I have the historic Crimson King (really a deep purple with a white beard). It's an intermediate, about 23" maybe, & it's a re-bloomer; it's the first to bloom here, & often it's the last as well. I'd be happy to send it for postage. If you are interested, please email me at sylviaboardwalk@aol.com.

Hey! Thanks. I will go out right now and give them a haircut. I love the flowers, but am, honestly, happier with just the huge spikes, so if I do end up with fewer flowers next year, it's not gonna break my heart. I get tons in the pond and nobody but me ever really sees these guys. Round-up didn't hurt them? That's kinda spooky. Greenlydia

Thanks for the concern, Jan. Actually, I've been working with the irises all along, hurricanes or no hurricanes! Luckily, they were still potted when both hurricanes hit. This has been a very odd year. I've lived in Baton Rouge all my life and have never experienced a hurricane as strong or damage-producing as Gustav this far inland before. All of Baton Rouge has power again, and we've all been working together to get roads cleared and debris removed. I can't say it's "normal" again for everyone, but it's certainly much closer than it was. You know a storm was really bad when you personally suffer $10,000 in damages and count yourself among the lucky ones... and that is exactly where my family finds itself. After all the post-Katrina abuses down in New Orleans, the FEMA process is much stricter (for GOOD reason!), so we're still going through the process to apply for SBA lending to make the repairs... but all in all it's going very smoothly for us. Most people are caught in the crunch because all the homeowners insurance deductibles were rewritten after Katrina. For named storms, now the deductible is typically between 2% and 5% of the total value of your home... so most people are having to wait on the FEMA and SBA process before they can begin repairs. But, back to the irises... they're doing quite well so far. I would like to get the beds prepared so that I can plant them, but as some of the repairs will require trampling the area where the beds will go, even the irises will have to wait on the SBA! =P NOTE: This is not a complaint about SBA or FEMA. They are doing a good job with lots of people who need help. Somebody has to be first; somebody has to be last. They are taking people in order of need, which is as it should be. Ev

Instead of "spraying," consider applying nematodes that will attack the borers, applied right around the time temperatures range at or above 50 degrees F. The cost really isn't all that different than the chemical alternatives. The most common thing recommended for iris borers is Merit, a systemmic pesticide whick gets into the plant tissue. It is the systemmics that are causing the biggest problems for bees from what I understand. Iris are a flowering plant, and bees will be visiting the flowers - can't help themselves. I like the idea of using something that targets specifically the culprit - and nematodes do that. In my research for dealing with my borer problem, another thing to ensure is to remove all iris leaves and debris from the yard, and trim all the flags down to 4 to 6 inches right around this time of year. Apparently, borer eggs are laid on the tips of the flags in late summer, so trimming them and removing them from your yard should help reduce or eliminate nexts year's invasion. It's what I'm hoping anyway. Here's info sources: A summary of the study on the effectiveness of parasitic nematodes appeared in the Bulletin of the American Iris Society, series number 309, (April 1998), pages 35 to 37. Another version of the article can be found on the internet at www.agnr.umd.edu/users/ipmnet/98-2nmn2.htm A definitive article on parasitic nematodes by Randy Gaugler, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, complete with color photos and a source list can be found on the internet at www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/nematodes.html Dr. Parwinder Grewal, an entomologist at The Ohio State University, produced nematode reference center on the internet at www2.oardc.ohio-state.edu/nematodes/default.htm Parasitic nematodes are microscopic roundworms that feed on insects and have used successfully control insect pests. In a study reported in the April 1998, Bulletin of the American Iris Society, parasitic nematodes were shown to equal or more effective than Cygon 2-E or Merit. Cygon and imidacloprid (Marathon) both showed an reduction in borers of 87% while nematode Steinernema carpocapsae had a 100% reduction and nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora gave an 87% reduction. I hope this helps!