Really Surprised

I found some iris rhizomes that were as dry as dry can be. I couldn't see how they had any life in them left but I had to make sure. I planted them in what I call intensive care pots and I couldn't believe it almost all of them have started to grow. This fall I am going to put them in a little garden space in front of my home. I will let you know what happens in the future.

My business partner forgot to plant a bunch of iris I gave him last summer. He left them unplanted all winter laying in a corner of the yard. After the snow went away, we saw green this spring! I popped them into the ground & the darned things bloomed! I think the only thing that can kill them is too much rain.

I left my entire iris "crop" my mom-in-law gave me in a black plastic garbage bag for over 4 months. They looked like goners, but the first year they bloomed and have now tripled in number! Irises are hard to kill - especially the older varieties. Up where she lives, she throws the cast off's over the back fence into the woods (when she's thinning them) and now the woods are scattered with beautiful iris. They're very hardy and that's one of the reasons I grow them! I'm a lazy gardener and I like something that can take my abuse! ha ha!

M ;-)

Try daylilies! They thrive on abuse & clump beautifully. Daylilies come in a huge selection of colors, shapes, heights & bloom from Iris to Mum!

WF - I love daylillies but DH hates them - mainly because a house we rented one time had a backyard full of them and he had to mow around them - wasn't a happy camper about that. I may try to sneak some into a bed where he wouldn't have to do doughnuts - tee hee!

well, I just divided a few irises and threw the center portion where no leaves had sprouted out, over the railing my deck and down into steep property below. If they come up, it will be a hoot!
Edited to change the spelling of through to threw, geez!

This message was edited Jul 11, 2004 9:29 PM

You might have a beautiful hillside come spring! Aound here you can tell where the old farmhouses have been knocked down and planted over--iris & daylilies grow in the ditches where the housewifes threw them.