Looking for 2 Irises

I know this is late in the year, especially for up here, but I'm looking for 2 different Irises. If it can't happen this year, I can be patient and wait till next, but I really want one of each. Will pay, could possibly trade......

The two I'm looking for are "Winter Olympics", I believe is white, and "Lake Placid", I believe is blue. If anyone has either, please get in touch. I don't think Schreiners has either one. Not in their catalog or on their web site.

Thanks so much. Linda

Winter Olympics might be available at Willow Bend Farms. It is late in the year though for someone in your zone to be planting. You might want to wait a year.

http://willowbendirisfarm.com/product_info.php?products_id=1076&osCsid=6ee94259b9821543e85be9d346b9e2a9

Here's Lake Placid. You might want to send a dmail to Sugarbean1 and see if she has any to trade. It's a very old iris. I couldn't find it anywhere else.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/84667/

Good luck!

Linda, I have gotten bye by planting iris this late. Have a bunch coming from Calif., so praying for a late fall and possibly a snow cover once in Dec.??

I've planted right up until first frost in September and I don't think I've ever lost anything that I've planted late.

I still have 3 trees and 7 perennials to get in the ground. Plus I have trades that are coming in September.

You've got Dmail! Roni

Late planting can be helped if one sets up weight and a heat sink around the newly planted rhizomes.

I have used rocks double the size of a softball in a triangle around the base of the fan and left them in place over winter. They not only prevent frost heaving, the usual problem with late planted rhiz, but they also tend to level out temperature changes as they warm up slowly with sun, cool off slowly, releasing heat, as chill sets in. Thus the new plant is not subjected to quite so sharp temperature fluctuations typical of winters and very hard on new plants.

I've never lost a rhizome doing this. It does take a little extra work, but I sure do have plenty of rock--getting rid of them is my problem, not finding them.

Preparing a new bed I dig down as much as 18 inches and take out the larger rocks, some of which have been 400 pounders. Those are fun to inch upward with a pair of rockbars, levers, a shovel to put an inch of dirt or small rocks under one end, then go to the other and raise it an inch, back and forth until the rock can be scooted out of the bed with rock bar levers. Lots of work, but these make magnificent landscape objects and are fun to plant around!

Neil Mogensen

Thanks guys, you've given me lots to work with. Linda

Neil-

The other Neil here.... Sounds as if we have the same yard. I've made some interesting rock benches sitting on rock pedestals from mine. I've also found using the jack from my car helpful......

Neil

Gee, see what Californians have never thought of? So much creativity!