Irises are a growing!

Seedlings
The new seedlings are hardening off in the mini greenhouses outside. It's a sheltered spot to the side of the house but it's a positive first stage in their journey to the field!

About half of them are big enough to be outside, another quarter will go out this week and next week the last laggers will go out regardless of progress. The laggers are en-route to the a sticky end if I am honest, if they don't show any signs by mid April they're compost fodder!

This may sound harsh but the outside grown iris seeds are up, xMaslon 4 and x Headcorn 1,  small but up so in their natural, un-forced environment they would be going somewhere if they were going to. With all the seeds and seedlings being grown there really is not time or space for dawdlers.

The seedlings from "Welch's Reward" and "Medway Valley" from 2010/2011 are going great guns in the field, rhizomes fattening up nicely and about half are putting on some really good top growth.

Field Collection
The replant seems to have gone well, we've lost a couple of rhizomes but in known-to-be weaker varieties and we still have the pre-requisite 3 of each in the ground. Many of the more vigorous plants are shooting up top growth and languishing in the early spring heat.

A good weed and some spring fertiliser will stand them in good stead for the coming season.

Potted collection
I potted up about 150 plants at division time last year. We simply didn't have the space for them so they have been stored chez moi on the garden tables.
After a winter of squirrel ravaging and dull dampness I had though many of them would suffer, wither and die but not a bit of it, I've lost about 6 in total and the rest are storming away with strong green top growth and fat rhizomes.

Weeding and feeding will be required here too, though I suspect it will take a different form to field weeds and feeds!

If you are interested in buying some of the potted stock please email me. Iris@rosewarnegardens.com all varieties are £6 a pot (tall 1ltr) each plus postage or you can collect by arrangement.

British Iris Society - seed growing

I am, unsurprisingly a member of the British Iris society and every year there is a seed distribution. A LONG list of seeds that have come from breeders, nurseries, individuals and just about anywhere really all collected by Mrs Criddle and her assistant and then sorted out and offered to other enthusiasts. MTB seeds are always quite rare and gone fast but this year I managed to secure a batch with a promise to send lots of 'pods' from our plants in early September.

Last year I grew all the seeds we got from our MTB patch, this year I will need to be a bit more circumspect, space is an issue already and will only get worse as we add more and more cultivars.

Selectivity I think and Mrs C will no doubt be happy with an influx of MTB seeds.

Do you visit National (Plant) Collections?

We visited another National Collection which kinda puts ours in the shade, they have 2000 varieties packed into a front garden. Galanthophiles are a bit of a curiosity I will admit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42165066@N03/sets/72157629122533604/with/6797115708/

For more information about collections in your local area see the Plant Heritage website (also called NCCPG)

Seedlings off to a great start

Caramel re bloomer of indeterminate species, waiting to see what it turns out to be

An as yet unamed Yellow SDB

After  a seeming short gap the first of the iris seedlings are up and off. this will make their 'spring' 3 months longer than their in-ground counterparts.

Now just watching the other 9 pots like a hawk....

I know I need to get out more... but it is winter after all :)

Twittering

We can be found at https://twitter.com/#!/IrisCollector

and Facebooking at https://www.facebook.com/MTBIris

Irises out of hibernation

It was supposed to be Christmas  but I got waylaid by festivities and the like and then by the wind and cold - I know excuses excuses but here we are 4th Jan and they are still lurking in the hydrator. so today they are being decanted from hydrator to pot and balanced along the bathroom window sill for  some sun and some warmth to get them going early.

The idea is that it 'fools' the seed into thinking winter is done and it's now spring (the irony is not lost on me that this year I could have left them outside with our freakily warm winter for the same effect!)
This then gives the seedling a long long long first spring (6 months instead of 3) in which to bulk out it's root and hopefully get it to flower next year in it's 2nd season instead of the usual 3rd or 4th.

