Re: OT-BIO Christine & Mel

I have also been using the plastic knife trick although I stop at one side
top & bottom.  This has worked well for me even when I melted the plastic
above ground with a fire.  I second the garden map idea and also use EXCEL
to log the whereabouts, descriptions and pollination results.
Best wishes,
Chuck Bunnell
Lafayette, IN
Region 6
Zone 5a-5b
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Char Holte" <cholte@wi.rr.com>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 8:11 PM
Subject: Re: [iris] 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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| > message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
|
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|
|

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