Re: gravel beds

Dennis,
         I haven't tried this, but I remember a speaker (Michael Slater, I 
think) at a rock garden society meeting mentioning that dwarf Siberian 
irises do surprisingly well in sand beds.  The sand is four to about ten 
inches deep;  the roots go down into the soil below that, so the sand is 
essentially a mulch.  I'm guessing gravel would do the same as sand.  You'd 
need to water a lot until the plants got established, but after that...
         Ken
At 11:49 AM 9/12/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>I'm trying a new experiment & I wanted to see if any of you have tried
>something like it.
>
>In a semi-shady location near the downspout of my house there is an old
>gravel driveway (not used).  Weeds seem to grow up through the gravel and
>flourish.  In really dry weather a few inches down into the gravel there
>always seems to be plenty of moisture, right near where the gravel hits the
>dirt below.  This got me to thinking that it would be a good place to grow
>irises.  I'm trying a little bit of everything... bearded, beardless,
>etc.  I am sure at least one of the species is going to love it
>there.  Maybe all of them?
>
>Iris fulva
>Iris versicolor
>Iris brevicaulis
>Iris sibirica
>Iris germanica (from SIGNA, ex: NW Greece)
>bearded seedlings of mine
>arilbred seedlings of mine
>PCN seedlings (from SIGNA)
>
>I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has tried growing irises in gravel
>like this.
>
>Dennis in Cincinnati
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>






------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/2gGylB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iris-species/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    iris-species-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index