OT-BIO-planting seeds

From: "Dan & Marilyn Mason" <dmason@rainyriver.Lakeheadu.Ca>

I planted my iris seeds last weekend 1/2" deep in
established garden where beans had grown before them. The
seeds were mostly Versicolor, Setosa, and Aphylla which I
had stored in a room we keep cool but above freezing since
last winter when I received them from SIGNA. I planted
garlic and several other perennials' seeds as well.

The first time I tried planting seeds from my own local I.
Aphylla this way I covered them with leaves after planting
until the ground was thawed the following spring. The last
three years I've planted seeds in the fall I didn't bother
to cover them and most seeds have emerged and grown well. I
live 10 miles north of the Minnesota- Ontario border in zone
3. We usually have snow cover that stays from some time in
Nov. until late March or early April. I water the seedling
rows the first summer during dry spells.

This summer I had a few blooms on plants in their second
growing season. Most noteable were several white setosas and
versicolors, and clump of SDB which came from a bee pod of
either Candy Apple or Sapphire Jewel. This seedling SDB had
outstanding vigor, divisions, size of flowers, number of
flowers, length of bloom. It outgrew any other seedling
planted that year. The color didn't break new ground- an off
bluish purple.

With mail-order iris I've had more success with IB's and
SDB's than TB's. The two most prolific growers and bloomers
I have tried are Cumquat (IB) and AZAP (SDB). I have tried a
dozen or so hybrid Siberian irises. The SIBs I planted in a
sunny location have all but died out except for Wine Wings.
All of the SIBs I planted with afternoon shade have survived
and prospered, though not as floriferous as those clumps
grown in the sun before they died out.

I became interested in Iris after cultivating a local I.
Aphylla which had survived 50 years or so unattended. When
cultivated this I. Aphylla produced blossoms from May until
frost three years in a row. It had one main bloom in late
May-early June and from a 12 ft. row there were always at
least one or two blossoms showing at a time all summer.
These were 'wet' summers. After that time I have never had
one of these Aphyllas bloom out of it's late spring season
again, but there have been extended dry periods each summer
since then.

I obtained several more Aphylla rhyzomes from Bruce
Richardson in trade. Three of these have survived and made
small clumps, but none of these have bloomed beyond their
late spring flowering.

The only local native iris is I. Versicolor. It has a common
bluish violet coloring, small narrow petals. I haven't
noticed any variations in color other than that brought on
by the amounts of time individual flowers have been exposed
to the sun. These local versicolors cultivated are much more
attractive than bearded irises after blooming. What the
heck. Irises only bloom 2 or 3 weeks. I've got to look at
the foliage the rest of the year.

Also there is a local blue-eyed grass, blue-starred grass,
which is related to iris. This makes a cute clump if
cultivated and watered, then voles or mice eat it over the
winter.

I also have less than an acre of hardy apples and apple x
crabs most of which I have grafted onto 1 or 2 year old
seedlings I grew from local elderly crab apple trees. I lost
almost all of my mature bearing trees 2 and 3 winters ago.
The ground was saturated with water going into the winters
which received above normal snowfall. So the ground never
froze and was too wet all winter while the tops of the trees
above the snow received -30F. and more days exposed to
winter. All of the younger trees survived this weather and
many are approaching bearing size now. My recent grafting
has been to save local varieties where trees are old or
damaged or both.

If I had one question to ask right now about Irises it would
be:

Am I wasting one growing season saving the seeds I get in
the winter from SIGNA seed exchange until the following fall
to plant, or would they germinate just as well planted in
the spring?

Dan Mason  Zone 3 NW Ontario


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