The losses have begun...

Howler
Laced Credentials
Molten Flame (near dead)
and ??



This what I saw on a quick walk through the garden. I'll have more time later to take a good look around.

i don,t understand how my ipad keeps posting twice?✒️sorry☹️

Not Howler!

Sorry you are starting the year on a down note Rob.

I may have lost Sweet and Innocent. I will have to see if it comes back this spring.

😢 i like your sense of humor, rob. even tho' it's a sad day when .....the bucket is involved.

Well, it was nice out so I took a quick look see at the gardens.

Goners - at least they all bloomed once.

Tiger Honey - I am bummed a lot about this one
What a Mixture - was a flattie
Sensationalizer, bloomed itself out, which I hear happens to Burseens

Quite a few are struggling as well.

That really sucks Bonnie and Lesie!

I just walked through the field and felt rhizomes as I was going along. Everything I touched was soft....I think my losses will be in the 100's. I may try surgery on some of them, but where do I start? Where do I stop? It's everywhere in my new beds and once the weather warms up it will only get worse. These new beds were created in my field that has been covered with wood chips for 10 +/- years. I felt the soil was rich enough with organic material, so I didn't amend these new beds. These beds were not under water during the storms either. The drainage out there is terrific, but something is wrong.

Got to go, a tree guy is ringing my doorbell.

It is puzzling Rob, and heartrending. Losses in the 100's.

Where to start? Like Triage go for those that look best first, and those you want the most, then work your way down. It is sure to be heartbreaking. So sorry.

Sorry Rob and Leslie, So sad when you loose so many, and always it seems they are the ones you really like. It's a muddy cold mess out here, and I'm just not going to go looking. It is what it is. It's way to early to know what's going on here yet, we are to have temps back in the teens in a week. I don't like this warm weather this early, it will for sure not be a good thing for lots of plants here.

I can't believe it Rob, that is so awful. It sounds like you're doing all the right things so there shouldn't be issues. That's very frustrating. If you're thinking of doing surgery sooner is better than later.

Sorry to hear of your losses too Bonine and Leslie! The blooming out of Burseens is a bit alarming to me, especially since I spent a lot on intros this year.

Liz - some Burseens do. The majority are really good growers. This is my first total loss to bloom out. I had a couple take two years to bloom again. Sensationalizer also had poms so that is a super abundance of flounce to recover from in a hot NC summer.

I wont have time to work on these beds for awhile.

I didn't check on my other beds, but I will tomorrow morning before I leave. I'm hoping they are ok...

sorry for the losses. 'Sweet and Innocent' is so lovely too.

That's so disheartening Rob.. I've often wondered about possible pathogens that might be in wood chips from tree companies.. I use a lot of them here...

Rob, I'm so sorry for your losses! If I have any that you lost you are more than welcome to them.

I'm really sorry to hear that, Rob - and anyone else who has experienced losses.

I thought that I had lost 'Got Milk' (a gift plant from last year), but I finally found the rhizome and it may be hanging in there. (I'll have to spray it and the other irises against the rabbits, though.)

One thing that I am experiencing with those few irises that actually made it into the ground, is that they seem to be sinking down. I planted all of them so that part of the rhizome was above the soil level, but now, in many cases, they are covered with dirt. That makes me concerned - will I need to excavate all of these?

That's a nightmare, Rob and I'm sorry for your losses, Leslie. I hope Sweet and Innocent survives, Bonnie.

For my own part I'm mostly concerned with rot that starts from the fans and works itself down to the rhizome, although I had some other rots last year as well. I have removed a lot of really mushy foliage on all the irises. I think the repeated thaw-frost cycles this winter has taken its toll with the foliage.

Of the 35 I planted last year, I have so far lost the main fan on 6 rhizomes, Golden Panther, Edilia, Quiproquo, Cigarillo, Lording It and Drive me Wild.

I noticed that the growth point on all the rhizomes planted the summer of 2015 so far looks okay once the mushy stuff was removed. Many of them however had problems the previous winter when they were newly planted. I wonder if this is just a coincidence? My rhizomes come from France and Italy. I don't think they have had time to adapt to the harsher climate here yet. Overall it also looks like the larger rhizomes has the worst problems. One would think slower growth, using very little fertilizer in a colder climate would make a tougher, more winter hardy plant with stronger cell walls that is less susceptible to rot.

At this point I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to cover the rhizomes with a raised piece of glass or plant them in a cold frame the first year.

We will see, here in Southern Maine. I think I may have lost all my Japanese Iris. Either the land had been previously limed or I just stink at this variety.