Hi --
Anyone have a secret for keeping tall irises from falling over?
I have a plot 10' x 3' of bearded irises. They bloomed pretty good
this year but last Tuesday they were really something. Forty inches
tall -- give or take an inch -- with 2 or 3 blooms on each stalk.
Well, today they are a mess. Some totally on the ground,
some bent halfway down. Some stems are actually snapped
as if the weight of the flower is too much for the stalk to support.
There has been a fair amount of rain this spring (NJ, Z6) which
may be a contributing factor. Any advice will be appreciated.
TIA

I take off the stalks, take them inside and put'm in flower vases and enjoy them
for the next week that way.


--
In This Universe The Night was Falling,The Shadows were lenghtening
towards an east that would not know another dawn.
But elsewhere the Stars were still young and the light of morning lingered: and
along the path he once had followed, Man would one day go again.

Arthur C. Clarke "The City & The Stars"

SIAR
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"Twobtold" wrote in message
...
Hi --
Anyone have a secret for keeping tall irises from falling over?
I have a plot 10' x 3' of bearded irises. They bloomed pretty good
this year but last Tuesday they were really something. Forty inches
tall -- give or take an inch -- with 2 or 3 blooms on each stalk.
Well, today they are a mess. Some totally on the ground,
some bent halfway down. Some stems are actually snapped
as if the weight of the flower is too much for the stalk to support.
There has been a fair amount of rain this spring (NJ, Z6) which
may be a contributing factor. Any advice will be appreciated.
TIA



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I have some in part sun that are worse than the one's in full sun, but
even the strongest fall to wind and rain.

Regards,

Hal

On 06 Jun 2003 06:07:21 GMT, ospam (Twobtold) wrote:

Hi --
Anyone have a secret for keeping tall irises from falling over?
I have a plot 10' x 3' of bearded irises. They bloomed pretty good
this year but last Tuesday they were really something. Forty inches
tall -- give or take an inch -- with 2 or 3 blooms on each stalk.
Well, today they are a mess. Some totally on the ground,
some bent halfway down. Some stems are actually snapped
as if the weight of the flower is too much for the stalk to support.
There has been a fair amount of rain this spring (NJ, Z6) which
may be a contributing factor. Any advice will be appreciated.
TIA

ospam (Twobtold) expounded:

Hi --
Anyone have a secret for keeping tall irises from falling over?
I have a plot 10' x 3' of bearded irises. They bloomed pretty good
this year but last Tuesday they were really something. Forty inches
tall -- give or take an inch -- with 2 or 3 blooms on each stalk.
Well, today they are a mess. Some totally on the ground,
some bent halfway down. Some stems are actually snapped
as if the weight of the flower is too much for the stalk to support.
There has been a fair amount of rain this spring (NJ, Z6) which
may be a contributing factor. Any advice will be appreciated.
TIA

Stakes. Especially when I know it's going to rain. I stake each
stalk. Not that hard, takes a bit of time, but it's worth it. Mine
are all standing tall out there, and it's been pouring lately.

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

Twobtold wrote in message
...
Hi --
Anyone have a secret for keeping tall irises from falling over?
I have a plot 10' x 3' of bearded irises. They bloomed pretty good
this year but last Tuesday they were really something. Forty inches
tall -- give or take an inch -- with 2 or 3 blooms on each stalk.
Buy what is known as "bell wire" from your local hardware store and loop it
around the stalks until all are supporting each other. Looks kind of funny
but it is the quickest way I have found for a large grouping.

Twobtold wrote in message
...
Hi --
Anyone have a secret for keeping tall irises from falling over?
I have a plot 10' x 3' of bearded irises. They bloomed pretty good
this year but last Tuesday they were really something. Forty inches
tall -- give or take an inch -- with 2 or 3 blooms on each stalk.

From: "redclay"

Buy what is known as "bell wire" from your local hardware store and loop it
around the stalks until all are supporting each other. Looks kind of funny
but it is the quickest way I have found for a large grouping.

Bell wire (actually I stripped telephone wire) did the trick. Don't think I'm
going to get any more blooms this season but next season I'll 'wire' up the
stalks before they bloom.
Thanks for all the suggestions.