MAGIC VALLEY IRIS SOCIETY

Presents in Affliation with: The American Iris Society
ANNUAL IRIS FLOWER SHOW
AT
KMVT Community Room
1100 Blue Lakes Blvd. North
Twin Falls, Idaho
Sunday, June 1, 2008

Entries: Sun: June 1, 2008 from 8:00 AM to 10:30 PM

Need not be an MVIS member to enter

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC VIEWING - - FREE ADMISSION

Sunday, June 1, 2008 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM

Region 11
Missoula Iris Society
Subject: Redneck Garden Judging
Instructor: Jeanette Graham
Hours: 2 hours
Test: 20 Questions
Location 2275 Sunlite Lane, Missoula, MT 59804
Time: 9 AM Sunday, June 15, 2008

Jeanette Graham, Treasurer
1750 8th Ave. E, Twin Falls ID 83301
208-734-3613 - Annual Dues: $7.00
onthego5@cableone.net

The Magic Valley Iris Society had their Christmas Party at Norm's Catering on Main street in Twin Falls, Idaho in December. The food was excellent .

This is the new Dykes winner for 2007

WELCOME!

To the Magic Valley Iris Society. We are located in the south central region of Idaho in the Twin Falls, Idaho area. We are affiliated with the American Iris Society in Region 11. Region 11 includes Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. We are bound together by the common, shared appreciation of the Iris. We invite you to learn more about irises and their wonderful beauty, color and form. Bring your comments and questions about irises to a meeting where you will find experienced iris growers to share with and also have lots of fun.

Each year we sponsor an Iris show, 4 issues of our newsletter, a potluck lunch in the Twin Falls City Park with our annual rhizome sale, a Christmas dinner, and 2 meetings. The meetings often feature informative and interesting guest speakers and/or iris hybridizers. Often we have color slides to illustrate their discussion. We've had a bus trip to 2 commercial Iris growers in the Caldwell, Idaho area.

We invite all newcomers to attend any of our events. Come and expand your knowledge of the Iris.

Planting and Growing Irises

Irises are among the easiest of perennials to grow, and they give an abundance of beauty with minimum care. The iris has a thick fleshy root call a "rhizome" (pronounced rye-zome) about like a tough potato in texture. When you buy a new iris, you will probably receive a rhizome with clipped roots and leaves. It can remain out of the ground for a week or two without serious harm, but the sooner it is planted, the better. It helps if you soak the rhizome overnight in water just before you plant.

To plant your irises, choose a sunny spot in well drained soil. Prepare soil well, by spading or turning over the soil with a garden fork to a depth of at least 10 inches. Spread fertilizer and work it into the top of the soil. A well prepared bed will result in better growth and more bloom. The soil should be light. If it is a clay soil, add very course sand and humus. Bone meal and a good garden fertilizer, low in nitrogen, are good for irises, but manure should be used only after it has aged for about a year. Otherwise, it may cause rot. The roots must be buried firmly to hold the plant in place, but the rhizome should be near the surface.

If you have several plants, plant them at least a foot and a half apart, "facing" the same way. The rhizomes will then increase in the same direction, without crowding each other too soon.

In about 2 or 3 years, the new rhizomes will begin to crowd each other and you will want to divide the plant.

You will have so many new rhizomes that you can share them with your friends and neighbors. Perhaps you received your first rhizomes from a friend. When digging, keep all plants carefully labeled with their names, for sure identification. It is wise to keep diagrams of your planting area to double check individual labels on the plants.

The digging and separating is best down between one and two months after bloom season, usually in July or August for this Idaho area. Soon after this the irises grow roots which help to hold the plant firmly during the winter in areas where freezing and thawing can result in heaving the rhizome out of the ground. Some members mulch in the winter but you will want to remove the mulch early in the spring to prevent rotting of the rhizomes.

SCHEDULED EVENTS EACH YEAR:

JUNE -1st weekend in June - Iris Show

AUGUST - 1st Saturday includes Iris Rhizome Sale & club picnic held at Twin Falls City Park

NOVEMBER - 1st Saturday (Meeting)

DECEMBER - Christmas Party

AIS Membership

Below are membership rates for the American Iris Society. Benefits to the AIS include a subscription to 4 color AIS Bulletins per year and the rates are:

$25 - Single, annual
$30 - Dual, annual
$60 - Single, triennial
$75 - Dual, triennial

$450 - Single, lifetime
$545 - Dual, lifetime

Send AIS membership dues to the
AIS Membership Secretary:
Tom Gormley
AIS Membership Secretary
10606 Timber Ridge Street
Dubuque, IA 52001-8268
Email: aismemsec@earthlink.net
Phone 563-513-0504
Cell phone 314-606-9709

The above information supplied by
Barbara Aitken
Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden
www.flowerfantasy.net

MVIS Membership

There are several types of memberships relating to irises, but one of the best is to our Magic Valley club. Benefits include informative quarterly newsletters, great meetings and good old fashioned fun sharing with friends and neighbors the love of irises. Our annual dues are very reasonable at only $7 which also includes 1 free rhizome to each paid member. Send dues to the address below.

YOU ARE INVITIED TO JOIN - THE MAGIC VALLEY IRIS SOCIETY

c/o Jeanette Graham, Treasurer
1750 8th Ave. E, Twin Falls ID 83301
208-734-3613 - Annual Dues: $7.00

Here Iris members may list items for sale:
Jeanette Graham has plant labels for sale and they are 85 cents each and made of of solid brass Rod and coroplast. She can email you a picture and the size is 4'' by 2 1/2". You can write on them or use a Brother Label's. The signs are "dog-proof." Her phone number is 734-3613.

Here Iris members may list items they are looking for:
Debbie Paul 2007E. 2000South Gooding, Id 83330 934-5003 is looking for historical irises.
Gary Clark 2275 Sunlite Lane Missoula MT406-728-7633 is looking to buy Spun Gold and New Moon for the Missoula Historical Iris bed.

American Iris Society Web page - http://www.irises.org/ Gem State Iris Society - http://www.zyworld.com:80/cirisonpond.zw1/gemstate/index.htm Iris Links - http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/iris/links.html

Other Links of Interest

Chamber of Commerce - http://www.twinfallschamber.com/
Official Idaho Travel and Tourism Guide - http://www.visitidaho.org/
Lavawriter Ramblings(photos of the NW, interesting links, writings) - http://myweb.cableone.net/wjw/

Display Gardens

(Members, if you'd like your garden listed, send the details to the webmaster for "Display Gardens".)

Display Your Prize Iris or List Iris Events


Sob - I'm off to a slow start for the year if you don't send me anything!

Officers of the Magic Valley Iris Society

Visitors Since March 3, 2007:

(Site updated March 22, 2008)
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