Hi all,

I've got a bed of bearded iris that are blooming now. There are 2 colors.
This Fall, I want to weed out one of the colors. I previous tried tying yarn
around the ones I wanted to remove when they were in bloom, but when I went
to dig them out in the Fall, the yarns had all disappeared. Does anyone have
a better method for marking? The rhizomes are pretty crowded, so I need to
be precise. The foliage dies back but stays there to some extent. Any/all
ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth,
Instead of the yarn, have you tried using the ties that come with the
bread/hot dog buns(they come in different colors too). You can also use
the ties that are available at the grocery stores for tying the veggie
bags.




Hi all,

I've got a bed of bearded iris that are blooming now. There are 2
colors.
This Fall, I want to weed out one of the colors. I previous tried tying
yarn
around the ones I wanted to remove when they were in bloom, but when I
went
to dig them out in the Fall, the yarns had all disappeared. Does anyone
have
a better method for marking? The rhizomes are pretty crowded, so I need
to
be precise. The foliage dies back but stays there to some extent.
Any/all
ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth,

Here's a website about caring for Bearded Iris in North Carolina:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/hil/hil-8506.html. Below is the bit about
transplanting iris:

"After 3 to 5 years, iris generally become crowded and should be divided.
Iris can be divided any time, but many growers prefer to divide 4 to 6weeks
after the flowering period. Cut the leaves to one-third their length. Dig
the clump and wash soil off with a hose. Cut rhizomes apart so that each
section has at least one healthy fan of leaves and firm, white roots. Older
rhizomes may seem firm but should be discarded since they have limited
flowering capacity"

As for marking them, this might seem like a really really dumb idea -- and
I have never tried it -- but what about marking the "target iris" with
some sort of marking pen? Also, from the instructions above, it seems that
the marking would only have to stay on the plants 4-6 weeks after bloom.

As for the disappearing yarns, my first suspects would be birds, so the idea
of using "twisties" from loaves of bread would have a lot of merit (although
I'd simply break down & buy a roll of the stuff at the nearest garden
center, as I'd go crazy trying to keep track of the little twisties, let
alone wonder what the different colors were meant to signify when I tied
them on the plants!)

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh


"Elizabeth" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Hi all,

I've got a bed of bearded iris that are blooming now. There are 2 colors.
This Fall, I want to weed out one of the colors. I previous tried tying
yarn
around the ones I wanted to remove when they were in bloom, but when I
went
to dig them out in the Fall, the yarns had all disappeared. Does anyone
have
a better method for marking? The rhizomes are pretty crowded, so I need to
be precise. The foliage dies back but stays there to some extent. Any/all
ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

BB wrote:
Elizabeth,
Instead of the yarn, have you tried using the ties that come with the
bread/hot dog buns(they come in different colors too). You can also use
the ties that are available at the grocery stores for tying the veggie
bags.

Another option are those plastic "zip-ties" that come with garbage bads -
usually we just tie the bag in a knot, and those plastic things sit in a
drawer for years.

--
Brent Harsh - KD4PBO
Cary, North Carolina, USA

Xref: 127.0.0.1 triangle.gardens:15788

That is great! I will divide them 4-6 weeks after the bloom instead of
waiting. I'm sure the markers will stay put at least until then. Thanks!

"Anne Lurie" wrote in message
. com...
Elizabeth,

Here's a website about caring for Bearded Iris in North Carolina:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/hil/hil-8506.html. Below is the bit about
transplanting iris:

"After 3 to 5 years, iris generally become crowded and should be divided.
Iris can be divided any time, but many growers prefer to divide 4 to
6weeks
after the flowering period. Cut the leaves to one-third their length. Dig
the clump and wash soil off with a hose. Cut rhizomes apart so that each
section has at least one healthy fan of leaves and firm, white roots.
Older
rhizomes may seem firm but should be discarded since they have limited
flowering capacity"

As for marking them, this might seem like a really really dumb idea --
and
I have never tried it -- but what about marking the "target iris" with
some sort of marking pen? Also, from the instructions above, it seems
that
the marking would only have to stay on the plants 4-6 weeks after bloom.

As for the disappearing yarns, my first suspects would be birds, so the
idea
of using "twisties" from loaves of bread would have a lot of merit
(although
I'd simply break down & buy a roll of the stuff at the nearest garden
center, as I'd go crazy trying to keep track of the little twisties, let
alone wonder what the different colors were meant to signify when I tied
them on the plants!)

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh


"Elizabeth" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Hi all,

I've got a bed of bearded iris that are blooming now. There are 2
colors.
This Fall, I want to weed out one of the colors. I previous tried tying
yarn
around the ones I wanted to remove when they were in bloom, but when I
went
to dig them out in the Fall, the yarns had all disappeared. Does anyone
have
a better method for marking? The rhizomes are pretty crowded, so I need
to
be precise. The foliage dies back but stays there to some extent.
Any/all
ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

If you go to home Depot they sell a set zip ties in a small tube. The ties
come in about 6 differnt colors and you get about 500 ties total. I use the
colors to mark the differrent colored flowers and they are also usefull if
you need to stake flowers such as foxglove etc.
I think the whole set costs about $5.


"Elizabeth" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Hi all,

I've got a bed of bearded iris that are blooming now. There are 2 colors.
This Fall, I want to weed out one of the colors. I previous tried tying
yarn
around the ones I wanted to remove when they were in bloom, but when I
went
to dig them out in the Fall, the yarns had all disappeared. Does anyone
have
a better method for marking? The rhizomes are pretty crowded, so I need to
be precise. The foliage dies back but stays there to some extent. Any/all
ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth

Many types of ireses are pretty tough. I have successfully transplanted
irises in midsummer. I suspect that moving them now would work fine.


"BB" wrote in message ...
Elizabeth,
Instead of the yarn, have you tried using the ties that come with the
bread/hot dog buns(they come in different colors too). You can also use
the ties that are available at the grocery stores for tying the veggie
bags.




Hi all,

I've got a bed of bearded iris that are blooming now. There are 2
colors.
This Fall, I want to weed out one of the colors. I previous tried tying
yarn
around the ones I wanted to remove when they were in bloom, but when I
went
to dig them out in the Fall, the yarns had all disappeared. Does anyone
have
a better method for marking? The rhizomes are pretty crowded, so I need
to
be precise. The foliage dies back but stays there to some extent.
Any/all
ideas appreciated.

Thanks,
Elizabeth