Bearded Irises. Trying Once Again. 9.6.18

Night Hawk.  2013.

Mixed Bearded Irises.  5.19.15

Edith Wolford.  5.15.14

I had given up on bearded irises.  They are probabl my favorite perennial flower, at least when in season.  And they are considered very easy to grow.  They survive hot dry summers, buy going dormant, so need little care then.

However, for some reason, they've done so poorly in some years and locations, I gave up.  They develop leaf spot and bacterial rot, die and fall over.  Meanwhile, it's difficult to keep them weeded.  So I gave up.  I didn't throw them away.  Instead, I dug out the clumps and moved them to the sunny side of the edge of the woods, where I cleared out blackberries.  There, I let them be, to die or grow as they see fit.

This year, there wasn't much  bloom.  I didn't expect it.  But the leaves were stronger and thicker than in previous years, and they did not have any bacterial rot or leaf spot, which were scourges for me.  Deer didn't touch them, which is great.  I did not water all summer long, and they continue to survive and grow into healthy-looking clumps.

Unlabeled Bearded Iris Clumps - In Recovery.  9.6.18

Bearded Iris Rhizomes Planted Summer 2018.

 I decided to give them another try.  This time, I'll plant them in unamended soil, unlike the compost-amended soil that I had in raised beds in the past.  This location was a blackberry bramble for many years.  In 2017, it grew sweet corn.  In 2018, it grew garlic.  I have not added compost.

As for which irises, since I was basically discarding them, I didn't label the clumps.  I'm leaving most in place in the border, but re-rescuing any that are in shade or too close to trees.  One is transferred from a front border.   Most but not all, are historic varieties.

In addition, I ordered rhizomes from Schreiners' in Oregon.  This is the best sources, of the healthiest rhizomes, that I know.  I ordered, and planted, Victoria Falls (light blue), Cheetah Cheeze (Variegated Orange flower with white splashes), Zin City (Burgundy), Play to Win (Yellow falls, white standards), Beverly Sills (Pink-ish, an older variety), Edith Wolford (I liked this in garden.  Blue falls, yellow standards), Red Hawk (and old one that I grew and liked, brick red, sort of), Owyhee Desert (an odd combination of white and sandy buff colors, and tiny burgundy splashes), and Padded Shoulders (white standards, falls with splashes of buff).  There was a free bonus of Starting Fresh - white standards, falls with blue and white.

That's probably  more than I should have bought.  I know that if they bloom, I'll  like them a lot.  This location is difficult to reach with the garden hose, so I want it to need minimal or no water next summer, good for irises. 

I also picked up  the package shown, from Costco.  The deep red color is "My Friend Jonathan" and the blue is "His Royal Highness". 

I may move a few other clumps that are in the trees, where they will dwindle away unless moved.

It will be nice if they bloom like they did at their best.  If not, it's not much of a loss.   I'll hope for flowers next may.

The Bamboo transplants, progress Report. About 2 summers later. 9.6.18

 These are the timber bamboo divisions that I divided (via Sawzall) and planted in Jan, 2016.  They are in the chicken yard, so get more water and fertilizer (via chicken) than other bamboo plants that I planted.  They have made great progress.

The original photo is a link to my prior post, when transplanting them in Jan, 2016.

My conclusion, is that the Sawzall method of dividing bamboo clumps, works.  They took hold, and are growing nicely.  There is a big variation - one fell over last winter, and has just a small pole which does look healthy.  The others are becoming nice shade for the chickens, and are taller than the original poles.

Resuming again. Again. :-) 9.6.18

Well, it's been a challenging summer in the garden.  The heat was difficult to deal with.  With many days over 100, I had to water some kitchen garden crops daily, or lose them.  It was hard to be out there watering.  Yellow jackets destroyed most of the summer fig crop - a new problem, first time in 18 years of growing figs.  That wasn't just here.  Home Depot and Fred Meyer ran out of yellow jacket traps.  The onions were repeatedly eaten my rabbits or deer, despite some creative mini-fences, so there was not crop of those.  I did get a crop of garlic despite the rabbits/deer, but it took frequent adjustments in coverings, and repellent sprays.  So some changes will be needed next year.

However, we got through the summer.  Subsequent posts will update some of the progress, and preparation for what comes next.  Some will be better attention towards the challenges of climate, herbivores, predators, and my own limitations, which are more than before.

Cheers!  On the the next joys, which are what it is all about.

Summer Seed Plantinbg Experiment: Perennial flowers. 7.14.18

In other years, I've planted several types of seeds in the mid-summer, usually vegetables that are ready in Fall, or some perennials that will bloom in subsequent years.  I've already planted turnips and radishes, which have germinated.  Next, some flowers.  This time I will plant in rows, same as vegetables.  If they grow, I can transplant in Spring to wherever I want them.

Paw Paw Trees. Progress Report. 7.13.18

 These are the 3 largest of the Paw Paw trees.  Sunflower and NC-1 were planted summer 2012.   That year I also planted "Rebecca's Gold", which died for some reason.

Not pictured is "mango" which I think was planted 2013 0r 2014. 

Allegheny has not bloomed yet but looks pretty vigorous.  I think I planted it in 2015 or so.

NC-1 is the most vigorous but Sunflower set by far the most fruit this year, which is the first year any of them have had developing fruit this far along.  I hand pollinated between these trees.    Both Sunflower and NC-1 have several trees a foot or two from the main trunk, which would be the rootstock.  I might leave those in place, since they could be pollinators for the main tree.   Sunflower looked a bit frail last year, but seems to be better this year.

When I planted these trees, I was so concerned about reported fragility of the roots, I did not untangle them.  I don't know if I would take the same approach now.  It might be better to bare root them, gently, using a stream of water.