Re: Test Gardens
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Test Gardens
- From: "* a* C* W* <c*@cache.net>
- Date: Sun, 26 Jan 1997 16:47:08 -0700 (MST)
In reply to my suggestion that every iris garden should be a test garden,
Dennis Stoneburner wrote (26 Jan 97):
> Great point Jeff - I have been an advocate for that for a long time.
> Everyone whould keep a notebook of information for reference. Included
> in this is weather, moisture, dates of 1st bloom, last bloom, peak bloom,
> good and bad acting iris and why - and so on. You can include dates of
> sprays, digging, planting etc. It is a great help.
I try to keep track of many of the items you mention. I think that to be
considered a good garden iris a TB cultivar (established planting) ought to
be in bloom for at least 3 weeks under normal weather conditions (when is
the weather ever normal? - but that is another question). Some well known
cultivars do not come close to this, or even to the 15-day minimum standard
set in the AIS Judges Handbook (p. B-5). On multiple years' observation,
the average period of bloom for PINK TAFFETA in my garden has been 13 days;
for EASTERTIME it is 11 days. One of these iris won the Dykes Medal and the
other has an AM. Data such as this should give judges food for thought.
On a more positive note, I summarized observations on TB length of bloom on
established plantings by era of introduction a few years ago with the
following results:
Yr of Intro # Cultivars Avg.
Bloom Period (days)
pre-1960 36
19.1
1960-69 96
18.9
1970-79 137
19.4
1980-91 120
20.4
>From these observations, if they are at all representative, it looks like
we may be making some headway in extending the length of bloom of TB
cultivars, and at the least we are not going backwards.
Jeff Walters in northern Utah (Zone 4)
cwalters@cache.net
"This is the Place!" - Utah Pioneer Sesquicentennial: 1847-1997
