Re: CULT: Helpful Hints for Sure-Fire Bloom

On 4/21/2003, "Sandra Barss" <barsssa@mb.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>Walter
>
>I think you were saying you left the rhizomes that you received from the
>west out for about a
>month before you planted them, if so, what happened to make you start
>doing this?
>

>Sandra
>SE Manitoba
>Zone 3

Yes, I let them dry out for a month or more and then pot them and put them in
the shade until late October or November when they are unpotted in their
blooming spot.

Ben Hager and others have not agreed that the West Coast rhizomes are full of
water.  They, however, are not on the receiving end 1,500 miles to the east. 
If sent by UPS trucks (which can take eight days and goes through the desert),
the rhizomes may rot or mold in transit - even those that are unwashed like
Ghio's or Schreiner's.  It is best to use USPS Priority Mail or UPS Second-day
Air.

I have asked for later delivery, but many times even though my order was
confirmed shortly after the catalog arrived, I do not get everything I ordered
because the source has run out. So, I hardly ask for late August or September
delivery anymore.

If planted out in the open in July or August in the southern tier, the big fat
rhizomes sit in the sun, steam, and eventually rot.  If you are bound and
determined to go ahead and plant, use wooden roofing shingles (now hard to
find) and build a teepee over each newly-set plant to provide shade and hope
you don't knock them over when you move the hoses around to water.  I got
tired of that and tired of getting splinters in my hands.

People living as far north as Canada might consider getting their rhizomes
from sources in the East.  The rhizomes may be small, but they can also
surprise you sometimes and bloom before a big fat Westcoaster does.

Walter Moores
Enid Lake, MS USA 7/8


Walter Moores

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