Adding

We thought we had done our buying for the season but misjudged the timing of the RHS plantfinder release. After much debate we decided to locate the remaining MTB's not already in our collection of 44. We actually don't need them to meet the Plant Heritage requirement of 75% of those listed in the Plant Finder but we'd like to be holding them, and the other 48 listed but now not available. It's a slow process in the end.

My collection partner has done the lion's share of the phoning round this time which is a good thing as she is a real people person and finding out all sorts of useful information during her telephonic tour of iris suppliers.

One of the key things we discover, which in reality is not news but a confirmation, is that plants identified in the Plant Finder may or may not actually be for sale, grown by or even known by the nursery! claiming to stock it. Which makes one wonder about a) how the RHS go about updating the plant finder on a yearly basis? b) how nurseries check what they are listed for in the PF? c) whether anyone (RHS) ever does a spot check on the listings accuracy? d) why PH use it as a guide when it is apparently well known (several nurseries have pointed to the consistent inaccuracy of it) that it is not accurate.

With nurseries holding 000's of plants one can imagine it is quite an onerous task to update it, though some clearly do. I also imagine it is a good selling tool and know designers and landscapers use it to locate plants for clients and expect lots of individuals do the very same.

After the phone around we are 4 iris varieties closer to our target, slightly wiser about where to source from and a little surprised that this blog is being read!

Week 2.5

These two are still residing in pots about to go in once flowering is done.

Performer is the most glorious bluey lilac colour with exceptional blue blue beards and a sweet surprising scent. It's bigger flowered than most MTB's which makes me wonder if it isn't borderline IB but it's listed MTB so who am I to argue!

Then there is Tea Saucer Hill, smaller flowered than most other MTB's and strikingly unusual clean colouring in Yellow with pale whitey falls and a bright yellow beard. It's flowers are fleeting and last not much more than a day.

The other two newbies have not flowered, Spring Blush put on a great deal of leaf and rhizome and not one single flower, Easy succumbed to terrible mealy bug and is just about surviving, the rhizome is hard and strong so am hoping it will shake off the mass attack and recover for next year.

Tuesday we have our assessor visiting from Plant Heritage which I am dreading and looking forward to in equal measure. Nice to be able to show off our lovely collection but am sure there will be things that need much attention!

Keep all your fingers x'd for us.

MTB's 2011 - a whole month early

This year with all the fantastic warm weather the MTB's are up and out early, a whole month early! Last year the first flowers arrived 20th may this year 22nd April.

We have lost one or two plants through the harsh winter but so far not an entire variety though Disco Jewels is looking VERY peaky.

In order of flowering this is the year so far:-
Week 1:-
Claire Doodle - first again 22nd April

Ace - sold as White Wine but it's Ace

New Idea 26th April

Apricot Drops 26th April (White Wine behind)

Enriched 26th April

Staplehurst 27th April

White Wine 27th April

Connect the Dots 27th April

Week 2

Medway Valley 1st May

Petite Monet 30th April

Bockingford 1st May

Plant Heritage is coming...at last!

We are in the middle of applying for National Collection status on our Miniature Tall Bearded Iris collection, as you all know! Its is growing at one end of my allotment atm.

Am very excited that the 'local' Plant Heritage official is finally coming to see it next week.

Nothing is in flower yet of course but we have one more winter in the ground before we should become an official collection holder....read many, many hoops jumped, not many more to go!

We added 5 more last autumn (2010) and another 8 coming this autumn (2011).

Claire Austin delivers

Unexpectedly Claire Austin Hardy Plants cam up trumps. Totally hassle free conversation and unbelievably fast delivery the following day. Standing back in utter amazement given previous contacts with them. so Claire Austin or who ever it was who answered the phone YOU ROCK!

We gained two more:
Iris 'White Wine'
Iris 'Yellow Flirt'

Iris 'Enriched' is in the pipeline.
Nail biting stuff, well if you're me it is.

Searching for....

