No flowers to show you this time of year, so I offer my faithful garden companion, Iris Scout. Pardon my neglect. Like the irises, I am hunkered down for the winter. So, you Northern growers... what are you thinking about your Louisiana Irises? Let me tell you what Ive learned. This cold, single and below zero weather. NOT A PROBLEM. Barring frost heave (which isnt a usually a problem unless you have heavy, un-amended, clay soil...), theyre going to be okay. Ive got a field full of LAs sitting in sub-zero temps out back, and come June, I know there will be flowers. What do you really have to worry about? Fluctuating spring temperatures. The real danger comes in mid to late April, when the temperatures have begun stabilizing in the 40-60 degree range, tender new growth is starting, and we get one of those 5-day-temperatures-in-the-teens spell. That will take out your bloom stalks. And if they arent taken out completely, the first blooms are apt to be peculiar... 4 falls, 2 standards... weird. So what can you do? Have faith. Even if it DOES take out some bloom this year, youll just be rewarded with abundant increase. In the meantime, friends... stay warm, stay healthy, and have faith. Spring will come.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:14:01 +0000
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