iris-species@yahoogroups.com

I had the great good fortune to live in Japan for 5 years and can attest 
to the fact that the lovely Japanese irises in the vast iris displays 
are indeed grown under conditions of deliberate wet in the spring and 
drier the rest of the year.  In fact, if one is a passionate gardener 
and looks carefully, which of course I did, the mechanics for this are 
obvious.  In summer the beds, which are in the middle of a small ravine, 
at the Meiji iris garden show to be literally raised at least 4 inches 
above the surrounding area so that water can flow past them rather than 
sit on them.  In spring when the flowers are in full bloom the mechanics 
allow them to be flooded so that they appear to be growing in water but 
this water is allowed to drain away after bloom.

Robert Pries' speculation that ensatas in water may be trying to get 
above it -- they grow out of the soil and die -- may well be true 
because I too have grown them in the same spot for years and they do not 
do the "climbing up out of the soil" I had been warned about years ago, 
except in one bed that gets a lot of water.   Very interesting......

Margaret Boehm
Wilton, CT



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