Re: CULT: Moisture in the Swale (Was Caesar's Brother)

>  The tag says CAESAR'S BROTHER and that it should
> be planted in moist but well drained soil.  My
> question is *how* moist?  Are we talking
> "cattail" moist or something less?  I have a
> graded swale that has standing water for a few
> hours after a rain then slowly dries like the
> rest of the lawn.  Good place for the SIB or not?
> Robert E. Pindell

Bob, I have a swale through the middle of my property also. I have found
that Japanese, Louisiana and versicolors do better in it than Siberians.
Louisanas and versicolors are a little (lot) more tolerant of standing
water than the Japanese. To me, the real advantage of the JI is that
they bloom later in the season AND with good culture, they reliably grow
taller than LA's & Sibs. The versicolors are simply good performers that
need little care, especially here in their native environment. When I
have tried Siberians in the more moist areas of the swale, they break
dormancy early, then languish. My one exception to this is the Sib 'Teal
Velvet'. It thrives in extremely moist conditions. 

In a nutshell, my recommendation would be LA's, pseudacorus and
versicolor for the bottom of the swale, Japanese a little up the sides
of it and Siberians on the edge. Once established, it will give you
months of bloom.

R. Dennis Hager
on Delmarva
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