Re: RE:(iris) CULT: rot

Thank-you, Linda.  And Laurie, too!   I was out yesterday investigating the garden. . . wondering if I should rev up the rototiller and get rid of the invading quack grass.  I know now that I have the soft rot stuff. Whenever I scoop out the squishy stuff, it smells bad, so I guess I have an infestation, huh?  It has not struck my well-established Sutton's bed, only the newest ones est. only one or two years.   Planting depth is an issue someone mentioned to me.  The crowns of most of my fans are averaging one inch below the soil level.  I fear that this is the cause of rot!!!  Correct me, please, if I am wrong.  :-( You know, since I am also an orchid over-waterer (but I still have a nice, healthy collection of 25 or so), I should have supposed that it was a culture problem with planting depth.  After bloom, would it be safe to lift them out of the depths of miry loam?   Later,Bo~

Linda Bartell <llbartell@yahoo.com> wrote:
fell here, the wind blew it away, so all I had was frozen Iris.>
Hello Bo: I agree with Laurie. Go out and look at those TB's. I, too, live in MI and had the same bitter, relatively snow-less winter. I haven't lost any iris (and I have over 200) to rot (only one to either a deer or a squirrel). However, having said that, you are in a colder zone than I am, but your soil is sandy loam while mine is clay. Maybe that kind of evens the playing field. If straw mulch helps, on the newer cvs. in your garden, then by all means, continue to do it for a few more winters. But you'll find that the sun just dries up most of the early (odorless) rot - even if you overlook it and fail to scoop out the mush (and I don't mean soft rot (erwinia whatever) - the foul smelling stuff. That may come later with a rainy spell and definitely must be scooped out and the plant treated with anything from bleach to antibacterial soap.I'm certainly not the expert here, but this has been my experience, for what it's worth - and we live in the same state. (I rem!
ember wondering how my 'frozen' irises would fare without a protective blanket of snow much of the time this past frigid winter.) Linda Bartell (Troy - Detroit area - MI; Zone 6a)
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