I've been reading through lots of posts and noticing it seems fairly common for folks to ask for help ID-ing an iris after the marker gets lost. Thought I'd share an idea I learned on the HIPS forum.
I use white plastic (disposable) knives. Using an indelible felt-tip marker, I write the cultivar name on the 'blade' and the provenance (source) on the handle. Every time I plant a rhizome I bury a knife vertically right behind the rhizome, leaving only the very tip of the knife visible above ground.
Since the knife is below ground UV rays can't reach the ink so the 'label' lasts forever. And, since it's buried and not really visible it stays in place.
I hired a couple of folks to help me weed the iris rows this past year. Even though I showed them the markers and explained the importance of not moving them I found a few markers mixed in with the raked-up weeds. No problem though. Every rhizome still had its knife label.
If you need lots of plastic knives you buy them in bulk at www.webstaurantstore.com.
Works for me anyway.
Randy Smith
