What is growing nicely for you right now? page 2

Just a guess, regarding photo #1:

Looks like a typical bearded iris in the front - the wide leaves with the dried bud. Are you sure it didn't bloom? I'd move it to a drier site since it appears you have Japanese irises behind it on both sides and they want WET soil.

For the bearded iris you could put it with your other bearded irises and make sure they have good drainage. Most people move them in mid July and cut the leaves back at that time. For now just cut off the stalk with the bud - not the leaves.

Here is photo #2.

While I was taking the photos, a gentleman on his bicycle stopped long enough to comment on how nice the gardens looked. How nice it was to hear that after all the hard work that Anna and the whole family has put into it so far this year.

BTW, Anna thinks that it may be a "German bearded double blooming" iris.

A number of my bearded ones that bloomed in their first year last year did not bloom this year. Just leaves.

Pirl:

Thanks for the info. Yes, those are Japanese irises back there, we think. They grow almost wild around here! We have clumps of them all over the place.

So, the bearded irises and the Japanese irises should not be planted too close together because of water needs? What about mulch?

The bearded and unbearded (Siberians and Japanese) often take a year (or more) to settle in before bloom.

I have grown all types for many years and couldn't possibly tell a reblooming iris from the typical tall German bearded iris. Does Anna mean, by saying double blooming, two or more buds (common) or "reblooming"?

You deserve any and all compliments for hard work and it's so nice that a neighbor told you. People do observe progress more than we think.

We cross posted.

NO mulch on the bearded irises. They like their rhizomes to "sunbathe" - meaning the very top of the corm does not get covered.

The JI's should be forming buds and with the crowds of them you have please post photos of their blooms on the Japanese iris (JI) thread. They love compost, mulch and live happily at the side of a sunny stream - that's how much they love water. They also want acid soil where the bearded iris does not want acid but more toward the sweet side.

Pirl:

They are 're-blooming'. But not this year, as Anna just went ... 'Off with their head!'

BTW, I hope it's OK that I have copied your comments to our garden notebook that I am actually keeping this year.

Re-blooming is twice the pleasure. Keep all the notes you please. That's why we're here - to help each other, knowing how many of us needed help when we started gardening.

Candyce,

Welcome to the forum. You'll love it here. A lot of very knowledgeable people here.

The irises in the back could be Japanese, or they could be siberian. Or there are other irises it could be, but first check and see if it has a noticeable, (easy to feel), rib running down the leaves. If so, it is probably Japanese. And have they already bloomed this year? If so, I would suspect in your area, siberian. What color are they?

I had some dried buds on my bearded iris this year. I just chalked it off to the crazy spring we had.

Polly - don't the leaves look very tall for Siberians? Mine are never as tall as the JI's. Shouldn't the Siberians have bloomed already for Candyce? If so, she should see some seed pods forming, right?

If I go out to look at heights I won't come back in until dinnertime.

Don't forget your umbrella hat Pirl - high UV index on this gorgeous day!

I have some siberians that have very tall leaves. Taller than some of the JI's

When Candyce said they grow almost wild around here, I wondered if they were Japanese. That says sibs to me.


My seed pods aren't forming yet, and she's a little colder than I am.

Let's send Candyce out to look for ribs, LOL. Pirl, you stay put!

I'm firmly planted, Polly!

No umbrella hat today, Victor: shade weeding in store. Makes it so easy to stay put.

Outside to look for ribs? Do you realize it's in the mid-40s this morning??? Sheesh!!!!

Anyway ... nope, no ribs on the 'spears'.

Here's a photo ...

I vote "Siberian" in a few respects but 40's???

Candyce, Sounds like you found 2 great people to get advice from.
Pirl & Polly, Are flag iris siberians or their whole own type?

Dave,

If you're talking about the blue (or purple) flag iris, that is versicolor. Closely related to siberians, and liking the same culture.

If you're talking yellow flag, that is pseudacorus, quite different.

OK Candyce, you've been initiated. Sent outdoors in 40 degree weather to check out plants. Sorry about that. Don't worry, next week it'll be in the 90s. Sheesh, yourself, sounds like you'll be fun to have around! It's quite a bunch here, I have discovered.

The yellow ones are growing right next to the purples. I decided it's enough to know that they are siberians, without needing to know the exact name, as the search for siberians yielded 9 pages.......and we have dial up.

