Re: Re: CULT: Southern challenges - Lady Friend?

Linda Mann says:

>LADY FRIEND has been erratic here - it usually tries to grow and bloom
>but seems more sensitive than average to our late killing freezes and
>subsequent rot.  I mean to say, it is more likely to rot than most after
>a late damaging freeze.

Odd.  LADY FRIEND has been one of the more resistant to freeze damage here.
It's early too.  I would consider it one of the more dependable iris plants
I grow in terms of general health and bloom production.  Never had any rot,
usually a clump full of blooms and is one of the really rare ones that gets
near the registered height.  I'm much drier here.  Could that be the cause
of the difference?  Obviously that probably helps on the rot, but how might
it be a benefit on the rest of the story?  Based on what it does here, it's
definitely one I recommend to beginners and have given a couple of rhizomes
to others because it does so well.

Speaking of freeze damage, I'm currently looking at the most massive damage
from a late freeze I've ever seen.  I think for the first time ever I may
lose a plant directly to the freeze damage rather than the unfortunate
things that follow a badly damaged plant.  I wondered where I was on bloom
when it hit, but now some knarled bud stalks are beginning to appear.  I'll
just have to wait and see how many and how extensive it was, but that freeze
surely cost me seeing some seedlings bloom for the first time along with a
lot of other plants.  What I do see may well be atypical of what the blooms
really might look like.  If I've seen them blooming before, I'll have an
idea.  Those seedlings that do bloom relatively early are going to be guess
and by golly, I think.  I did discover that freeze damaged foliage was more
susceptible to lighter freeze subsequent to its beginning to grow again.  I
was hit with a low of 22 early last week and normally that doesn't do too
much damage to the foliage, but in this case all the new growth that showed
freeze damage was simply wiped back out.  That may be good thing in an odd
way, since it may have frozen out damaged tissue to a more healthy section.
The plants need water, but I'm afraid of rot in their current condition so
they are having to do without.  Seemingly we needn't concern ourselves with
rain in these parts anymore.  Happens to seldom to be much of a
consideration.

Donald Eaves
donald@eastland.net
Texas Zone 7b, USA



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