Re: crying, rot, and rebloom
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Re: crying, rot, and rebloom
- From: m*@tricities.net (Mike Lowe)
- Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 14:42:19 -0500
Clarence Mahan writes....
>>I heard the key word in your message, Linda...fertilizer. I suspect it may
>>be more of a source of your rot than you might think (ask my buddy Mike
>>Lowe!)
>So what do you think, Mike?
To comment on this I must first confess -- It is said that confession is
good for the soul -- I suspect that it is devastating to the ego!
I am coming off a three year experiment growing my iris in mixed perennial
borders, 12' by approx. 1000'. (Yeah, that's at least a quarter acre of
iris and stuff -- plus half a quarter acre seedling bed [not mine!] and new
iris bed, 93s thru 97s that I didn't move.) The weeding and maintenance
turned out to be at least a full time job and that was accomplishing a very
poor job at best.
Sooooo... last year I tore up a quarter acre spot in my front field. I did
a soil test thru Virginia Tech. Came back with a recommendation of 2400lbs
of 12-8-10 per acre, 3200lbs of dolmitic limestone per acre and sufficient
trace carrier to yield 60lbs of magnesium per acre plus boucouh small
amounts of trace elements.
Having messed with iris since 1961 I was smart enough to have a bit of
caution on augmenting virgin soil (20+ years as horse pasture). I cut back
on the fertilizer to 800 pounds per acre, went with the lime reccomended.
(pH was 4.9!!!) and used enough Epsom salts to nearly equal the magnesium
recommended. (plus small amounts of a host of trace elements -- used
greensand for them)
All was wonderful through the fall, winter and spring. Then, we experienced
the third wettest July and all time wettest first half of August since
records have been kept.
I have 450 cultivars before 1966 planted in the bed. ANYTHING that has ever
been reported to rot is doing so -- exuberantly!!! Henry Mitchell was
quoted as saying, "You can always recognize an iris planting of the 40s and
50s by the overpowering smell of rot." Well, I can vouch for the truth in
his words.
The newer iris are not faring quite so badly. All comments to the
contrary--we HAVE made progress! But, those known rotters are doing just
that, con brio.
What kind of rot? Two, mainly. Crown rot, Southern Blight, Mustard Seed
Fungus AKA Sclerotium rolfsii rot, and:
Bacterial soft rot, smelly rot, white mush rot AKA Erwinia carotovora rot.
What preventative measures am I taking? An anti-rain-dance. No hobbyist can
afford the required amounts of Terrachlor needed for Sclerotium rolfsii or
the quantities of AgriStrep for Erwinia carotovora control. Besides, the
amount of drench needed for acceptable control is devastating to more than
the pathogens.
A calm and serene soul helps with coping.
Cheers,
Mike Lowe Virginia, USA -- where rebloom stalks are popping up everywhere.
My Butterfly Weed, Asclepias Tuberosa, is putting on the most incredible
show of rebloom I have ever seen. All this rain HAS to be good for
something!
