CULT: after the floods/freezes - weeds
- Subject: CULT: after the floods/freezes - weeds
- From: L* M*
- Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 07:59:49 -0500
I also posted a photo of the irises that were underwater in an earlier
photo. Several folks have asked about the weeds.
The <underwater iris bed> is just a satellite planting of my durable
first seedling - pallida X MULBERRY ROSE. It's in a corner of the
field that is currently pasture for my horse, so it is up to him to keep
the weeds under partial control. Just some extra rhizomes I tossed
there. I will bushhog (big rotary mower) it in the fall with the farm
tractor to knock back the blackberries. There is another "bed" in that
edge of the field - irises there came from some unlabeled rhizomes I
found dried up in the bottom of a paper bag that had been forgotten for
a few years.
So I don't worry about the weeds around these irises.
For those who were wondering about the weeds in the rows of irises that
were in the photo of frozen ones, I don't worry about getting rid of all
the weeds. Part of my hybridizing goal is developing irises that
tolerate companion plants. I've found that these irises don't object
too much to most weeds as long as they don't smother the rhizome after
warm weather arrives and aren't so thick as to compete for nutrients and
water. I use Roundup between the rows, plow with tractor cultivators
between the rows when weather, cranky elderly tractor, & me can
coordinate, and hand pull most weeds right next to the irises. As the
season goes on, I will get more and more of the weeds out - by the time
the irises are blooming, the only weeds that will be left are mostly
wild daisies (Matricaria?) that self sow all over the rows. The
ladybugs seem to enjoy them and in turn, help keep the aphid populations
down. I'm going to try to get some yellow & orange Cosmos going this
year for some summer color in the rows.
The only weeds I try to get rid of completely are grasses and clover -
in my experience, grass seems to have a bad effect on the irises, &
clover is just hard to keep under control. I don't know whether it
hurts the plants or not, but it is impossible to keep off the rhizomes
once it gets a foothold, so I try to eliminate it completely.
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Stock for $4.
No Minimums.
FREE Money 2002.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/6GDALA/VovDAA/ySSFAA/2gGylB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
