All this rot is so troubling! I really hope hybridizers make efforts to bring resistance to future generations.

ARUBA1334 said:I had a great time can always count on Mr Keppel and Mid America to get my Iris fix in

It has been a tough spring here as well, we looked great until the end of April and heavy rains and heat brought on a mix of soft rot and something else that I can't ID yet my leaves almost overnight developed a brown streak on the sides of the leaves and plants started falling over and rotting. The timing couldn't of been worse hundreds of stalks fell over within days, Probably the worst season I have ever had and very few things bloomed here. I have lost so many to rot will be happy to get out of this season with half of what I started with.

Brad, I seem to have the same thing you do. But it only really effected my back field that I have all my Iris in. The Iris that are close to the house or back yard have had no issues what so ever. My field has been a mess. I ended up cutting all my Iris leaves off to try to dry it out to stop the rot. I've lost count at this point of what I've lost but the smell is enough to make you gag. It was sooo disappointing. Everything was beautiful! Then wham. To much fluctuation in heat and cold and rain. To many frosts late in the season. Then heating up to quickly. I know I lost about 100 or so bloom stalks on newer plants due to this mess. And what was blooming in the field wasn't blooming correctly.

What a sad thing to hear, Brad. I was hoping your irises would miss a lot of the rot issues being newly planted in open areas. So disheartening. I hope the weather improves and the remaining irises thrive.

I'm sorry to hear it too, Brad. You've certainly had your share of Iris woes the past couple of years.

Brad - I am so sorry to hear that you have lost so much. It has been a very unkind year.

Brad, Jen (and Arlyn), I'm so sorry your having a horrible year with your irises. Let me know if I can help replace any of the ones you lost.

Good to see you back on the forums Brad.

Somehow, some way, we've GOT to get a handle on this disease problem ! I'd hoped that you had "moved away" from your issues, Brad

Agreed.

Echoing Rob - if I can help with replacements, let me know.
Brad - so many of the ones you sent me last season have thrived.
No rot at all . Let me know if I ca help.

UndertheSun said:Brad, Jen (and Arlyn), I'm so sorry your having a horrible year with your irises. Let me know if I can help replace any of the ones you lost.

Good to see you back on the forums Brad.

I agree, and that includes you too Rob, you've lost a good amount too.

Mary Ann , you posted some beautiful pics. I was green with envy until you posted Scatterbrain. I have been feeling that way so much lately and the gorgeous picture turned me emerald with envious covetness.

Thank You All for the kind words !! It has been a tough year here the midwest weather has been brutal this spring again but Im not sure my problems are weather related yet my Iris rows were a cornfield 2 years ago it could be something left over in the soil that brought it on I won't know until I get soil samples sent in and plants tested but either way it is tough to see so many of them look good for so long and weeks before the show they all fall over. It is so widespread that I couldn't of stopped it if I wanted to decided to let it run it's course in stead of digging them all during bloom and Ill work with what is left. We have been getting hammered with rain and I still have some things blooming so trying to concentrate on the flowers while there here and hoping I can get some pods to set over the next couple days while the suns shining I have all summer to work on this mess but only a small window of time to enjoy the flowers and I do have a few fun ones blooming right now

Jen.. My experience was much the same my plants were beautiful I thought it was going to be a great season then we got 3 inches of rain in a 24hr period and my rows filled with water the next 2 days were highs in the 80's and within a week they were starting to rot so I went to oregon for a few days and came back and realized how bad it was by then it was too late. I spend a couple days on my knees with a pocket knife trying to cut it out and stop it from spreading but It won't stop raining here long enough to dry out and I had to give up just too much and I don't have the time to dig it all right now. I assumed at 1st it was weather related but my Dad's garden was perfect this year and we grow all the same plants for the most part, he is only 15 minutes from me and his bloom was incredible so my thinking is mine maybe is something else. I will eventually end up digging everything again and that is one way to stop it but not going to happen here for a while. Good luck and sorry to hear you had a rough spring.

Arlyn.. Botrytis is horrible.. if it comes back as that again from ISU I will do as they say and destroy all plants with it or that have had it. I am tired of it and can't find anything to make it go away would rather start over than have a repeat every year...the current problem is the leaves have a real distinct brown streak on the edges and the plants start rotting 6 inches up from the bulb and fall over so whatever it is acts very fast this is what leads me to believe it may be something in the soil this time.

So sorry to hear of all of your troubles. I think this is the rainiest bloom season I have ever seen. It is supposed to be April showers bring May flowers but Mother nature has gotten mixed up. I have only had a few rot but I do not have that much yard. I will keep my that none go bad. One particular bed has had issues so I will hope they live and redo that bed in the fall or late summer.

Let us know what you find out from the extension service so that we can look for signs like those in our beds. Again, so sad to lose the beauties and have so much work to do, Jen and Brad,

It is heart rending to lose so many so fast and during the bloom season at that. I don't know if I would have the courage to start over. I hope you both, as well as Arlyn, gets some test results quickly and can find a solution that is final to this rot problem.

Soil related?... last spring when I was making iris beds I used dirt, just plain old garden dirt. A friend who was building iris beds at the same time, and was looking for a bumper crop of blooms this spring, bought truckloads of what the nurseries around here call 'super soil' and had it hauled in. I have not lost any to rot but she has lost quite a few. I can replace most of her losses but it does make one wonder about the 'soil'. She lives two miles from me.

I hope they are testing for what good bacteria are in there too. We must have the good stuff.

I do hope someone can find a remedy for this problem soon. Until then.... good luck to everyone with all your iris endeavors!

Brad -- could you take a picture of your leaves so that we all can see what they look/looked like?

I did take a picture of my worst area a few weeks back -- I'll go try to find it..

Here is a series of pictures that I took at the time that I became aware of the problem. These were all in my Nursery beds where I planted the rhizomes that came in last year.

Any thoughts???

I think we all have to build a huge bubble to grow our irises in so we can control the temperature and water and never have to worry about rot. So sad to hear of these losses.

Mary Ann:
The first picture just looks like bad leaf spot but the last two look like real rot. I have several with the browning leaves but they are mostly the outer ones that will likely fall off (if I didn't clip off the brown). I hope that those do not progress to rot. I think all of this rain is to blame!

Janie -- the pictures show the progression to rot. The first picture shows the large sections of yellowing and browning of the leaves. It's different from the normal outer-leaf browning off. That first picture is the tip-off of what is to come. Then comes the watery staining at the base of the *healthy* leaves. In some cases, the staining goes halfway up the leaf/leaves. Then comes the complete failure of the entire fan, with the fan falling over. The same thing can and has happened here with the bloom stalk -- but you can't see it coming like you can with the leaf fan.