Re: HYB: seedlings (from photos)

Yes, Linda, once the seedlings are out in the 'garden', they have a much
harder time.  Seedlings in pots get partial shade, frequent watering,
and are in much better growing medium.  Pots are 3 or 4 gallon size,
filled 2/3 with horse manure, the rest with varying mixture of potting
soil, sifted garden soil, and dirty perlite.

I've learned not to put horse manure in the root zone of plants in the
garden rows - it just attracts worms & larvae which the moles and skunks
then dig out leaving air pockets.  But most of the potted irises really
thrive with a lot of manure in the pot, as long as they have at least a
few inches of other stuff between the rhizome and the manure.

I plant burrito'd seeds in little 4 inch pots of potting soil/sifted
garden soil mix for germination, then transplant to bigger pots until
they are big enough to get into the ground.  If I think they aren't big
enough to survive in the ground by TB bloom season, they will stay in
the bigger pots until they are big enough to survive in whatever weather
is happening.  Some of those 'bigger' pots are very small - if I only
have a few seedlings from a cross, they go into individual styrofoam
coffee cups.  This year, I used some small plastic cups.

Some seeds are planted in fall outdoors, the 'regular' way.  These don't
germinate until spring, and usually aren't big enough to survive spring
planting in the garden.

This year, I have <way> more seedlings than I have room to plant/take
care of, so have not even tried to line out all the babies from most
crosses.  After these bloom, if they look promising, I will try to make
room for the sibs.

<Please explain your thinking on putting the rest in a pot.  Do you
somehow protect the potted ones more than the planted seedlings? >

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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