Nice selection of irises Linnea

Nice haul Linnea!

Sherry - those are some awefully nice "curbside iris." Jealous of Class Ring. Not likely to find that at a curb near here.

And Lori - if I get your way, I have great training in Map making thanks to a double major in archaeology & geograpic geology. Which mean my gardens are obviously mapped. Which is getting to be a nuisance since I keep moving things. LOL!

BTW - thanks to all of you for yellow iris offers for my friends garden. I got it planted today, and all I have to say is I am going to have to hide all the hoses. Very wet rhizomes to say the least! I am going to call her the yellow iris killer (which is ironic since she loves the yellows!). Much to my suprise all the Picasso Moon were no more (4 I think), and Sunrise Elegy had one whole one and some very small bits left out of 4. Mary Ann's yellow & white Noid was a trooper ( ) as was Banana Frappe which I got from Wild iris Rows. I added Coney Island SDB) that I got as a bonus, and left a space for a couple of yellows to be determined. Apollo's Touch, Summer Olympics and Goldkist survived so I ended up with a pretty nice planting I think.

But the main focus is for the offers and contributions!

ohhhh, Coney Island! if it survives and multiplies I want a swap for that one. It is a yellow spotted with yellow/brown beard. It has been on my wish list. So many, irises...... so little room.

Bonnie - at first sign of neglect I am taking that little beauty back to my garden. I think I was crazy to put it there, but she was missing a small yellow...... I will certainly keep you in mind for future increases!

yes a good course from you on iris care is needed. Part I think is from habit & part of thinking that the rhizome is a 'bulb'. Depth of planting makes a difference as well.

A while back we talked about non-toxic insect repellent. I think I've found it.
Tea Tree oil is available at most places that carry herbs and tinctures. 15 drops of tea tree oil in
a quart of water - use a cotton ball or small sponge to swab exposed body parts. It's kept the
skeeters away from me while working in the garden.

I agree Lucy. I have shown her how to plant, but need to break her of overwatering. She has lots and lots of plants, so just goes at watering full tilt. Hopefully now that they are all in a bed, and away from the other plants, she will let them dry out a bit. I also had to get her to put the ones in pots, waiting to be planted, out in the sun. She kept putting them in shade. I actually made her move them three times! I think she has learned that lesson now.

Tree Tea oil? I have some at home - will have to give it a try because skeeters sure love me.

About pots....... remember that if you plant anything in a dark pot, such as the black plastic pots we buy plants in, and leave them in the sun the pots will cook the roots that are touching the pot. Put a large container with good drainage, such as a planter box or tub with holes of some sort, in the sun or shade depending on the plants needs and then set the pot in the container. Here is a photo of plants in a shady area. This protects the roots and keeps them from getting knocked over or a dog using them for a fire hydrant. I like the look it gives my garden instead of pots all over the place. As you find places for the plants you can move them out and move in ones you will give or trade at a later date. If you do not like the look of pots in the tub you can mulch it a bit.

I need some advice... or some chocolate... or a nickel.. or, oh phlox! I was tidying up an iris bed and it appears that I have lost quite a bit of a clump. When picking off spent leaves a whole fan just lifted right out. I examined the clump and on one side of the small clump the rhizomes are spongy. They do not smell bad they sort of have an earthy smell and they are not discolored. Is this rot?! Should I dig up the entire clump and wash it and replant it somewhere else? I dug up the soft parts and discarded it all. What should I do with the remaining half. This is an iris I love and it is slow to increase and nearly impossible to replace.

Bonnie, unfortunately this is not the normal bacterial rhizome rot that smells horrible. It is a different type but even worse in that I have never been able to salvage a rhizome once this type hits. Lost 2 rhizomes this year, but fortunately I have other rhizomes of these varieties. The only odor I noticed was that of dirt, nothing noxious or horrid. I ended up taking out the bad rhizome each time, along with all fans attached, cleaning out all roots of that rhizome and placing them all in the trash, not the compost. So far the rest of each clump has been doing well.

Except for one instance, that's the type of " rot' I'm having this year, as well. So far, removing all the soft area, and giving it a spray of listerene seems to be doing the trick. I've been "treating" with the plant still in the ground, but it sounds like yours is maybe bad enough to warrant digging, and a careful "examination". Good luck! If it's a "named cultivar", tell us the name, and maybe one of us has it?!.....Arlyn

It is my little avatar, Arlyn, 'Enchanted Princess' and it looks like I may have two good rhizomes left. Since it is an SDB I am thinking that most people on here will not have it for sure. I am wondering whether to chance leaving them in the ground or taking them up and treating them as if i were going to ship them and then potting them in clean soil and controlling the water they get. I have not had any personal experience with this kind of rot as we are a hot dry earth state. We do get the nasty rot at the state capitol beds due to overwatering and over fertilizing. I have a lot of humidity and get leaf spot and such but so far no borers either. Pardon me for rambling but I am ups/et!

BTW thanx Dave and Arlyn for the prompt response. you guys are great!

I think if it was me, I'd dig it, clean it up, and either plant in a pot for a while, or at least another location. If it has been "slow to increase", maybe it just isn't happy where it was....even a "small' move of a few feet can sometimes make a big difference in growth habits.....Arlyn

I agree with Arlyln, I'd dig it up and clean it all off, maybe dip in 10% bleach. Cut away any soft tissue and let that dry good before re-planting. Remember, you sent me some of that one, so If mine does well, I can send some back later.

Bonnie - I think many of us have had that type of rot this year. It hit my Secret Rites first, and after digging out the soft part I treated with bleach solution while in situ. There was further rot, so I dug it up, and was able to salvage 4 increases. After dipping them in bleach solution and letting them dry a day or two I put them in pots. Now, after 4 months, I decided to put them back in the gardens and all of the increases had tons of roots. So I say, dig it up, salvage and treat what you can and then pot them.
I was also able to save some of Green & Gifted this way, and the remaining part of that rhizome is looking great.

A VERY large rhizome of "Green & Gifted" is in the "box"!

Lucky you