Re: Culture: Torching Iris

--- In iris-talk@y..., "Mike Sutton" <suttons@l...> wrote:
"...an actual machine made for burning weeds...."

Mike, what we rented was a propane weed burner from our local Pacific 
Supply Coop.  It was probably very much like what you used.

We also did the match thing at times, and also used smudgepot lighter 
cans--a lighted wick on a container of diesel/gasoline mixture that 
could be used to pour a burning stream of fuel on weeds--but the 
propane burner worked best for the various uses the same rental 
covered.  The iris were incidental to the orchard border and 
irrigation ditch clean up.

Char Randall asked: "Neil, I'm curious as to why you would never try 
this in NC?"

The iris are actively growing twelve months of the year here, and at 
no time is green, active foliage not present.  During the really cold 
snaps the growth stops, but the foliage recovers later and grows 
again.  I would be wary of fire use here because the rhizomes are at 
or near the surface, unlike our Idaho practice, and I recall damage 
to exposed rhizomes occured in our use there.  Here, it is never dry 
in the winter, at least dry enough to burn anything--it would just 
cook the foliage, not clean it.

Neil Mogensen,  z 6b/7a near Asheville, NC


 

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