Donald,
Great to hear from you and thanks for dropping by. I don't know if
there's any active participants left here at the robin but the group
still serves as an on line database for SA information. I for one,
would be very interestedto see your seedlings and read your
observations.
I still grow that SA seedling which my son named DARK MAGICIAN due
its clever wand like appendages. I even made crosses with DM but
didn't have time to pre-soak the seeds due to the non stop circus
called hockey that my boys play all Winter.
The first thing I learned growing SA Irises here in Quebec was that
they weren't all that reliable in terms of appendage production.
Secondly, the SA Irises I bought in general weren't all that vigorous
either. The best growers and performers up here are MESMERIZER,
REINCARNATION, and your DM along with my Thornbird seedling. A few
others grow well but are sporadic.
Sadly, I've cut back my growing and have abandoned a few beds due to
the ultra insidious Iris Borer. We both met in the middle of the
ring and I got knocked out in the thrid round ;-( I'm still
wondering what I can do to destroy them without poisoning the earth
and possibly my cats or other animals.
So please, post you observations and photos here. I still eat this
stuff up despite being agriculturally challenged with insects and an
ultra short growing season.
Chris
