Dutch elm disease kills primarily American Elm, so this could be another species. In American Elm trees often survive to seed producing age, but later succumb to the disease. There are also disease resistant hybrids being planted and they may also be seeding around their immediate area. HTH Chris

Have similar question about my Josephine ~ she loved her site until Carefree rose got carried away growing beautifully despite good pruning & a Mini rose grown tall. She also survived 2 yrs of chlorosis problem w/ treatments. 'thought I've lost her after our drought of Aug/2012-Mar/2013 ~ she returned as a babe w/ so far, no signs of chlorosis & proceeded to put on blooms! Yay! I need to move her to a sunnier site but fear how much around to dig & how deep ~ please share your experiences! She is 12 yrs old. TIA

well, I believe you have until mid september to get them back in the ground. as long as you keep them in a cool place between now & then. but, not a fridge. I think that would be too cold. you do know that iris are a little tricky to replant. the rhizome goes above ground, & the roots go below ground. other than the iris you found, you should probably wait till spring to see what else there is planted there. that's the fun of a new garden area. to see what you inherited from the previous owners. when I moved in here 7 years ago, I knew there were things planted here already, but, I didn't know what till the following spring. I even uncovered daylilies that had been covered over by plywood. you just never know what your going to find. good luck with your iris, & don't wait too long to get them reburied. even if you have to put them in a temporary spot, like up in front of the house or in the backyard. you can always dig them up again next year & put them where you really want them. & by then you'll know what they look like, too. don't you just love a good yard mystery? I know I do. in fact, the plants at the stores without tags are my favorite to buy. I'm getting good at recognizing plants just by what they look like. I don't even look at the tags much anymore. anyway, good luck with your mystery spot. have fun with the mystery.

My husband weed-whacked an overgrown, weed filled, long neglected perennial bed when we first moved into our house; he had no idea poison ivy was growing in there. At one point I brought him a lemonade and hugged his sweaty self, thanking him for undertaking such a cruddy job. Well, he got poison ivy on all exposed skin except his face, and I got it on my arms where I touched his clothes when I gave him a hug. His went away relatively quickly, but I am more allergic and had to have steroid treatments. That stuff is nasty. Chris, I hope you’re feeling okay, and Marie, I’m totally with you on the poison ivy fear!