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10 Exotic Centerpieces for the Holidays
1. Shoe Magic - Buy gleaming fuchsia (stylish) or red (festive) colored high heeled glass bottom stilettos and fill one of it with flowers of appropriate size for a trendy table top which will set off a trendy, modern theme. You can get a pair...
5 Most Popular Flowers for Your Garden
When planting a garden there are many questions which you must ask yourself before you begin. Where are you going to plant it, do you have the garden equipment to do so and how big do you want your garden to be? When do flowers bloom and what are...
Features of Landscape Design Software
Using Software Programs for Landscape
Design
An interesting new way that many homeowners have found to
simplify the process of designing your landscape is with the use
of landscape design software.
Landscape design software...
Household Helpful Tips
Helpful Hints ~ Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hair spray and they will take a quick dive. ~ Sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. ~ Use Empty...
How to Plant 100 Tulip Bulbs in 30 Minutes
(ARA) - Every fall intrepid gardeners ponder their properties and plan for the new year. Or, more likely, every spring property owners drive about and jealously wonder why they did not plan ahead for beautiful spring colors bursting from tulips,...
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How to Transplant Irises
In my experience, irises are among the easiest flowers to transplant.
One spring many years ago, an older friend of mine dug up an iris bed at her home. They were bearded irises -- a lovely shade of lilac purple -- and she moved some of them to a different location. The irises had already started to grow and were about four inches high. She didn't know what to do with the remaining irises, so she put them in a box, intending to give them away.
As it turned out, the irises remained in the box for more than two weeks. By now, she didn't feel she could give them away because she didn't think they would grow. I offered to take the irises and plant them, just to see what would happen.
The irises were not one bit bothered about being in a box for more than two weeks with no water and no dirt around their roots. I planted them, they started growing, and they're still going strong more than 25 years later.
In the past two decades, I have thinned out the irises and planted them in other locations. I have also found irises growing by old homesteads where no buildings remain (I live in rural Wisconsin) and have dug them up and transplanted them in my yard. Each year in early June, the irises bloom in a variety of colors: white, blue, yellow and purple.
Here's how to transplant irises:
1. Prepare the new flower bed where you intend to plant the irises.
2. Use a shovel to dig up the roots that you want to transplant. Irises have very tough root systems. If the irises are exceptionally thick, a trowel probably won't do the trick. Stick the shovel into the dirt among the irises and start digging. And don't worry about cutting the roots with the shovel. You won't be able to avoid it. Irises spread by their roots, so many of the plants will be connected. Even a short section of root stands an excellent chance of
transplanting.
3. Dig holes with a trowel about four inches deep and eight to ten inches apart. Put the iris roots into the holes and cover with soil.
4. Water the transplanted irises thoroughly. For the remainder of the season, water the irises a couple of times each week, especially when rain is in short supply.
Observations about irises:
1. From what I have seen of the irises growing in my flower beds, they are tough plants that are quite drought resistant. Like any plant, they will do better when they receive plenty of water, but during years when it has been dry, they have still survived extremely well. And of course, the irises that I dug up from old homesteads didn't have any help at all during drought years, and *they* made it just fine.
2. The irises in my yard seem to do equally well in full sun or in partial shade.
3. Trimming the iris leaves after the plants are done blooming to give more room and more light to other plants nearby doesn't seem to bother the irises. For the past couple of years, I have trimmed irises growing next to my rose bush, and the following year, the irises have come back as strong as ever.
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LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the farm books "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (trade paperback 2003); "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback 2004); "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and Writing Oral Histories" (e-book 2004). You are invited to sign up for the free monthly newsletter, Rural Route 2 News -- http://ruralroute2.com
About the Author
LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the farm books "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" and "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback 2004); http://ruralroute2.com
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