Linda, back at the end of August
2007, I rec'd about 50 iris that had been greatly traumatized by being
left in Customs for over 3 weeks. Needless to say, we have since
changed our methods of ordering outside Canada, with much better
success.
Optimally, I like to receive new
iris around the end of July, to give them time to settle in before our
harsh winters.
I could smell the iris before I even
opened the box. I gloved up, and gingerly opened the box to find a
mostly slimey mass of foliage and rhizomes. I carefully unpacked the
box, and left the iris to dry a bit in the sun while I prepared several
containers of 10% bleach solution. Not all of the rhizomes were hard,
but I treated them all anyway, and left them again to dry in the sun.
As their names were written on the foliage, I was unable to read most
of them.
When I was about to plant them all
the next morning, I noticed my container of perennial Myke, so I gently
dipped each rhizome in a bit of water, then into this product that has
mycorrhizal fungi which is supposed to help root growth.
About half of them survived that
first winter. A few even bloomed last year, and I was able to id
them. I'm hoping more will bloom this year.
Now, I haven't tried any further
experiments w the myke product on irises, but perhaps I should.
Plus, for about the last 10 years,
I've swished every new iris, no matter where it comes from, in 10%
bleach sol'n.
El, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Z3
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 7:11 AM
Subject: [iris] Re: Help:
Rhizome/stalk question
> Well Donald, that's discouraging to
hear! But interesting that you have
> data showing it can have different causes.
>
> Have you experimented to see if there is anything that can be done
to
> minimize transplant effect? Other than making sure the roots
aren't
> damaged & planting right away - neither of which would help me
with
> storeboughts....
>
> I wonder if soaking in rooting hormone before planting would
help...
>
> It's on my mind a lot this spring - one group of purchases last
year
> suffered a lot. I was assuming it was genetics (i.e., freeze
damage),
> but if it's transplant problems, maybe there is something that
could be
> done to compensate.
>
> Margie, I don't actually have a greenhouse and the sunporch is
already
> packed with seedling pots in the winter, so that was more of a
> theoretical question - just wondering if anybody had tried it. I
might
> try repurchasing <one> cultivar & keeping it on the
sunporch next winter
> just to see if that solves the problem. It's unheated, so gets
cold
> enough to vernalize out there.
>
>> I have examples of the effect due to freeze damage and from
one due the transplanting effect. They look the same, but the dwindling
center fan was showing before winter on the transplant, so I don't
think they are caused by the same circumstances.
>
> Linda Mann
> east TN USA
>
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