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Just placed my order with Iris whisperer! Lots of fun stuff

Arlyn? Do you know what kind of rot it is?

Jen, I had some in a cart, too, until it got to the shipping calculation. I may have Iris Virus, but paying $18 to ship seven rhizomes sure did cool the fever. Even if they were all Biancos I have wanted forever.

Debra, I haven't looked yet (or even peeked) but do they charge a packing fee ?
I got 16 rhizomes from Rainbow Acres and shipping was 9.50 and the packing was 6.50. (.50 cents for anything over 3 rhizomes).

The website is a little glitchy, I think I'll place an order tomorrow. Some of the ones I want keep appearing as different names in the cart

Arlyn, I'd be devastated if I suffered losses like yours. I definitely have these that I'd be happy to share with you:

Alcazar
Competitive Edge
I. pallida 'Argentea'
Kathy Chilton
Matterhorn (tentatively ID'd)
Splashacata

maybe:
Titan's Glory
Spinning Wheel
Thunderhead
Queen's Circle

Leslie, i have very little rot here but I do treat it with bleach and since last summer I do the aspirin treatment too. Of the few I treated last year thankfully all survived and are growing anew this spring.

That is one large bunch to loose. Sorry to see this. Were these all newly planted last summer?

That is a cumbersome link for Iris Whisperer. The site isn't very phone friendly so I will check it out later on my computer. It is a shame it doesn't come up with Google search.

Oh man, Arlyn -- I'm feeling a little bit sick to the stomach................

Yes, the website was not mobile friendly at all. I sent her a message about it. They are trying to check into it.


As for postage I know when I was at the post office the other day I noticed the price of flat rate boxes has jumped up. I think I paid the same amount when I ordered from the snowpeaks close out sale last year.

Linnea, it appears to be the same "Botrytis Fungal Rot" that I've been fighting for the last two ( now, three !) years. Although I have seen no sign of it yet (still too cool for it to show up) I'm sure I will see some bacterial soft rot, as well. It seems that the soft rot wants to "attack" the rhizomes already damaged by the botrytis.

And, yes, the "Whisperer" site isn't the easiest to use.....I'm sure they will get the bugs out, in time.......and things are a bit pricey considering shipping charges, but, everybody is getting higher with their prices / charges.....sign of the times, I guess

As to the "aspirin drench", I AM satisfied that it helps.....not as far as "prevention", per se, but in "recovery"

Tom, most of the goners WERE newly planted, but, there were also many two, or even three year clumps involved. I think the 'key" is a plant that is 'stressed" somehow, either from weather conditions, or physical damage (division, being newly planted, or divided, etc.).

MaryAnn, if it makes YOU feel a bit ill, just imagine how I feel about it !! I can only hope that we soon see an end to this ! Tom, Brad, you, and me, ...and several others have had a real bad three years from this stuff, and, besides being a lot of extra work, it's rather expensive, as well !
The good news is, ...I have a plan (which may, or may not work out ) and , while I am a LOT of things.....I ain't no quitter !!

So far it hasn't been too bad here, but it is early yet, and maybe with all this wet weather things will get worse. I did loose one Rhizome of Hospitality that I planted last summer. Good thing is, I planted 2 rhizomes, one next to the other. One is rotted and dead including the increases, the one next to it is doing fine and has some increases going. Go figure.

I increased two beds a bit last year to plant new ones. I decided not to add any compost, as I believe if it isn't broken down enough it has too much bacteria in it. In those two areas, NONE of the new plantings show any sign of problems yet. I have an inkling that perhaps we are over feeding, and thus over growing the rhizomes to a point where they are less hardy. Just a hypothesis that needs testing. I worry that putting un-decomposed organic matter like alfalfa meal/pellets may be a cause of problems too. It needs to break down, and it takes a lot of bacteria for that to happen. My biggest areas of problems occurring over the last couple of years has been where rabbits have deposited a lot of their droppings. These of course need to decompose and are filled with bacteria. My soil here is really rich, so I don't think I'm going to add any more organic material to areas where I plan to plant irises. We'll have to see how that goes.

I also wonder if we removed the top few inches of soil, lay down a layer of compost, and then cover it with good soil leaving the compost to decay and become available when the roots grow through it if that might work better then mixing it into the very top layer. Since the nutrients are taken up by the roots, not the rhizome. Another experiment that someone might want to make.

We should probably feed more, but as we have so many smaller irises, don't do it/ But we have not had any scourge of rot problems either. It seems to have been heavy in the mid west. I have not heard of anything like that inMA. I will ask about it at the meeting at the end of March.

Tom, I'm going to till up an area for a "holding pen", to plant my "new arrivals in, and am planning on NOT adding anything, as far as amendments.........it will be just my river bottom sand ! I'm not sure if it's "extra" bacteria, in the organics, or the 'extra water" the organic soil holds, but one, or both are part of the problem, I'm sure . I have an area that's a "lousy" place for plants......on the south side....and mostly UNDER.....a row of cedar trees. The trees , naturally shade the plants, rob their water, and rob their nutrients. I plant, (and have since we've lived here) all the "waifs & strays" of iris that I just can't bring myself to compost, and, while they are rather "shy" of bloom.....they are the healthiest looking iris plants I have !! Lack of "amendments ? lack of water ? Lack of fertilization ?
I've noticed that beds that received lots of the "trucked in" organic soil mix SEEM to be the most affected, so

I sure hope you can find the solution soon Arlyn. That is a huge amount of casualties!

Lucy I've experienced some rot in the last 2 weeks, but only about 5 out of my 200+ plants have been effected so I definitely wouldn't call that a scourge. Luckily I've been able to catch most of it early and surgery has done the trick. It's very disheartening to lose even one though. I lost one of my Berserk babies and I almost cried so I can't imagine how you're feeling Arlyn, so very sorry for you.

Oh Arlyn! That is horrible! I lost a lot of irises over the past year, but not as many as you. Losing the oldies and hard to find ones really sucks! I sure hope you are able to locate them again.

I'll check the ones I have and let you know what I can send.

Rob, can you re-post your lost rhizomes here to? It will be easier to find here.