P6 THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
Tough to get irises right in local climate
BY LIZ DOUVILLE
For The Spokesman
G
ardening can be com-
plicated and frustrating
at this time of year. Es-
pecially if you are new to cen-
tral Oregon climate. It is also
frustrating for residents who
have lived here for many years
and recently developed an in-
terest in digging in the dirt.
The calendar proclaims
spring is here but we are never
really convinced. The tem-
perature can be in the 70s for
several days, but the fine print
says there is a possibility of
snow. On April 25 of last year
it was cold, snowy, then thun-
der and rain. Nevertheless, we
forge ahead wondering what
we should be doing in the gar-
den.
The first item on my to-do
list is to tend to the iris bed.
I never seem to get it quite
right. When I pass a partic-
ular border of iris on a rou-
tine traffic pattern, sidewalk
design, I admit to having
iris envy. The long border
is lush, the flower stalks are
abundant and colorful.
I have the iris care print-
out from Schreiner’s Iris
Garden in Salem. I decided
it was time to get serious
and went through the print-
out point by point. I may
have come up with a par-
tial answer. The planting
depth was correct with the
top of the rhizome exposed
and not covered. They were
planted in full sun. They
were planted several years
ago but are not crowded.
The hints from Schreiner’s
were worth rereading and
sharing. For best results, iris
should be planted in July,
August, or September. The
roots need to be well estab-
lished before the growing
season ends. Deep watering
at long intervals is better
than more frequent shallow
watering. Overwatering is a
common error. Schreiner’s
recommends a 6-10-10 fer-
tilizer early in the spring and
a second light application
about a month after bloom.
Avoid using anything high
in nitrogen, the first number
of a fertilizer formula. Ni-
File photo
Iris planting hints from from Schreiner’s Iris Garden in Salem are
worth checking into.
trogen encourages rot prob-
lems. Avoid using mulches,
ground covers or man-made
weed barriers to control
weeds. Hand weeding is the
best way. Covering the iris
with any mulch will cause
the iris to quickly rot.
After reviewing the iris
care sheet, I have probably
missed the boat on properly
fertilizing. I have relied too
much on the soil forgetting
that enriching the soil is an
ongoing process. And I con-
fess to not applying fertilizer
a month after bloom. It is
worth a field trip to Salem to
feast your eyes on the beauty
of their iris gardens.
Redmond Garden Club to host plant sale
Spokesman staff
The Redmond Garden
Club’s annual plant sale will be
held at the Deschutes County
Fairgrounds on Saturday, June
4 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in
parking lot “J.”
The Garden Club will sell
a variety of plants including
annuals, perennials, veggies,
irises, dahlias, ground covers,
blueberry shrubs and more.
Club members grow tomato
plants and other vegetables
and flowers from seed. All
plants are acclimated to Cen-
tral Oregon climate condi-
tions.
The Redmond Garden
Club’s plant sale is in con-
junctions with a larger plant
COLBY BROWN
The Redmond Garden Club’s an-
nual plant will be June 4.
sale and gardening education
event hosted by OSU Central
Oregon Master Gardener As-
sociation.
There will be several other
vendors in the event along
with a 10 minute university
presentation and an informa-
tional booth to answer all your
gardening questions.
“Since COVID began we
have only had a few local
sales at some of our member’s
homes,” said co-chair of the
Redmond Garden Club Dar-
lene Nash. “But we’re happy
to be back at the fairground
with our master gardeners and
hopefully we will be able to
sell quite a bit.”
Nash said that this is the
clubs largest fundraiser each
year and a lot of the funds go
to help create grants for school
teacher to incorporate garden-
ing education into their class-
rooms.
Beside plants, the club will
have a raffle sale and a gar-
den shed full of gardening
Lilacs another source of envy
Every spring I think about
replacing the lilac grove we
sacrificed when we decided
to build a greenhouse in that
spot. The “must-have” urge
worsened when I read the
National Garden Bureau had
declared 2022 “The year of
the Lilac.”
The National Garden Bu-
reau is a non-profit organi-
zation whose purpose is to
educate, inspire and motivate
people to garden. Each year
NGB selects one annual, pe-
rennial, bulb crop, edible and
shrub. Plants are chosen be-
cause they are popular, easy
to grow, widely adaptable,
genetically diverse and ver-
satile.
The lilacs probably dated
back to when the property
was a farm out in the coun-
try. They were the typical
lavender color and smelled
heavenly. I remember having
frost damage one year and
receiving advice from a sea-
soned gardener in Prineville
that white lilacs were more
frost resistant than the purple
varieties. Maybe I can jus-
tify my lilac purchase in the
name of research and pur-
chase a lavender variety and
a white variety.
