CULT: small rhizomes (was: Terrible iris rhizomes)

Doreen,

>Even after I get big fat rhizomes from suttons when they come up in the
>spring they are little.

This is a neat and curious observation.  I can't honestly say the same
rhizome is smaller, but certainly the mature increases from even the most
babied pups from these big fat rhizomes never get anywhere close to the size
of the purchased one.

>I fertilize and God knows New England gets enough
>water.  I think the western iris have to store water in their rhizomes so
>grow fat with it and the eastern are little as they have no need to store
>water.

This sounds good as well.  It may be true, too.  But it doesn't work exactly
the same here because though I'm in pretty arid conditions, even with extra
water they still don't grow large.  Maybe my climate won't allow them to
store the water?  They are relatively small with or without extra water.
Here, they simply don't want to get large.  I do have an old grandmother
iris capable of growing them six inches long, but by no stretch would anyone
ever call them fat.  It's all in the length, not the width.

>just plant them and they will grow. Throw in some superphosphate and
>lime and step on them like walter Moores says and they will do okay.

Often true, I think.  The worst appearing rhizome I ever received via an
order was MACOMBO.  Point of entry was from California.  It arrived as a
small, deformed appearing thing - almost no green in the short fan and the
fan came out of the rhizome at an odd angle.  No roots came with it either.
I planted it without much hope.  Sure enough, everything else started
growing quickly and it sat there a week or two not growing.  Then it
started.  The fan grew out at the same crazy angle.  Then it improved and
straightened, them came the increases.  By the time those increases were
tall, the shape of the whole clump was as normal as the other purchases that
looked better on arrival.  By the second year it was a big healthy clump.
Been here a while now and our conditions the last several years have taken
their toll, but it fared better than many and is still here.  Been a good
performer.

Donald Eaves
donald@eastland.net
Texas Zone 7b, USA



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