Protecting Seed Pods

Last night we had a frost warning and I hadn't dug my BROTHER CARL with the
seed pod.  I improvised by covering the top of the stalk with some of those
white plastic grocery bags.  Since these bags are opaque, do you think that
I could leave these in place for a while without doing any harm to the pod?
such as rot?  The biggest danger I see is frying the poor thing with too
much heat.  

Questions: Do pods mature a little more slowly in the Fall since the temps
are cooling down?  Would a slight increase in temp around the pod cause it
to mature faster?

I don't actually think that we had frost last night since nothing seemed to
frost bitten. It's my recollection that in some years we have mild frosts
(29-32 F) until around the end of December, but it's not the norm.  I can
recall Christmas Days in the past with highs in the upper 70's.  I really
only claim to have real winter during January and February.  That's when we
might get that rare 1-3 inches of snow.  Although I do remember snow of 18
inches on my 6th birthday in February of 1971- the roads were closed and my
mom couldn't get to the bakery to pick up my b-day cake. :(  You guys with
the snow fences really live in a foreign country.  The only thing we have in
the southern U.S. that compares with this are heat shelters during the summers.

I plan to see how long I can carry this pod of BROTHER CARL outside before
potting it up.  I'm assuming that potting it up might compromise spring
bloom. I would actually rather have the plant bloom again next with my other
irises so that I can play with making more crosses.  If I lose this pod I
can always try for some better crosses next spring which is only 5 months
away or 3 if the groundhog doesn't see his shadow. :)

Happy Irising everyone,

Donald (Gone to Atlanta, GA for the week)

Donald Mosser
dmosser@southconn.com
North Augusta, South Carolina, USA
On the South Carolina and Georgia Border
Zone 7b-8
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index