alcazar.  5.15.19.  Variety created by Phillippe de Vilmorin in Paris, France. It first bloomed in 1905.

Iris "Pay To Win"  5.15.19  Variety created by Hager in 2002.

Iris "Red Dirt Road".  5.15.19.   Variety created by Schriener in 2013.

Iris "Red Dirt Road".  5.15.19

Iris "Sunny Disposition".  5.15.19  Created by by Zurbrigg in 1989.

Historic Irises.  5.15.19

Mislabeled Iris.  Maybe Kinkajou Shrew.  5.15.19

Iris of the Day: Victoria Falls. And Others. 5.10.19

Victoria Falls.  5.10.19

Moving into more active iris blooming season. I'm impressed that so many that I planted last summer and fall are coming into their first bloom.  True, only one flower per rhizome (Except the ugly "My Friend Jonathan" which has two flower stalks), but it gives me a chance to see how they look.  They may also be smaller than they will be when established.

Today's most interesting is the modern "Victoria Falls", a fragrant, pale blue, rebloomer.  The color is nice.  In the sunlight, there appears to be a dusting of diamond dust on the petals, that glitters in the sun.  Very nice effect, which I have not seen before.

Of others, "Blutique" is not open yet, but the white spatters on blue show through the bud.

"His Royal Highness", the other half of the package that contained "My Friend Jonathan', is OK.  Strong looking growth, dark blue, slight fragrance.  Nothing that makes it stand out from other blue irises, but not bad.  Also marketed as a rebloomer.  I was thinking, maybe "My Friend Jonathan" might be more interesting if it actually reblooms in summer, when the light and other other flowers are different.

Blutique.  5.10.19

I recall "Spiced Custard" as being a larger flower.  It may be that my rescuing it from the edge of the woodlot, it didn't have time to build energy for a better performance.  I don't detect any fragrance.

And finally, a white iris with a golden beard.  This resulted from my pollinating "Spiced Custard" with pollen from "Immortality", many years ago.  I grew a number of seedlings, but this was the only one I kept.  It looks as good as any, with a golden beard instead of the white one of  "Immortality".  Mildly fragrant, smells like an iris.  So for my own record keeping, it's "Golden Caterpillar", short for "Golden Caterpillar Ascends The Snow Covered Mountains to Visit the Temple".  :-)

His Royal Highness.  5/10/19

Spiced Custard.  5.10//19

My Hybrid, "Golden Caterpillar".  5.11.19

Iris germanica. First iris this Spring. 4.29.19

Iris germanica.  4.29.19

This is the first of the irises to bloom this year.  Most skipped a couple of years because I gave up on them. Then I developed new enthusiasm and have been giving them more attention.

Most of the labels were lost when I moved the clumps from raised beds to the edge of the woodlot. I am pretty sire this is Iris germanica.  The only other blue to purple irises that I have in this size range, historic irises, are Eleanor Roosevelt (more purple and more uniformly colored) and Monsignor (the falls are very dark center with more pale edges, usually with distinctive veins in the falls).   Caprice is more of a pinkish lavender and has distinctive grape fragrance.  These have a more typical, although faint, iris fragrance.

This is among the healthiest clumps growing at the edge of the woodlot.

I will relabel them.  If I new evidence suggests a different ID, I can change it.

Meanwhile, this is a very nice part of Spring.

Bearded Irises. Update. 4.17.19

Early Bearded Iris Flower Buds.  4.17.19

Bearded Irises Almost Budding.  4.17.19

 Some of the bearded irises that I have been obsessing over are showing signs of flower buds.  A few clumps, in the woodlot border, have actual flower buds.   I counted 5 stems on one plant.  That might be a historic variety.  I also saw a couple of flower stems beginning to form on Alcazar, and some of the others.  One is a very large leaf variety, so I'm guessing it's more modern.  However, Helen Collingwood is also very large and vigorous.

I'm excited they will bloom and I can identify most of them once I see the flower.

Meanwhile, I dug out a few bearded iris plants from the fence row, where the gnarly rhizomes were thrown two years ago and some took root and grew.  There was also one in an area that has been converted back into lawn, and somehow survived, and one in deep shade under a spruce tree.  All are not in the "recovery bed" where they may need a year to come into bloom.   Tough plants, when they are neglected.

Bearded Iris Rescue Garden.  4.17.19

Is it Actually Better to Mulch Irises in this Climate? 4.7.19

Bearded Irises, No Mulch.  4.7.19

Bearded Irises, No Mulch.  4.7.19

 I have decided that the recommendations to never mulch irises are so much garden legend, unfounded and contrary to fact.  It could be, in most climates, and with most mulches, irises will get sick and die, like they suggest.  Rhizomes rotting due to too much moisture.

A few years ago, I basically gave up on my irises.  They repeatedly got fungal and/or bacterial leaf diseases.  Not only misshapen and ugly, but the leaves would die at their bases.

I finally gave up, planted them at the edge of the woodlot, and mostly forgot about them.  I mulched that area with arborist chips, to keep the weeds down. Interestingly, all of those irises flourished.  And no leaf diseases.  My enthusiasm returned, and I decided to move many of the clumps into a dedicated garden bed.  I kept the soil surface clean, and free of weeds.  I also added many new varieties.  However, the space was limited, so probably half of my bearded irises are still in the mulched border.

Meanwhile, I added a finely chopped fir bark mulch to those in the border.  This was the cheapest mulch I could find.  I used it to keep down weeds.

Bearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  4.7.19

Bearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  4.7.19

 Both groups of irises were doing great until this week.  We had a chill, a big rain storm, and several rainy days.

Result:  Now many of the irises that I am growing "correctly" have the leaf spot diseases again.  None of the mulched ones do.

I'm disappointed.  I really followed the instructions.  But the ones that I had "written off" and mulched regardless of the MANY reports stating not to,  look great.  MANY of the ones that I treated right, with no mulch - have leaf spot diseases.

Here is my theory.  Maybe the fir bark has antibacterial and antifungal properties.  And maybe the rain splashes spores of bacteria and fungi onto the leaves, where they grow.  Mulched soil does not allow the spread of the diseases.

As an aside, I had decomissioned some of the old raised iris beds and constructed a raised bud on top of them.  I dug out most of the irises and moved the clumps to the woodlot border, but some were too much trouble.  So I buried them, at least 6 inches deep.  DUring the next year, several bearded iris plants grew up through the soil, and did fine.

Mearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  3.7.19

Bearded Irises, Bark Mulch.  3.7.19

I dug those out and moved them.  They had constructed new, sort of vertical rhizomes, up to the soil surface.  They are growing fine.  So I'm really not convinved that the rule, never bury iris rhizomes, is universally true.  Maybe mostly true, in most places.  Garden wisdom happens for a reason.  But I have to face the facts and experience in my garden:  Not only does mulching, at least with shredded or small nougat fir bark, not damage iris rhizomes, it may well protect them from disease.

I'll continue to watch them, of course.  Maybe the ones in the mulched borders are just waiting then will burst out with devastating leaf diseases.  We'll see.