Tom, if you haven't already done so, I suggest you get in the Irises Cubit and ask about that stalk thing. I'm sure someone there can help you. Dee has been an iris grower for a number of years, so she's probably seen it all by now and might know what to do. I used to complain about stalks suddenly taking a 90 degree turn and twisting all around, and I found out that it's a combination of alternating hot and cold weather in the early spring, plus some varieties are just prone to doing that. So I've pretty much eliminated the offenders by now -- they weren't favorites anyway, so their days were numbered...
Aruba, I think it's so nice that Paul let you have some of that iris seedling. I can tell that the form is not perfect, but the colors are fantastic and it looks incredible in your garden! I had really fallen for one I saw up there in 2009, and he said he probably wouldn't introduce it because it didn't have that many blooms -- but now he's introducing it this year as BABY I LOVE YOU! So of course that was the first one I ordered.
How I envy you getting to go to Salem again this year. I don't even think I'm going to the AIS convention here in Ontario, CA in April, or the big Region 14/TBIS meeting in Santa Cruz the following weekend, because I've already blown my budget on ordering irises and daylilies this spring! Bummer!
