Re: : Digging and Planting in the Spring

This discussion has been very interesting, and I thought I'd add my 
own anecdotal evidence to the mixture.  Some years ago we had new 
neighbors move in next door in late spring.  They had a lot of iris 
at their former home, wanted to move them, and, knowing of me as the 
local "expert" (Ha!) on iris, asked the questions that sparked this 
discussion.  "Can we moved the iris now?  Will they live,?  Will they 
bloom?  Can we plant them here? ("here" being right along the east 
foundation of a large garage/storage shed) Etc., etc."  Being very 
sure of myself, I told them, "You can move them now, but they won't 
bloom this year.  And you should not plant them there because they 
don't get enough sun, not only because of the shed but because of 
shade from a huge maple tree that cut off the sun long before noon." 
Well, they dug the iris because they had to, and they planted in that 
spot because at the moment, at least, that was the only available 
place.  Results:  Many bloomed that same season, and they have 
continued to thrive and bloom in that spot, even though the shade 
level is really too high.  The fact that these are an older variety, 
name unknown though clearly a hubrid TB, may have something to do 
with their growth habits.  I only know that I learned again to be 
more cautious with my "expert" advice and never (well, almost never) 
to say never!! :-)  Lesson #347 in humility.

Arnold Koekkoek
NW Iowa Zone 4

Arnold Koekkoek                         Home Ph. (712) 722-0724
Assoc. Prof. of History                 Off. Ph. (712) 722-6326
Dordt College                           e-mail koekkoek@dordt.edu
Sioux Center, IA 51250
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index