Potted up and labelled, ready for a warm window sill

Just out of the hydrator, lurking in the perlite is all the potential of vernalised little Iris seeds

Planting seedlings

I found a large paper packet of seeds from 2010 BIS distribution. A complete mixture of things  but all looking dark and fine. Having had instruction on speeding up seedling growth a couple of weeks ago, I though I'd give it a go.

soaking seeds

Plastic bags purchased from IKEA - they're pretty red stripey bags, perlite from Homebase - not so pretty and jolly expensive, and a tray loaded with soaking seeds - 48 hours in the end.

teeny seeds 'relaxing' in the perlite

The idea is to soak the outer coat before easing it off - NOT as easy as it sounds, then pop the de-coated pale seeds into moist, not wet, perlite in a plastic bag, seal the bag and put that in the fridge for 6 weeks. Of course labelling is vital but as you can see mine smudged all over so fingers x'd it will be readable in 6 weeks.

hydrator bound bags of seeds

Follow that by planting them in compost and leaving on a warm windowsill from xmas to actual spring when they are ready to go outside and into the ground - in theory.

Basically it fools the seed into thinking it's had winter (vernalisation in the fridge time!) and that spring is  nice and warm/wet. Then there is a really LOOOOOONG summer (from planting to the end of real summer). Plants can apparently flower in 15-18 months with this method, which is great considering normal process is 2-3 years to flowering!



My hydrator is full of red stripey plastic bags full of vermiculite and tiny pale seeds.

Final Autumn plantings

We've had an unseasonably warm October in the UK, which is all to the good for autumnal plantings. Still able to get their roots down into the earth and do a spot of growing and bedding in before winter set in and there is a pause for 'plantlike' hibernation.

Iris are divided from late July through  September with most nurseries sending out their final batches of orders in early October.

Our last arrivals made it here last week and have been sitting about waiting to go in, tough stuff these rhizomes!

The earth is dug over and weed free (or is that simply wishful thinking on my part?) and in they went.

Red Orchid, Spy and Tom Tit in the mTB beds along with 5 potentially 'new' plants from Welch's Reward seed last year. The WR plants are hefty little things, being smacked about by the 2 resident squirrels at home so they will do better in ground at the lottie where foxes keep pestilential rodents at bay!

Also in the ground is the gifted IB/BB (he couldn't recall what it had been registered as) 'Overcoming Love' from Gary Middleton.

The Medway Valley seedlings are in pots and in the cold frame, Squirrel proof cold frame I might add, where they will linger until next spring, they're much smaller than WR's seedlings, so a bit more caution at play.

Meeting the Hybridizers

Last week I went along with my partner 'in crime' Ali to meet Gary Middleton a fairly local, Iris hybridizer. We have heard lots of people talk about him, his name pops up on new Irises on a regular basis and as he lives all but down the road it seemed sensible to go and say hello at least.

He has been breeding Iris for about 109 years and has a wonderful selection of interesting plants. 4 were re-blooming on the day we met and we were amaze to find the 4, all pretty different - 1 pink, 1 yellow, 1 paprika and one a bit of each - were from the same seed pod!

He, like many in the Iris community, was generous with his knowledge and sharing so much info on the hows and why's not only of breeding but of registering and then getting plants into mainstream selling.

I am much more excited about the few seedlings I popped in last year no and can't wait for this years batch, about 6 trays, to be coming on. I may even try some hybridising myself next year though suspect some serious reading might be in order first.

We came away with a special treat of a newly named variety that is yet to be distributed, and it IS beautiful.

Re Blooming

SO Ben a Factor has rebloomed. Bearing in Mind it is 8th October and this plant was moved, and divided in August, I think it's quite the feat.

Some iris re-bloom true but ask the experts and they will tell you that it takes a lot out of the plant to do this, sometimes they will then not be able to flower the following year or it simply weakens the plant thus making it susceptible to disease and less able to recover from predators.

Ben a Factor is not actually listed as a re bloomer, nor has it been fed or pushed in anyway. Remarkable, all I can think is that it thought spring was here during our warm October spell and quickly got a flower spike up, it is one of the earlier ones.

The single flower is not one of the best, the colours are a bit muddy and it's only 1 flower, usually 5-7 on each spike but nevertheless a flower.

We will be watching that plant carefully for the coming year.