Re: New Member
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] New Member
- From: C* C*
- Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 01:34:30 -0800 (PST)
Hi Sharon! Welcome to iris-talk. You speak of hot
weather and I also cannot grow dahlias because of a
hot climate. The small-flowered ones will make it
here but the 'dinner-plate' types just can't take the
heat! Irises, on the other hand, manage. Deer don't
like to eat iris plants but they sometimes sample them
and pull them up in the process! They will, however,
eat the blooms. Your plants that are sending up small
shoots are doing good. These shoots will persist
through the winter and you should get *some* bloom in
the Spring.
Aril irises are quite beautiful and exotic looking.
Not the easiest to grow but if your climate is hot and
dry, they may do well for you. If I were you, I'd
write to Louella Danielson at Pleasure Iris Gardens,
425 E. Luna Azul Dr., Chaparral, NM 88021 and ask her
to send you a catalogue, if she is still putting one
out. Or, if she isn't selling, ask her advice on
varieties for a beginner. She has grown them for
years and is very knowledgable as well as being a
lovely person.
Also, consider looking for a nearby iris society,
preferably one associated with the American Iris
Society. Gathering with like-minded gardeners will
provide you with a wealth of information, as will
learning from folks here on iris-talk.
Keep in mind, too, that when you post a message here,
identify your general location and USDA zone at the
end of it. Include the current weather, too, if you
like. We all love to groan when someone has lovely
weather and we don't and I think we secretly gloat
when our climate is being nice to us and others are
too hot, too cold, parched or drowning!
Enjoy all those freebie plants! It won't be long
before you'll start wanting more and more expensive
things!
Carol, in the TX Hill Country, zone 8a. Highs in the
70-80's, lows 50-60's. Could use a little rain.
--- smoldovan@caltel.com wrote:
> Hi, I'm new to the iris forum. I'm sorry, but I
> accidently deleted
> the subject reference code. Last year I was
> interested in irises,
> but then dahlias caught my eye and those are what I
> purchased this
> last season. I did however buy 3 irises at Home
> Depot last fall.
> The irises grew nicely, but only one bloomed a
> purple flower which it
> wasn't supposed to be. My dahlias didn't do so
> great.
>
> So my attention focused back to irises and I
> discovered that it was
> too late to place any orders. But the good news
> seemed to be that my
> soil and zone were a good place to grow them,
> especially Arilbreds.
> I decided to experiment with division. If I
> couldn't buy any until
> next year, then I might as well see what happens if
> I dig and
> divide. I figured that since the dahlias were a big
> dissapointment -
> which could have been due to the extreme heat we had
> this summer -
> I'd see if my divisions would survive and grow. If
> so, then I'd feel
> more confident in purchasing the ones I was
> interested in next year.
>
> I'm thrilled to see that at this point new shoots
> (fans ?) are coming
> up from my divisions, although it seems sooner than
> I'd expect. I
> was even more excited when my sister's co-worker dug
> up her irises
> and gave away bags and bags of them to everyone she
> worked with. Did
> I want any? Of course! My sister gave me 3 bags
> full which amounted
> to 145 I planted.
>
> Of course non were tagged and the only hint she can
> give me on color
> is that there weren't any yellow in the bunch. But
> that's ok. The
> area had already been prepared in the spring this
> year so there
> wasn't much work involved except to plant. If what
> I've heard about
> deer and gophers not bothering irises is true, then
> it will be the
> only thing I can grow besides daffodils that won't
> be. And that's a
> good thing.
>
> Arilbreds really caught my attention. I found a web
> site that seems
> to have a lot of information with pictures, but I
> don't know if she
> sells them. I love the colors. There is only one
> other grower I found
> that has some Arilbreds, and he happens to live 1
> hour away. But as
> I've discovered with both irises, daylilies and
> dahlias, nobody seems
> to sell the same thing as the other growers unless
> it is a more
> common variety.
>
> Sharon
>
>
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