Re: Culture/Weather

Dorothy, Nyla,

I've lived in the Pacific Northwest for 30 years now--first Oregon's 
Willamette Valley, where every year the lawn and garage would flood 
with rain; and now an island off Washington State, which gets plenty 
of rain and wind--and have never had trouble with iris flourishing.

I suspect the secret is the soil you plant them in.  I created raised 
beds in Oregon, with a mix of topsoil and composted chicken manure, 
and they were just as happy as could be.  Got blooms a good one-and-a-
half times their normal size, in fact, and never had any of the rot 
or disease problems others seemed to have.

Now, on my island, I plant in beds at ground level--sod removed, 
topsoil and composted chicken manure and a little lime added, rimmed 
to keep the soil from washing out, and they are just as happy.  But 
then, every plant is happy here.  Snapdragons and pansies are 
perennial, which are still blooming along with an occasional rose and 
shasta daisy, even as we speak.

But keep it a secret:  everyone who moves here wants to be the last.

Patricia Brooks
Whidbey Island, WA, zone 8?


--- In iris-talk@egroups.com, "Nyla Null Hughes" <nylah@b...> wrote:
> Dorothy Willott asked:
> What are you supposed to do when it rains nearly every day for a 
month or two?
> 
> My answers:  Maybe move out of the Midwest we love so dearly?  Or 
just let it balance out with the summer months when it WON'T rain for 
two or three months straight?
> 
> Nyla Hughes--remembering the summer of '99 here in sunny Missouri, 
Zone 6, where the great snowcover this year made it possible to 
finish planting daffodils last weekend, once I shoved it aside.  
(Don't ask...)
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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