Re: Tender growth vs cold......

IKern@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Sorry for the double posting. I was alarmed when I did not find my    
> posting so I stupidly forwarded another.  Please, please tonight it is 
> supposed to get down to the mid 30's and tomorrow the lower 30's.     
> Cover, no cover?  HELP!
> 
> Iris in Milw where it was 74 at 3am and is 44 at 10pm.

Everyone else seems to have folded up for the night so I'll have a whack 
at this. I live in very cold Zone 4, have many TB's that have been 
planted/transplanted within the last month & some have definitely sent 
up new leaves in that time -- but I'm not doing anything "special" for 
them even tho it's been at or near freezing every night for the past 5 
nights here. (It snowed 3"-4" Sat. night.)

This may seem foolish to you but I've never had any problem in the past 
-- it may delay bloom for a season on those that are *really* new in the 
ground but that's okay with me. Normally, I don't put in any bearded 
iris later than mid-August but this has been an unusual year, not just 
weather-wise (Aug. was soaking wet, for one thing) but also because I 
started a whole new bed just for iris this year & it took awhile to 
accumulate enough rhizomes to more-or-less fill it.

Anyway, I'm not planning on covering or mulching unless someone more 
experienced on the List shouts at me! If you're worried that your 
newbies will suffer a set-back, you could certainly mulch the beds with 
straw or pine needles or dry leaves, whatever you have. Just be sure to 
get that cleaned out before the temps start really warming up in the 
spring or you may have a lot of rot &/or borers to contend with.

Hope this helps some.

Marte in the mtns	Zone 4/Sunset 1  Colorado
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