CULT: HIST: round 2, roller-coaster freeze

From: Linda Mann <lmann@icx.net>

After a second bout of 10oF nights followed by several days of deluges
of rain (2 to 4 inches) and mild temperatures (nights above freezing,
highs pushing 60), the experimental planting of historic and selected
newer stuff in new soil, raised beds over deep gravelly loam does not
look very perky.  

All plants have some damage, except the ones that had already dropped
their leaves and only have short stubby new growth.  The stubby ones
range in height from barely visibly to 3 or 4 inches tall and none have
any visible damage.  CRYSTAL GLITTERS, SULTRY MOOD, and I.
reichenbachii, which didn't even START growing till December, continue
to grow a little thru the cold.

Of the historics that kept their leaves and were staying green after the
first roller coaster bout, all have some foliar damage now.  Damage is
very minor on BLUE RHYTHM, CAROLINE JANE, and NEW SNOW.  All have fans
with leaves 6 to ?10 ?14 inches.

Anybody have any guesses as to where the evergreen, freeze resistant
foliage in these guys comes from?  Based on what I see in I. pallida and
HONORABILE plus those sad little I. variegatas I bought this summer, it
definitely doesn't come from the diploids.  And I would have thought the
tets couldn't make cold resistant leaves.  Is this a lucky combination
of dip and tet that these guys happened to get?

Whatever it is, Tasco's GLACIER POINT seems to have a good dose of it
also, but WHOLE CLOTH, which I thought was a key ingredient in freeze
tolerance for some of the TBs I grow, no longer has undamaged foliage.

Of course, all of this may have nothing to do with subsequent bloom &
growth the rest of the year.

I hope this is at least vaguely interesting to a few folks.  Posting
these notes forces me to pay closer attention to what's going on than I
might otherwise.

Linda Mann east Tennesee USA
still bemused by Keith Keppel having a talking cat that took people on a
tour of the iris garden describing the flowers.  My litteral mind...


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