Re: CULT: arilbred beds and other irises

From: "Donald Eaves" <donald@eastland.net>

Hello Folks,

Well, I'm pleased with myself.  :)  I have managed to plant nearly
every potted iris before leaving next week and leaving it all to the
armadillos and grasshoppers.  No doubt they will have a field day.
Only two small plantings of TBs and a single spuria plant are left.

I have to laugh at myself at the extremes I've gone in order to try
what I think are some of the more difficult arilbreds and arils.  I
finished (at last) walling off the ends of two huge boulders.  I did
this without sacrificing fingers in the process.  I nearly managed
this sacrifice on more than one occasion, this afternoon being
but the latest attempts.  I fear I will still have a sore finger when
I return the last week in October.  It got pretty mangled between
two rocks.  This bed has good well-drained soil instead of my
usual red clay and I even went to the extra length of mixing a
special mixture of lava sand, Texas green sand and playsand for
the top surface to ensure water doesn't collect around the rhizomes
during dormancy.  The whole effect of this bed looks a lot better
than I thought I'd manage.  I really appreciate those old-timers who
built complete fences out of stacking stones.  How did they have
any fingers left?  Now I'm just hoping for good luck.

Found a bloomstalk yesterday on ARCTIC WINE (Brown, A '64).
I didn't know this historic was also a rebloomer so it was planted
in the TBs and has received only sporadic water thru summer.  Isn't
that how it goes?  All those known rebloomers which have received
all that expensive water and look pretty lush compared to the other
irises aren't showing any sign of rebloom, altho AUTUMN ECHO 
has two fans with hooked leaves emerging.  Can't tell yet if there
is going to be a stalk following.  It's getting pretty late for one to
emerge and develop before a frost.

This year I really concentrated on the arilbreds.  One new bed has
only 1/2 breds.  No particular reason, just that I had enough to do
only those in the bed.  I had also decided to try some on the high
side of a big perennial bed which I have difficulty keeping enough
moisture on to keep anything else among the living.  And I'm trying
them above the long spuria bed along the edge of the hill.  I had
originally planned on having just spurias, but the rock shelf is not
deep enough on the top side to plant them, I think.  So I decided
to try the arilbreds along the top edge, since I do not water the
spurias after they start going dormant until they start waking up
again in the fall.  Finally watered the original arilbred bed.  We've
had some cool nights and all but about a half dozen were breaking
dormancy, so I decided to go ahead and give the water.  Also, I
had a couple of new additions I was planting there as well.  Can't
seem to ever leave well enough alone. Move one somewhere and
stick another one in.  Basically this bed has been left as is this
year.  I think the increase will require more work next year.

Donald Eaves
donald@eastland.net
Texas Zone 7

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