The main reason I haven't, and probably won't, try it is because all of the folks here who have sent me rhizomes this year. Don't have any more room until or unless I start converting the back yard. Gotta leave SOME room for the dogs, though.

Who's gonna' win THAT fight, I wonder ?!? Just do it, Tom, you will be providing a useful service to the rest of us , sort of a "test pilot" type of thing ! You can blame us, if you want, that way there will be no guilt on your part !.............Arlyn

Think of it as throwing yourself on a floral grenade, Tom!

Following Paul's suggestion, I went out early this a.m. while it was still cool, to make maps. Not very pretty maps,
but I can read them. Only a few illegibles got past me, and I have a master list to refer to. One mistake I made this year was to
buy some pretty copper plant markers. Pretty ,but hard as heck to read! Maybe I didn't press hard enough. Live and learn.I did buy
some zinc markers that take a marking pen. Much easier and legible.

Yeah, that's what I need to do....some kind of map! I know what BED the iris is in....but not WHERE in the bed! I trust to memory...old man's memory....and that ain't too good .......Arlyn

I need a maps too, would someone please come draw them for me. My geography professor told me not to take up map making for a career!

Jan I got a lot of the copper ones too and wrote hard. Problem is the green patina obscures the dents a bit so I went over the names with a paint pen. Works great. Now I just buy the galvanized ones. A friend buys stainless steel markers but I can't afford them.

Maps are necessary for me. I leave the markers up year round but sometimes they get mixed about. Sometimes referring to a map helps not planting look alikes together.

Jan and Lori

Jan, Regarding the zinc labels... I agree the pretty copper ones you have to pull out of the ground to read. Although the etching does last, even if you have to put on your glasses and go out into the light I've been using the zinc labels for 25 years and tested many different pens & pencils.. A caveat about marking pens (like sharpies or others that tout UV resistant) is that they fade. Paint pens that you get from an art store are better. A soft pencil lasts, but if you have hard water, you get mineral deposits that stick to the lead. I'm finding them harder to read as my eyesight diminishes. This year I've started putting tape labels on the zinc labels. Black lettering on white background... I find them much easier to read, but wonder about the longevity, as this is my first year testing the labels.

Tom, I would have bought practically the whole box that Joe put out if a whiney lady hadn't come along and complained that I was taking them all.. He had some Keppel's 'Class Ring' in there, 'Sunrise Elegy' (Schreiner 2012), 'Dancing Spree' (Schreiner 2012), 'Modern Drama' (Kerr 2012), 'Piano Forte' (Ghio 2008), 'Dracula's Kiss' (Schreiner 2009), 'Edgefield Glow' (Schreiner 2011), 'Return to Oz' (Kerr 2012)... I picked these up for my friend, who is looking for a mix of "pretty and varied". The whiney woman got a few that I wanted, but oh well... I might go by today on my way to the studio... But I thought he had a really nice small mix out , and the rhizomes were unbelievably huge... and I say that after receiving exceptionally large rhizomes from Napa and Superstition this year..

I think the largest rhizome I got this year came from Joe, It was Picture Book and it was a tripple rhizome. All three were huge, and it had a bunch of babies growing on it too.

Talk about forgetfull! I really pulled a good one. I was going through the boxes and getting them ready to put in the trash, when I happened upon a Huge rhizome from Superstition. It was one I ordered that I already had, I new I had done that, I must have put it back in the box and planted the rest somehow missing this one. Talk about a double dumb dumb!!!

If I loose the battle, then I am sure going to put the blame on you guys!!!!!

What are enablers...uh, friends for?

A friend in our club has used Ghio's Surprise package for years with good results. I would have done the same if it was a package of median. No we have to downsize the garden, always leaving space for seedlings.

I have a question. How much does the name of an iris influence your interest in purchasing it? Say, if you're looking through a picture-less
list. Does the name move you one way or another? (after writing names on tags, I told myself that if I'm ever lucky enough to grow a new iris I'll try to make it one short word!).

I have bought many plants of all kinds because of the name alone.

I often buy an iris , sight unseen, simply because of the name.

I used Popsicle sticks and can't read any of them.

Lately, I have been cutting plastic lids in pie shapes and using Sharpie. I dunno how it holds up yet.

We had our MIS swap today.

This is what I got:

Antics
Plainsong
more Cat's Eye
Chocolate Fondue
Microwave
Short Verse
Leopard Print
Investor
Glamor Cat
Smooch
Frosted Velvet
Butterscotch Wine
Princess Blue Beard....a huge clump!
Melanie Baither
- her grandfather, Warren Hazelton, is the hybridizer and he was there today.

I got Serena Lady Daylily and some Heuchera too.

I also got a pile of rhizomes that may have gotten dumped out of the bags they were in. They have no names. Some may be Cat's Eye and Candy Apple. One of them has a purple fan base. No one wanted the un-labeled ones. I am not too worried about it. They will get their own little spot by the fan color. They are something someone at the MIS owns.

That's a haul, Linnea.

Yup, I probably don't need....did I say need??? to order any more.