Neighborhood Bearded Irises, All Mulched. 5.17.19

 My helper, Rufus, took me around the neighborhood to look at bearded irises and check on my observation that mulched irises are healthier than unmulched irises, contrary to virtually every bit of advice in books and websites.

In this area, the main mulch used is shredded fir bark.  I think that's what I see nine times out of ten.

Around the neighborhood, there are many patches of irises, some apparently many years old and not maintained other than by mulching.  Of the ones that I saw, only the one that shares a photo with Rufus is un-mulched, and I'm not sure about that one due to the thick plantings of poppies and other flowers

 So in the end, the only irises that I've seen with disease - black spot - have been the bare-soil ones in my own yard.  And those are just about the only ones that are not mulched.

This summer after I divide and clean up the irises in my own yard, I'll put down a layer of shredded fir bark.  It certainly doesn't seem to hurt, and appears to help prevent leaf spot and other diseases.

I don't know why so many references state that irises should not be mulched.  Maybe that's the midwest, or other wet summer climates?

There are certainly some beautiful iris gardens around the neighborhood, too.  I have not ID'ed any of them, but they are very nice.

Sweetcorn Seedlings.  5.15.19

Seedlings are germinating nicely, planted last week. Zinnias, sweetcorn in the garden and cucumbers, some squashes, in the sunroom.

We had a hot spell, now chilly and rainy.  We'll see how that affects things.

Pickle Seedlings.  5.15.19

Zinnia Seedlings.  5.15.19

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

Pawpaws, Will They or Won't They?. 5.14.19

 These are clusters of pawpaws forming on the varieties NC-1 and Sunflower.  I can't say for certain which tree has more.  I've had tiny pawpaws fall off at this stage, but they are starting to look promising.

Of the maybe hundred flowers that I hand pollinated, maybe a dozen clusters are present and some of those might fall off.  If these all develop into fruit, that will be very cool, but I'm happy with just a few.  Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I think you have to pollinate about ten times the number of flowers, as fruits that you hope will form.  Also, I don't know whether morning or evening is better, or if it matters. 

Irises Today. 5.14.19

Bearded Iris "Before the Storm"  5.14.19

It's been raining for more than a day, so most of the current iris flowers are somewhat less than perfect.  Still, it was nice to re-identify a couple of the rescued cultivars that had lost their labels, and see what a new one looked like.

There are several dark dark blues, which correspond to the original cultivar that I had of "Before the Storm".  These held up nicely in this rain.

The variety "Cheetah Cheez" is a variegated (broken color) with a predominance of yellow and orange.  Mine came out with mostly purple-ish colors.  I don't know what variety this really is.

Bearded Iris NOT "Cheetah Cheese".  5.14.19

 Allowing for thefact that iris colors often look bluer in photos and online, than in person, this may be the variety "Kinkajou Shrew".  Or not.

Bearded Iris "Red Dirt Road"/  5.14.19

 The very tall, brick red iris is "Red Dirt Road"  Nice size and the color is nice.

I was able to re-identify the variety "Sunny Disposition", which I've had for almost 20 years. 

I was looking at photos of "Zin City" online, and starting to regret buying it.  It's in a smaller size class, but the color and flower are very nice, especially in person. 

If I can get some photos tomorrow in better light and better camera, I'll give it a try.  These are not as vibrant as the flowers are in person.

Bearded Iris "Sunny Disposition".  5.14.19

Bearded Iris "Zin City'.  5.14.19