Re: potting mix for juno, scorpio

 

Alice; Welcome to the group; Here are some of my thoughts on soil for Junos in pots. I have grown more in the ground than in pots but I have to admit I have been developing a very large pot garden since I recently moved to North Carolina. I use the same mix for Oncocyclus Irises and for Junos. Simply it is one part gravel, to one part sand, to one part potting soil. Then this is amended with one part silt loam as desired. The mixture changes a bit according to how I am going to treat the plants. I like large pots, smallest would be 2 gallon. The gravel is about the size of peas or slightly larger and I also use it as a topdressing to keep down weeds and to slow evaporation. The pots are heavy which has the advantage of not blowing over in the wind but can be more work moving them.

 

Since Junos want a dry rest in summer temperatures I add the loam. Sometimes I leave the loam out if I think the pot is going to be put in a shady moist area during the rest. The clay in the loam holds some small amount of moisture even when it seems dry and helps protect the bulbs from excessive drying out during the hot dry rest. But you want a mixture that is well drained so in especially hot weather it does not âboilâ with too much moisture. I have more problem with pots being too hot and moist than with too dry. I hope this helps.

 

These are great plants and I love having them in the early spring. Since I moved and have been in the process of rebuilding my garden I am still acquiring plants so I do not have images to show, and my old pictures are packed away a bit too well. When you have bloom take some photos and put them on the encyclopedia, the whole Iris world benefits. Thanks Bob



From: "Alice Kelly" <aliceamelia@harboursat.com.au>
To: iris-species@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2012 10:48:01 PM
Subject: Re: [iris-species] potting mix for juno, scorpio

 

hi mark, no, I'm not in tasmania, but the conditions are similar to parts of, I'm in southern New South Wales, between the "snowy mountains" and the coast, in the hinterland, on the top of a decomposing granite hill (altitude 250 m.) temp 45 to -1 or 2 degrees celsius in winter, lovely sun most of the time, even when looking at the snow in the distance, it's meant to snow here every 7 years haven't seen it yet, maybe this winter. At the moment I'm expecting floods down in the valley some time in the next month, everything is totally saturated, and next summer we'll all be trying to dodge fires from hell (even the oxygen in the air burns now with the bigger fires), with all the re-growth from these last two seasons, but I'm going off in a tangent, whatabout potting mixes and culture? thanks alice

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