Thanks Andrea,
I spent the day trying to choose which iris stalks to cut for the trip down to the Santa Rosa iris show. There are so many rules in the judging - but lots of helpful guidelines too! Of course, the condition of the bloom (s)is very important - and they should look fresh. So I was looking anxiously at several that were almost in full bloom, and trying to predict how they'd look at 4 or 5 a.m. Saturday morning, when we'd drive down to Santa Rosa for the jurying, later in the morning.It's almost a 2 hour drive - with buckets of flowerstalks in the back seat! I cut a few yesterday that didn't pass the cut. They got wilty. Fortunately I've got a lot to choose from. The rain this morning prompted me to cut some more. So many just turn to mush.
However, I'm delighted at how well my first cross is holding up. Out of 3 blooms on the plant, the first to open lasted for several days, until I decided to collect pollen from it and to do some pollen daubing. It soon folded after that. However,the other 2 are holding up nicely - no wilting, even in the rain!
This is the hardy pair today after several hours of rain.
My helper, Ace
