Re: Frozen Iris
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Frozen Iris
- From: "* G* C* <j*@erols.com>
- Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 18:11:37 -0700 (MST)
Daryl &Kathy Haggstrom wrote:
>
>
> I have 65 pots of iris (setosa) overwintering for sale next spring
>. . .
> I put . . . half in my crawl space entryway . . . but the
> problem arose when I returned home last night after being gone for two
> days, and found the entryway door wide open (neighborhood children
> playing - lots of little hoofprints in the snow). . . I thought several
> of you might have had to deal with an iris going throught freeze/thaw
> cycles when it wasn't ready. Any input appreciated and may contain
> knowledge I can put to use. My most important question, with my heart in
> my mouth - have any of you had iris freeze while out of dormancy, and
> return to the land of the living? I would sure like to see these come
> spring.
>
Kathy -- In the dreadful winter of '95-'96, I lost 50% of my 1,380
seedlings outright to the freeze-thaw phenomenon -- tossed up out of the
ground and cooked by the sun as soon as the snow melted. The casualties
included three entire lots that were crosses of Jennifer Rebecca. Then
Erwinia attacked the survivors. I was out there on hands and knees
cutting out the rotted central rhizomes of innumerable plants. This
year, one of the survivors took "best seedling" at the Francis Scott Key
show, and two more were awarded blue ribbons. So, don't despair. Silver
linings still occur. Maybe you'll be lucky. But, if not, hang in there.
It's trite, but "tomorrow is another day."
Griff Crump, along the tidal Potomac near Mount Vernon, VA
jgcrump@erols.com
