Re: HYB: outdoor seeds sprouting:(
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: HYB: outdoor seeds sprouting:(
  • From: &* G* C* <j*@cox.net>
  • Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2012 14:38:27 -0500
Linda -- I like pine straw because it provides a loose, insulating cover that permits the sprouts to come up easily through it. I don't like flat leaves that mat. I cover my adult beds with oak leaves during the winter. If I have beds of late-planted irises that I suspect haven't been able to develop a lot of roots, I surround the base of the plants with a good, full inch of Virginia pine bark and fines mulch, which is denser than the oak leaves. This tends to keep the ground fairly stable during frequent freeze-thaw periods which happen here in some winters, forcing unprotected rhizomes up out of the ground to be cooked by the sun.
The epsom salts don't come into play until sprouting has started and I have removed the pine straw. Then, I sprinkle the salts directly onto the surface of the pots. They keep out the slugs, and the iris apparently enjoy them. Re-salt after any rain. -- Griff
-----Original Message----- From: Linda Mann 
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2012 8:53 AM
To: iris@hort.net
Subject: Re: [iris] HYB: outdoor seeds sprouting:(

Thanks, Griff.  Good to know that will work.  Your climate doesn't
normally have the severity of ups and downs that mine does, but it's
otherwise pretty similar to mine.  Watering - something I tend not to
think of in winter, because it used to rain!  But I can see that's
probably crucial to keeping the babies relatively warm.

Hah, Mary Lou - if the sunporch had room for furniture, I'd do it!  It's
about 6 ft x 20.  The window wall is filled with shelves for seed pots
and lights.  Which barely leaves room for me to waddle back and forth
with watering can, stumbling over Amaryllis etc drying for the winter,
other seedling supplies, plus a tiny bit of room for winter
transplanting, which I wound up doing in the kitchen last winter.

Fortunately, I think I counted less than 200 pots to juggle, but I like
to transplant to 8 inch pots so I can push them big enough to line out
in Mar.  That's a <lot> of space!

Mary Lou, the temperature has been <perfect> chilling/germination range
for about the last 2 months - most days into the 50s and 60s, most
nights upper 20s & low 30s.  No need for a warm spell in there.  But the
current warmth is going to really get those that have been germinating
above ground.  70s today and yesterday and warm temps forecast for the
next week or more - nothing below freezing.  Nice spring rain tonight.

I think what I am going to do is check all the pots carefully for the
next few weeks, be prepared to bring in the pots that have several
sprouts coming up and/or any that had sibs that seemed especially
promising and not many of them, bury the rest in leaves.  There are a
few crosses that sprouted like crazy last year, had lots of seeds, so I
will only be interested in the strongest few of those anyway.

Griff, do you think pine straw is the only thing that is safe?  I
usually use a thin layer of scrunched up leaves from whatever is in the
yard - buckeye, elm, ash, box elder, hackberry.  They crumble and rot by
spring.  I'd have to use oak, hickory and maple to get a thick leaf
layer.  Maybe I'll just use a layer of the usual, cover with a double or
triple reemay layer.  Double layer of Reemay kept petunias alive over
last winter when temps briefly got into the teens.

To keep out skunks and other varmints, I have seed pots in nursery
trays, covered with an upside down mesh type nursery tray.  That has
worked so far.  Only had a problem with slugs one year when I made the
mistake of putting out nice juicy seedlings from the sunporch for a few
warm days in the middle of winter.  What do you do with the epsom salts?
 sprinkle them on the slugs or on the irises?

Thanks for helping me think.

Linda Mann zone 7b east TN USA

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