We are still looking for these Miniature Tall Bearded Iris and although listed at various nurseries through the RHS plant finder they either don't list them in their catalogue or are not responding to email requests:

Kelways:
Candylane
Chickee
Evening Pond

Merriments Gardens: no mail order (!)
Carolyn Rose

Breezy Knees: no mail order(!) and their in 'the north', happily other people do both these and they're not so far away
Rosemary's Dream
Carolyn Rose

The Mead: no mail order (!)
Lucky Charm

Seagate:
Speck So
Rosemary's Dream
Reminiscence
Billie the Brownie

Being Enriched

Iris of Sissinghurst have come up with Enriched one not in our collection but recently listed, they have it for us and are asking the local Iris group if anyone has plants that we are still missing. The group includes the main breeder of MTB's Olga Wells. So fingers X'd

Registering the collection

We are oh so close, after a moment of panic when it seemed we would not be recorded as remotely interesting let alone registered as a plant collection, Plant Heritage has eased regs and allowing for over enthusiastic registration of plants by nurseries who cannot subsequently supply them, have agreed to begin the process of registration for our collection of Iris MTB's

All I need do now is write up the plant list in botanical speak.... !

Lavander and Sage

about 200 modules of a mix of Lavander (Lavandula multifidia Blue) and Clary Sage (Salvia Blue Spire) are adorning the garden table along with several seed trays of Hyssop, more lavander and some rosemary waiting for module space (small garden problem)

I'm debating whether to plant out this 'hedging' now (late autumn) or wait until spring.

Arrivals

I have been lax I'm afraid and forgot to post about our new arrivals. The first from Seagate in the form of:

Ace
Baubles & Beads
Honorabile
Oh So Cool
Welch's Reward

The rest arrived post haste from the US via Christine Lomer in Spain:

Merit
Maslon
Connect the Dots
Dancing Lilacs
Ben a Factor
Bumblebee Deelite
Poker Chips

Gulp that was some digging and preparing for them to get in the ground quickly. SO we are now sitting on 31 cultivars. They look a bit lost in their big patch of earth but the spring planted ones are romping away and showing their vigour in spades.

Next step is getting our collection registered.

They are in!

After two mornings of hard digging, leveling, raking and so on we have got them in. 2 beds about 1.5m wide and 5m long each carrying 10 cultivars.

They look a tad wind swept the following day so new plans for low hedges of lavendar (Lavandula augustifolia Rosea, Hidcote and a couple of others) rosemary (Rosmarinus officianalis) maybe winter savory (Satureja montana) and box (buxus sempervirens) are now in the planning and cutting beds.

Pic to follow soon

Planting

Finally our piece of land is ready. We plant on Saturday. Early. I will be watering all week if it carries on like this.

I have planned space for 40 MTB cultivars which we will hold eventually. About 18 will go in this week. There are some odd TB's and Sibirica also to go in. Collecting is addictive. And Expensive!

MTB Frosted Velvet

MTB Striped Pants

Buying stock

We have had mixed experiences buying from nurseries. At least two were completely delightful enthusiasts, generously sharing knowledge and helping us with finding things even offering to search US nursery catalogues and import them if we covered plant and import costs!.

Seagate and Iris of Sissinghurst

Another was about as helpful as a chocolate teapot, though quick to offer to find us plants he didn't have 'for fee', UK only. A fourth was unhelpful, sent us tiny struggling plants a month later than promised along with plants we didn't order, all this 3 months after taking the money, then took another 6 weeks to send a refund by cheque having taken payment by CC - all good for their cash flow but sadly we will never buy from them again and notably we will tell our friends how bad the service that they provide is..... not to mention the pooooor quality and high price of plants.

If we ever get to selling our MTB's I aim to have only good quality plants going out, take money only on delivery and any refunds by the same method of payment.

ho hum

Finding MTB's

Iris 'Katherine Hodkin' which is a reticulata


We plan to hold a National Collection of MTB's, the first we think, and according to records we're right. There are just over 30 in the 08/09 RHS plant finder so that means about 27 minimum in the collection and 3 of each rhizome.

I have located them in the UK by luck more than anything. And furnished with the warnings of the growers that "they don't sell" I am buying as many as I can!

Once we have them I will post pictures of each one included. but for now here's my first sprouting Iris of the season (above)