Re: Canadians--Oops--can I do this?

At 04:54 AM 22/09/96 -0600, you wrote:
>SCHAFFCM@SNYBUFAA.CS.SNYBUF.EDU wrote:
>> 
>>  Subject line is still appropriate  --
>> 
>> Can we swoop down and capture Bruce Richardson??  What a guy!!  He is
>> charming and witty and fascinated by iris and people and meetings!!
>> 
>> And full of history and the sense of history.
>> 
>> The CIS is in their 50 year and a woman had produced a slide show taken
>> from slides donated to her from the membership over the years and we listened
>> to wonderful music as we watched the years and the iris go by.  A wonderful
>> tribute and experience.
>> 
>> You'll be glad to know that, according to this record, it has never snowed
>> on the iris in the CIS region!!
>> 
>> Do you remember a time when it snowed during iris season, Bruce???
>> 
>> Carolyn Schaffner in Buffalo, NY
>
Bruce replies:

   Of course I remember when it has snowed on an iris in flower. That was
only once about the time I was jst starting to grow species and planted a
bulb of I. vartini alba in an open bed in the front yard. The snow went
early, the ground thawed in the warm sun and the iris came up in late Feb.
or very early March and had one white flower open. Then it snowed enough to
cover it completely. We have had blocked roads from a foot of new snow
overnight as late as mid March). That was the last time I saw it as killed
by the cold. The reticulata series do come up early and vartini is the
earliest of the lot. I regularly bloom Juno iris of several species in my
plastic green house in early March when there is plenty of snow left around
and this GH has no heat but the sun - I have seen it get up to near 100F
degrees in there on a sunny dday in Feb. Everything in there is muclhed with
a thick blanket of leaves and the ground never freezes, although the water
hose does. The earliest juno I aucheri will be well up before I get around
to removing some of the leaves and often in flower as well. Incidently for
the information of you southerners (for which this is old hat) I do live in
Canada (the land of snow). I am not alone in doing this - Alan McMurtrie in
Toronto does it too all the time in his little "huts" (high roofed cold
frames of plastic). The only difference is I only have one but its 700sq ft
and 10' to the roof. Not bad at all to be in there on a cold sunny day.

   I haven't read all the comments and compliments to the CIS on its 50th
ann. but want to thhank all those I met for a wonderful gathering. I really
felt at home with all of you.

Bruce Richardson (near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
Bruce Richardson (near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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