Re: CULT: deepfreeze injury (was reminder - cover those seed flats)

Rick Tasco wrote:
> I'm sure your iris that did not start any
> buds will be ok.

Actually Rick, that has not been my experience here.  If temps get in
the low 20s or for sure drop to the teens at this time of year, I get no
bloom from any of the early bloomers (such as pallida and germanica) and
usually not from Midseason bloomers either, even though stalks are not
far enough along to be felt in the fan.  'Normal' bloom time for the
early ones is only 4-8 weeks away, and the buds are apparently in an
active state after all this warm weather (nearly 70 some days) and
vulnerable to damage.  If I cover the plants with Reemay, they bloom
with no problem.  I used to rush around covering things, but it just is
too much trouble - leaving it on during the sunny days warms things up
too much and accelerates growth even more.  I did go ahead and cover the
rebloomer bed (including your baby).

It's just something to live with.  Some of the sometimes earlier
bloomers are a bit slower to respond to these warm spells - I think they
must be partly triggered by day length, not just temperature.  VICTORIA
FALLS usually waits.  And some seem to tolerate being frozen better than
others, regardless of growth state, as we saw in all the reports of
'normal' versus damaged bloom last year.

So, another year, same as always.  White blanket on the ground here
isn't snow.

Linda Mann east Tennessee USA
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