Re: OT-BIO Christine & Mel

Hi,

I live just outside Milwaukee WI in New Berlin, WI.

I have a suggestion that was given to me.  Take a plastic knife and a
permanent marker and put the Iris name on both sides and each end, so the
name is on the knife four times.  (If you break the knife while digging you
may still have the name.)  Plant it under the Rhizome.  Then if ever you get
in a bind you can always dig it up and find out what it is.  Also, whenever
you add an Iris to a bed, add it to your paper and electronic landscape.
Put a paper landscape under a plastic cover on a clip board.  With a
reliable pen and take to the garden.  The plastic will protect it if you
leave it out in the dew or rain.  Add new plantings as you plant and then
that day add them to your electronic layout and reprint it.  I use Excel for
the layout.  You will thank yourself if you do this.

I use both plastic knives and mini blinds from rummage sales.  I have my
whole family watching for the blinds.  I use any color.  This is the second
marker.  be sure to put the written name in the dirt.  Winter snow will wipe
away the writing (permanent or anything else) more than summer sun.  I use
these in the marking process so the unmarked end sticks up above the ground
and I can pull it out if I want to.  Then I also buy markers from Francis
Rogers, irisgrower7@cs.com, and I have a Brother Label maker with black on
white printing and it also applies a protective film.  I put these out for
each Rhizome and when I take my digital picture of the bloom I also take a
picture of the label.  Then on the computer I rename the file of the bloom
with the Iris name.  Easy to locate with a search if I want a particular
one.

Seems like a big job but well worth the effort in the long run.  I started
doing the buried knife idea when I had twenty Iris.  I now have almost 700.
I still use the knife trick.  It saved me a few years ago when my neighbor
thought I had forgotten to take up my makers in fall and pulled them all and
brought them to the back door.  I almost fainted.  But he was trying to be
nice.

Char, New Berlin, WI
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christine Nelson" <cmier@netonecom.net>
To: "Iris" <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 2:14 PM
Subject: [iris] OT-BIO Christine & Mel


> Hi all,
>
> I'm new to the list.  My husband and I have been growing iris for about 7
> years now.  We have many iris that were given to us by others.  It just
drives
> me nuts that I don't know the right names for each different colors we
have.
> Last year we added 54 new colors to the mix.  We have marked each of these
as
> we planted them.  We have several perrenial flower beds on our property
and
> each one must have iris in it.  I'm really looking forward to learning
more
> and more about these incredible flowers.  We live in northern lower
Michigan,
> Zone 5.
>
> Christine & Mel
>
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