Heritage Iris Order

These are heritage Irises from Green Thumbs Galore in Chattanooga Tennessee. The variety pics are from their website - should be OK since I provide a link. I went Bonkers with irises this year. Not clear on where they will all be planted. These went into containers, for now. New Irises are flashy, with bright, diverse colors and patterns, big flowers, and ruffles. Some are not great in the rain, becoming malformed globs of petals, and stalks that fall over. Fragrance has not been retained in hybridization, except for a few. Heritage irises have simpler form, fewer more muted colors, and smaller flowers. This is a generalization that is not be 100% true. They are more likely to be Fragrant, I think. I hope the smaller simpler flowers and stems will hold up in the rain. I consider this my "test garden". I plan to give away the ones I don't like. That may be a few years down the road. It's not so Darwinian with Irises. They don't die off, even with neglect. They may quit blooming, but so far I haven't had one variety die off. Some - just a couple - did not grow at the outset - all dried out rhizomes from big box stores, planted in late fall. One might have grown but was in a bad spot and hasn't bloomed yet in 3 years. I moved it, we'll see if that's the one, when it blooms. The rhizomes arrived nicely packaged. They appear freshly dug, with no drying of leaf tips. The packaging was slightly moist but no mold or mildew. I get the feeling they were dug up for my order - nice thought. There were fewer roots and more top than some other orders - I don't think that's a problem, just a difference. Transplanting them from the humid summer of TN to the dry summer of WA, and the differences in soil and winter climate, they may have a bit of a shock. No place set aside for them yet. Irises have limited root systems, so I planted in containers. As long as I keep them watered they should be OK. I can moved them into a sheltered spot this winter, if needed. If I get a location cleared and prepared, I'll move them into the ground. I'm curious about how they will do in containers, anyway. The largest really should go into the ground. Loreley. Heritage Iris Preservation Society (HIPS) lists Loreley as developed in 1909. It appears to be a much smaller variety. Hybridized by "Goos & Koenemann" Unknown Variety, "NoID" listed as "purple with silver beard, bitone". Unknown Variety, "NoID" listed as "Lilac". Helen Collingwood. Heritage Iris Preservation Society (HIPS) has better pics. They list Helen as developed in 1949. It's big (40 inches) which is opposite of what I said about old varieties. Also very vigorous. No comment there about fragrence.

Baby Plum Tree

This looks to me like a plum seedling. I planted seeds in this pot in June. No expectations as to germination. These were not pits that I removed seeds from - separate batch - an the seeds were mailed to me from a friend in Georgia. They are a wild, native yellow plum. I'm surprised it did not need stratification, and I don't know how to manage it through the winter, but shouldn't be too difficult. That's assuming it's really a plum and not a weed. Does look plum-like.

Little Orchard revisited

Now I'm thinking about adding another row. There is room. That would be 5 more fruit trees. Which types? Maybe... - Asian Persimmon? I can't get the idea of astringent American varieties out of my mind, even though, apparently, when fully ripe they are very sweet and not astringent. I need to research a bot more. I don't want one that needs a pollinator. Maybe Early Jiro? Pretty fruits, pic from One Green World. Black Sea Jujube. All of these pics are from One Green World. Li Jujube. Chinese Haw That leaves room for one mulberry, probably the same as I have at home, Illinois Everbearing. I love the flavor and the "everbearing" aspect is attractive. So far my home tree has minimal production but is only in its 3rd year.

Mini Orchard Plan

Most of this is just thinking. I have a mulberry that needs to go somewhere, and would like to add a black mulberry. With need for apple pollinator, maybe a multigraft would be best. Similar for Asian plum. I'm fairly firm on the paw paws, although I don't know if they will survive and thrive. Similar for the peaches. If they suffer major leaf curl, I should give up on those. The "unknown" gets one chance to bloom and/or fruit. If nothing, then I want the space for something productive. I would like a good Asian plum. What else? Pear? A lot of the pleasure is in the thinking.

Getting the little orchard going

The first fig tree was already planted a couple of weeks ago. In addition there is a deer-ravished plum, deer-ravished small apples (2), deer-ravished apricot(?), and one tree that I don't know what it is. Now that I have water, I planted two of the paw paws and 2 peaches. They were in containers, so I had to keep them watered anyway. It's hard to see much here. The post on the far left is the Petite negri fig, which is surviving and not much worse for having been planted in the hottest part of the summer. This is a grid, 3 by 5 for 15 trees total. It was going to be 3 by 6, but the gate location took care of the end three. At least I hadn't planted anything there yet. The grid will be uneven due to a few pre-existing trees, but that's OK. The 2 on the far end are paw paws, and the 2 closer ones are peaches. I debated planting the paw paws. This is not considered the time of year to plant them. These were in containers. One of the main issues is tap root, which if damaged can kill the tree. I opted to carefully slide off the containers, and planted without disturbing the root balls. My usual approach is to spread out the roots, but with paw paws the roots are said to be brittle and easily damaged. My thought is that if I'm not going to disturb the root ball anyway, I might as well plant them now. It was windy - the big leaves looked like they thought there was a hurricane. Might be a mistake. Paw paws are said to require a high humus soil, so I mixed in a lot of compost. The Paw paws are "Sunflower" and "NC-1". I have a small one remaining, which I'll wait until fall to plant. Again, not the best time for paw paws, but if I'm not going to disturb the root ball, they might as well be in the ground. The two peaches were also container grown, which I had planted in plastic barrels this spring. These peaches are reported as Leaf Curl resistant - Charlotte and Oregon Leaf Curl Resistant, and they might as well get the full test. I did spread their roots out, although I tried not to damage any. I sprayed the trees with deer repellent. Paw paws are not considered a deer treat, but I wanted to be careful. As always, we'll see. All 4 trees are loosely tied to posts, and there is a compost mulch. In addition, I scattered dog-yard cleanings as hoped for deer repellent. Doesn't hurt anything here - there is no one around to step in it, and it is close to the little trees. The theory is that deer regard the dog "spoor" as evidence of predators, so will avoid the area. My dogs are not exactly predators - they might wag their tails. But the deer don't know that. I also scattered cilantro seeds, since one of the peaches had cilantro that had gone to seed in its pot, so it was immediately available. I gave them all big doses of water. Three figs south of the house - they will get full south light and heat. Sal's is finally out of its pot, after years of container growth. The King figs are only a foot tall. Might take a while. So small they are difficult to see. They are well mulched, got lots of compost, and metal stakes so they don't get run over. I also plan to move some larger fig trees here when they are dormant.