re: ROT

Chris writes: Received this following e-mail privately, I think that it 
was meant for the whole iris list.

The following posting from: Donna Grossruck <dogrossr@bbs.cresnet.org>

Hello from the (used to be) cool Puget Sound area, State of Washington.
I wanted to respond to this, as everything I have read about dividion of
the rhizomes says noting about this practise.  Also - they tell us to 
cut
the stalks off after they bloom.  There is more confusion, that I hope
some of you "masters" can answer:

1.  Do you cut the fans down while green, or wait till brown?

2.  I have cut mine in the several years I have been growing them - as
they are unsightly, BUT THEY ALL CAME BACK BEFORE WINTER.
sOMEONE ELSE WROTE SOMEWHERE TO CUT THEM AGAIN!

3.Which is correct.  Does the dying back process feed the rhizome - such
as tulips and daffodills do?

4.  Rot is a problem here - when it rains - which it usually does.  Even
planting them high on a mound sometimes does not save them, as the earth
settles and down they go, into a pool.

I am very greatful for this E-Mail.  I have wondered why in the world
E-Mail addresses were not published in the latest bulletin - and then I
remembered, NO ONE ASKED FOR THEM.

iT IS ALMOST 90 HERE - AND HAS BEEN HOT FOR TEN DAYS OR MORE.  iN THE
SPRING, WHEN WE NEEDED THE SON TO BOOST THE IRIS INTO BLOOM - ALL WE HAD
WAS RAIN!  i HAD SOME OF THE MOST GORGEOUS GREEN STRONG LEAVES, AND
ABSOLUTELY VERY FEW BLOOMS.

wRITE WHEN YOU CAN.  tHANKS.....dONNA



 On Sat, 13 Jul
1996, Christopher Hollinshead wrote:

> Dennis Stoneburner wrote:
> >
> > I found this tip in the stacks of mail I receive.  Any thoughts?
> > TIP: To help prevent rot and to force the daughters (increases) to grow
> > you should cut the mother (rhizome) right down the middle after the
> > bloom stalk has dried.
>
> Chris writes:
> And leave it in the ground? This sounds like an interesting
> idea/practice... has anyone actually tried it out?
> The science in me asks; why would it cause the increases to grow
> any more quickly or vigorously than normal? I would think the opposite
> would be true.
> Incidentally after the flowering is complete on the TB's I snap the
> bloomstalk off, right down at the rhizome. With a little practice it is
> quite easy to do snap them off very cleanly. This helps avoid rot in the
> old mother rhizome.
>
> --
> Christopher Hollinshead
> Mississauga, Ontario  Canada  zone6b
> AIS Region 16
> Director, Canadian Iris Society
> Newsletter Editor, Canadian Iris Society
> e-mail: cris@netcom.ca
>
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