There are approximately 30
different species of lilac from
early blooming to late bloom-
ing. Flower colors range from
lavender, blue, lavender-blue,
lavender-purple, pink and
white. Some species have in-
teresting bark or colorful fall
foliage. Lilacs grow best in full
sun. All are recommended for
USDA Zones 3-4.
Lilacs do not require an-
nual pruning, but cutting off
spent flowerheads within a
month after bloom will help
the plant concentrate of pre-
paring more flower buds for
next year and not seeds.
SAVE THE DATE: Register
now for OSU Master Gar-
deners Spring Seminar Vir-
tual Classes every Saturday
until April 23. Checkout the
class offerings and sched-
ule at https://www.gocomga.
com/2022-spring-seminar.
All classes will be offered via
zoom, cost is $5 per class.
SOLUTION
Crossword on Page 2
supplies, hanging baskets and
more for sale.
For more information
about the plant sale go to
gocomga.com.
SOLUTION
Sudoku on Page 2
Please Join Us In
Celebration of the
Easter Season
St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church
Redmond • 1720 NW 19 St. • 541-923-3390
Holy Thursday April 14
7 pm Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Good Friday April 15
12:10 pm Stations of the Cross
7 pm Service
Holy Saturday April 16
8 pm Easter Vigil Service
Easter Sunday April 17
Masses: 8 am & 10 am in English
Noon Misa en Espa Ñ ol
T RINITY E PISCOPAL C HURCH
St. Edward the Martyr Roman Catholic Church
Holy Week & Easter Services
123 Trinity Way • Sisters • 541-549-9391 • stedwardsisters.org
April 14 Maundy Thursday
5:30pm Agape Supper
6:30pm Maundy Thursday Liturgy With Foot-Washing
April 15 Good Friday
12pm Stations of the Cross (St. Helens Hall)
Labyrinth walks until 3:30 pm
2pm Good Friday Liturgy (Trinity)
April 16 Holy Saturday
8pm The Great Vigil of Easter
April 17 Easter Sunday
8am Holy Eucharist with Choir (Trinity)
10am Holy Eucharist with Choir (St. Helens Hall & on YouTube)
Holy Thursday, April 14
Mass of the Lord’s Supper • 7 PM
The Rev. Jedediah D. Holdorph, Rector
469 NW Wall St. | trinitybend.org
Easter Schedule 2022
Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Parish
Good Friday, April 15
Stations of the Cross • 6:30 PM
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion • 7 PM
Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil, April 16
Mass • 8:30 PM
Easter Sunday, April 17
Mass • 9 AM
680 NW Bond • www.bendumc.com
Holy Thursday
April 14 | 7pm
2022 HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
Good Friday
April 15 | 7pm
7:00 p.m. - Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Bilingual),
27th Street Church
541-536-3571
Holy Thursday, April 14
6:00 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Holy Redeemer Church, La Pine
6:00 pm Veneration of the Cross , Holy Redeemer Church, La Pine
Easter Vigil, April 16
8:00 pm Vigil Mass, Holy Trinity Church, Sunriver
8:00 pm Vigil Mass, Holy Redeemer Church, La Pine
Easter Sunday Masses, April 17
Normal Mass Schedule
Holy Thursday – April 14
Good Friday, April 15
12:00 Noon Stations of the Cross
Palm Sunday – April 10
Easter Sunday
April 17 | 9am & 11am
Egg hunt at 10:15am
Good Friday – April 15
12:00-3:00 p.m. - Devotions at the Historic Church
12 (noon) - Stations, Historic Church (Spanish)
2:00 p.m. - Stations of the Cross, Pilot Butte (English)
7:00 p.m. - Passion of our Lord (Bilingual), 27th Street Church
Holy Saturday – April 16
8:00 p.m. - Easter Vigil (Bilingual), 27th Street Church
Easter Sunday – April 17
Masses at 27th Street Church - 7:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m.,
12:30 p.m. (Spanish)
Mass at the Historic Church: 9:00 a.m.
8:00 am Holy Trinity, Sunriver
10:00 am Holy Redeemer, La Pine
12:30 pm Our Lady of the Snows, Gilchrist
3:30 pm Holy Family, Christmas Valley
Main Church: 2450 NE 27th Street -
Historic Church: Corner of Franklin and Lava, Downtown
541-382-3631 | stfrancisbend.org