winter weeding
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: winter weeding
- From: s*@aristotle.net (J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey)
- Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 14:55:46 -0700 (MST)
Greetings from the greenest iris grower in Arkansas - green as in tyro, not
green as in successful. I've grown TBs and medians for just three years.
Make that THEY've grown and I've noticed them do it.
I have a novice's question. Don't laugh!
Should I be weeding my iris beds this winter? I kept them neat all summer,
but since November my windward bed has collected gobs of shallow-rooted
tiny-leaved clovery-looking things, some of which have snuggled up next to
the rhizomes. I can scrape these weeds off with a hand hoe, but dirt comes
up, too.
Every time the sun peeks out I'm tempted to rush out and weed, but then I
worry that weeding will disturb the roots and disturbing the roots will
lead to new repair growth and that new growth will be clobbered when the
cold clamps back down - which it always does, usually within two or three
days. This year we are even experiencing ground-freezing cold (mighty
unusual for us) interrupted now and then by 50- and 60-degree days (not
unusual at all).
To weed or not to weed?
Celia Storey
Little Rock, Arkansas, USDA Zone 7b, where we are 257 feet above sea level,
have an annual average rainfall of 49.20 inches and year-round average
relative humidity (6 a.m. reading) of 84%. This January we're MUCH colder
than normal, and yet lettuce is growing in the cold frame. No snow, just
ice storms.
