Thanks for the tip Leslie. I may try that.

Karma strikes fast! Just minutes after I said I'd only possibly lost Revvedup
Rose, I re-checked and found that Vapor is gone, and so is April Vision.

Gone? As in dead, or missing? So sad either way. I love Vapor.

Vapor is kaput. Rhizome is mush.

Vapor was a gift and struggled from the start.
April Vision just never settled in.

Both were planted this past summer - so I never saw either one in bloom.

Years ago when I had hundreds of iris, I did have trouble with botrytis and used Benlate which is now off the market. I still have most of a bag and so am treating my planted iris. I used to treat before planting. A disaster at a greenhouse caused it to be pulled, but from what I have read, it was a knee-jerk reaction. Appears might have been too strong an application. I have had a little soft rot but I think I was able to save those. I remember losing some Schreiners over the winter, but they may have been planted too late. Have lost only one that was planted early enough to survive. Am not sure what killed it as again it was over the winter. So far no rot of any kind in the two years since I started up again. But we are very dry here, so I don't have your problems. Annual precipation at the airport which is a bit dryer than at my house, 16.1 inches. We are the second driest state in the Union. I had a big clump of Pacific Panorama that got botrytis and I treated it in the ground and it completely recovered.

for all those who are suffering losses. May your 2016 bring better results.

Sorry for everyone's problems.

Well, those are the haps! I've planted more than 400 in 3 years and not lost many at all!
Considering that we're in a historic drought...
(uh oh - knock on wood!)

I have not had rain in months and so do not have much rot. However, the last one, Sugar Magnolia, just sat for a while and then dried up to a brown little nugget. It just shriveled and went away. Perhaps it did not get enough water. The two that had rot this summer had it shortly after receiving them from the vendor.

Bonnie - I had one shrivel too. I think it really did not have enough water. I thought I was doing a good job of watering, but it was only after Mother Nature gave us 12 days of rain that some of the beds really took off with growth. It has me rethinking my watering strategy.

Sometimes you're just damned if you do, and damned if you don't. New-to-you Irises are subjected to stress factors that you never know about. Then subjected to stress factors in your own environment. Don't forget that we are dealing with extreme hybrids. As beautiful as they are, they do not have the vigor of their ancestors. Sort of like people, don't ya think????

yes, I agree, Mary Ann. I water consistently but some will thrive, some will just struggle and a very few will not survive. As I stand over them I often wonder 'what do you need?' but since they don't talk back...... at this point anyway.

Leslie, I have found that nothing beats rainwater for a garden. Perhaps it is the amount of chlorine added to the city water that is not good for them, I don't know. Also, it has been so long since we have gotten rain that it is hard to water deeply with a hose and sprinklers. I have left the water trickling all night to save some Japanese maples and they are still looking ratty. Rain is predicted for this weekend. I hope it is enough to bring some things back from the brink and release us from the burn ban.

Al Roker's forecast for this weekend shows heavy rains for both Debra and you, Bonnie. Maybe too much? Feast or famine, it seems...........

We are so dry we can use all we get. I just hope it does not come down so fast that it all runs off before it can sink in a bit. Everyone around here is talking about the 'rain weekend' like it is a calendar event..... like a first snowfall. lol

I'll bet!! Hope it's exactly the rain that you need, in exactly the way that you need it!

Glad to hear rain is on it's way. I will be out watering tonight. Feast or famine is truly the way of weather this year.

While I was cleaning out another bed today, I noticed that Raging Tide (one I had called a Goner) has sent out 5 new increases from a rotten rhizome! Go figure, I was very surprised to see that.

Those are the kind of surprises that make people very happy! It is a pretty iris. I just got it from Brad this year, so I hope with luck to see it next spring.

Question about rhizomes being nursed back to health. I have 4 or 5 in pots right now that are recovering from rot/lack of growth/etc. Each is growing a new little fan or fans in one case. Do you suggest I leave these little ones outside over winter with the other potted iris, or would it be best to bring them inside when it is really cold? I have a dirt side in my basement with a large southern exposure window. They would have good light and be warmer. Opinions?

It is always nice to see such surprises Tom. I have several I am watching after cutting away the rot area and allowing the sun to "heal" the wound as much as possible while still in the ground. Hope mine are as lucky, or is it as strong?

Speaking of goners, some of our regulars seem to be goners too - Rob, Marilyn, Greg, Brad.....

grannysgarden said:We are so dry we can use all we get. I just hope it does not come down so fast that it all runs off before it can sink in a bit. Everyone around here is talking about the 'rain weekend' like it is a calendar event..... like a first snowfall. lol

At one time I heard that if your ground is really dry you should water it right before the rain is predicted so the rain water will soak in instead of running off.