Polly,
Now that I've seen your response to Dave & the flags, I think I'll go back out to photo the yellow ones so someone can tell me if they are flags or siberians... as it's almost 60 now :-)
T shirt & shorts!

She's not kiddng about the 40's....it was 45-49 here last night and only 60-62 here now. We also got terrible thunderstorms yesterday. I was not pleased to see this on the dogs rug out on the deck.

Ouch, dial up.

It's almost impossibe to identify purple or blue siberians anyway. Your's looks like one that is notoriusly mixed up in commerce, Caesers Brother. But just enjoy it. We call them NOIDS (no ID's). You will find you want to label any new ones you get, as you will find trading on Daves Garden a wonderousl thing, and it's nice to have named ones to trade.

huh....what happened to my picture?? OK....try this again.

All the pics are gone now.......is anyone else having this problem????

Thanks Polly! What does pseudcorus like? I always wanted to get them straight.

I've decided that I need three things in my bag of tricks when I visit these Forums ...

Lots of batteries for my camera
DSL or some other more speedy connection
and loads of time!!

Anyway, here's a photo of the yellow one ...

Yep! Pix are gone for me, too! But I bet they'll be back soon.

Dave,

Candyce is really doing good here, she already posted a pic of pseudacorus for you.




eeew, Pixie. Are you predicted to be in the 90s next week. We were in the 40s last night also, now 96 Wednesday.

And, here's what's growing very nicely for us right now. The Spiderwort is so pretty this year.

And the Columbine is just beginning to bloom very nicely. I'll get a pix of that one later today when the sun won't bleach out the colors in the photograph.

What do you mean by saying that you have to have time? Just for DG? In a few minutes it will be 6 hours for me this morning.

No more long days in the garden for me! Not today anyhow.

Do they like wet & acidic?

Oh, Pixie! Hailstones!!! Did you have any damage to your gardens?

I'm currently mulching, and doing Daves Garden. Weed (not too many), manure, fertilizer, mulch, preen. A 10 foot area at a time, and then set the water, and come in and talk on DG. 30 feet done so far.

Pirl:

Yeah, I've been here for a few hours myself today - LOL!!!

During the week I take care of two of my grandchildren, the five-year-old and the 11-month-old. And, now that the kids are out of school for the summer, I kinda supervise the teens as well. Thank goodness that three of my other grandchildren live a bit further away!!

I know that I am going to learn a lot on this website and I am so glad that it came up in an 'Ask.com' search!!!

Just parted my Rugosa bush down the middle....everything else seems fine!

Dave:


Does what like 'wet & acidic'?

We are all posting at the same time. Sorry Dave, missed your question. Yes, and yes. They are invasive, however, so be careful not to let them go to seed by any waterways. I love them, and do grow them, but make sure to get all the seeds off. They do grow fairly well in regular garden soil, but you can get 5 feet out of one grown in wet and acid.


And if you like the pseudacorus, there is exciting breeding (well for us iris people anyway) going on between pseudacorus (yellow flag), and Japanese iris (ensata). They are called pseudatas.

Here is an older cross.

http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Fall/Detail/05794.html

And one of the newer ones. Kinshiko

http://www.ensata.com/Japanese/Kinshikou.JPG


Candyce, Dave was asking about the iris you so kindly posted a picture of --pseudacorus.





This message was edited Jun 23, 2007 12:05 PM

I'm confused. Maybe too much computer time.

Pixie - why were you curious about your Rugosa? What were you looking for?

Candyce - I think Dave was asking if wet and acidic applied to the pseudacarous but since I don't grow them I can't reply.

Polly - you're putting us all to shame with accomplishing so much this morning.

Thanks Polly! Those are gorgeous crosses.

Aching Tongue? That's the meaning of my yellow one? I'll stick with the Japanese name.

The current price on Kinshiko is 50.00. It's so very new. I know it's not very interesting to non irisarians, but the hybridizer of Kinshiko, is Hiroshi Shimizu, from Japan. He has had just three pseudatas I know of introduced, and they are all going for around 50.00. I read he has around 3,000 crosses that he is evaluating that look promising for introduction.

Now I'll be quiet about pseudatas, I know that's not the theme of this thread.

This message was edited Jun 23, 2007 12:16 PM