Re: methyl bromide and competition

I agree with most of Nell's main points, even though I can't call myself
a true organic gardener nor even one who grows enough of non-irises to
claim balance.  

I can't resist picking a few nits, though:

> .. It's quite difficult for me to believe that out of the tens of
> thousands of tall bearded iris available, I won't be able to find fifty or so
> that please me immensely and provide the desired color effects without
> requiring spraying or staking.
**
With staking, this is clearly true, and even easier if you don't restrict
yourself to TBs.  The need for spraying, though, probably depends a lot
more on where you live than on what varieties you choose.  In large
sections of the iris growing world, it's possible to go for a while, years
even, without spraying, and then suffer some serious losses, whatever you
have chosen.  

We do seem to have set up all of the springboards here for one of my
persistent questions, though.  Do we know of any serious and convincing
studies on how well beneficial nematodes work to control iris borers?
We have people who say that spraying is the only reliable way and people 
who sell the beneficial nematodes saying they work just fine.  I've
tried them, but my controls and scale weren't nearly enough to make a
guess about how well they worked vs. nothing or vs. spraying.  It seems
as if a study large enough to show real results could mean considerable
risk to a large grower, but without it all that we have are anecdotes
from those convinced one way or another and with alternative explanations
from the other side.


> .. once you get swept up in a genus and
> adopt its society's standards for what is 'best', it's too easy to lose
> perspective.
**
I think it works the other way; the AIS standards are our best hope
for maintaining perspective.  One could argue that the casual grower's
interaction with catalogs that stress pretty flowers alone is where
the perspective isn't present.  Those who take the time to learn and
appreciate the full set of criteria that the society urges are the
ones who will end up recommending plants closer to your ideals.

                                --Jim
--
Jim Wilson, Miami Valley Iris Society, SW Ohio, USA, Zone 6a, AIS garden judge
growing TBs, medians, SIBs, JIs, & a few SPU & species.   wilsonjh@muohio.edu
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