TB: REB: & OT-CHAT: last stalk & whooping cranes

One last lonely stalk on an indoor, potted rhizome of HARVEST OF
MEMORIES is starting to show a trace of color on one of the buds.

I also brought in a few other plants that I thought were trying to
rebloom before the freezes killed everything last month.  VANITY seems
to be insuspended animation, which makes me wonder if it actually has a
bloom stalk forming.  Feels like it, but maybe not.

Any opinions as to whether I should put VANITY back outdoors or will she
eventually bloom indoors (assuming she is planning on spring bloom)?  It
gets cold where she is, but not below freezing.  Probably not lower than
40oF.  Is that enough chill to trigger spring bloom?

More about this year's crop of juvenile Whooping Cranes who are happily
enjoying their new winter home.  Yes, Mark, the people do worry about
gator predation!
<To accommodate the larger number of birds [in their Florida wintering
area] this year, ...the enclosure... now comprises three to  four acres.
Surrounded by 8-foot fencing, the top of the pen is open, allowing the
cranes to come and go as they like and investigate other areas. The
bottom of  the enclosure is gator-proofed with heavy wire screening, and
other predators are deterred from gaining access by three strands of
electric fence:   .....[The pen contains a] constant supply of high
protein crane chow and ....fresh water.
.... ..... Last year, tidal fluctuations were such that on one evening
the cranes would be roosting in 9" of water and the next night the water
level would be at 36" -- far too deep for roosting, ..... To compensate
for the fluctuating tide, refuge staff and volunteers.... [constructed
an] artificial roosting area, made from oyster shells. This ... will
accommodate any level of tide and provide a roosting location in water
for the young cranes. Water roosting is an important survival trait for
cranes -- if a predator approaches the flock under the cloak of
darkness, ..... the birds are alarmed by the splashing water...(from the
Operation Migration website)>
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8

American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
iris-talk/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
iris-photos/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index