DH mulched around my basil plants. What he didn't know was that I had planted seed for the second crop of plants in between them. When I went back to check on the seeds they had sprouted under the mulch and rotted there as it was too deep. As his "punishment" we have much less pesto this year. Also I have had people walk off with my iris stalks, especially if they were brightly colored ones right by the sidewalk. At least yours stayed in your garden. I have broken off misshapen iris stalks of my own when I tried to look at them. "Hey, what's with you?--Oh no! Aaaargh!"

i am not aware of any iris that blooms in october ... especially a tall bearded one ...

and dont understand why yours is bolting to flower two weeks after planting.. in the cold and dark of october.. in OH ...

i am even having a hard time.. understanding how someone sent you a budded plant this time of year ...

but all that said.. weirder things have happened ....

there is an iris forum ... and they know a lot more than i do ....

after frost.. you did the only thing possible.. cut it.. and bring it in ... and see if it blooms ...

now where in the world did you get a budded out iris.. 2 weeks ago .. enquiring minds want to know ....

ken

ps: i hope your plant has time to properly harden off to go dormant ... soon!!! .... or it might rot this winter .....

While I had been occupied with other matters, I was in disbelief to find that someone had haphazardly transplanted my 2 inch high tomato seedlings, some appearing fine while other were wilted or broken off. Being only 17 years old, I had probably blown a few gaskets, though the culprit was quickly identified as my beautiful four year old niece. While venting over my precious seedlings, I can recall the look on my sister's face that so clearly said "like really, you're gonna be upset with a 4 year old?? Earlier that day, little Janell had sat nearby while quietly observing me transplant a myriad of seedlings ... today, she grows mighty fine tomatoes for herself and from time to time we'll chuckle about that precious funny moment of so long ago.

Ken - There are some bearded iris that rebloom. I have a white one and a deep purple one that will bloom in the fall if it stays warm long enough.

When my cat got stuck in a tree, & I'd tried for 2 days to get him down, & then it rained & I thought, "That'll do it!", & I went out the next morning & he was still there, howling...
I cut down the tree.

It was a brittle ugly old hackberry that was distorting the shaped of a nearby pecan anyway.

Only I don't know how to "aim" a tree so that it falls where I want it to.

This one creaked & moaned & tottered & fell onto my chainsaw, pinching & trapping it.

Luckily the tree had sagged against a mulberry tree, & the cat walked into the mulberry & seems to be none the worse.

The tree looked funny, but it was stable, & I put in a call to a friend who has a *big* chainsaw, not like my little electric one.

While I was somewhere else (work? grocery store?), a neighbor came over to rescue my chainsaw.

*He had the best intentions in the world.*

He did manage to get the chainsaw out, but the tree fell onto the fence, breaking it as well as breaking 2 other trees, & when I returned home & tried to get it off the fence, it fell into the street, blocking traffic.

I had to call the city for help.

It really makes me wonder just what kind of shenanigans other people get up to;
those guys on the "tree crew" never batted an eye, never gave any indication that cutting down a tree to get a cat, or that having a tree lying on a fence & sticking out into the road, was anything out of the ordinary.

Lucky cat! What a day that must have been! The worst thing I can think of was when my daughter helped me pull some weeds and got started before I had a chance to tell her that hosta is not a weed. It suffered and it is still in recovery but it will be fine.

Sorry, i should be more clear...new to me is anything bought in the current growing season. I had that iris since the spring...I wouldn't mind getting iris in bloom during october shipped to me though! I can always get a fix.

I understand the frustration from little ones, lol. My niece tries so hard in the yard, but she'll get there....probably after pulling out a hundred more "weeds". I think i might teach her to weed somewhere that isn't in the vegetable garden.

I can only imagine how your neighbor looked when that happened....might have made a good picture.lol

Ken, my Tall Bearded Reblooming Iris Sugar Blues is a blooming machine this fall. There are 7 or 8 scapes on it, some blooming now, others done, and one that has not opened yet.

I have flowers on other reblooming iris right now too:
Plum Wine-Standard Dwarf Bearded
Lo Ho Silver - Intermediate Bearded
Rosalie Figge-Tall Bearded
Baby Blessed-Standard Dwarf Bearded
NOID Tall Bearded Peach

While I'm in zone 6, or so they say,there are some reblooming irises that are listed as reliable rebloomers for zone 5. Every once in a while, some of mine are hit by a hard freeze before the buds open, but that in no way effects how the plant over-winters or wakes up in the spring.

Linda

A lot of times the reblooming iris will not bloom the first spring after planting them, but will then bloom in the fall. I think that zone isn't as good an indicator as to whether you will get fall bloom with your reblooming iris as the care you give them, and the length of your frost free period.

That's quite a tree story, Sylvia.

If you ever have a plot that you want dug up, just sponsor a contest to see which kid can find the most bugs/worms/critters in the soil. They can be pretty persistent. Also, don't ever tell your kids that you will pay them a penny a locust pod if they pick them up. You will have every pod on the whole street.....

Ken, try Victoria Falls iris. It will usually bloom for my daughter in October, and again in spring. A gorgeous blue.

Our Labrador Retriever wanted to help with the tomato harvest. I guess the big ripe tomatoes looked like his ball that we throw for him to retrieve. (Color blind I guess) He "picked" almost every large tomato and lined them up in a straight line along one edge of the garden. When I found the row of tomatoes I was at a loss as to who could have done it... until I saw that each and every tomato had puncture marks from large canine teeth.

When we lived in pa we had a chain link fence and a pretty close neighbor. Our dogs ( his boxer and our bulldog) would run the fence line till it was bare and muddy chasing each other. My solution ? I'll put a flower bed there !
I probably wasted 200$ , lots of labor . I did a fantastic job . If it had filled out it could have been beautiful . Even with one of those wire fence borders , it did not stand a chance to my bulldog! He was determined . He also destroyed a batch of bare root roses I had soaking in a bucket . In no time at all ! I had no idea he would be interested in them , and left them on the porch , and him outside unattended. Oy.