CULT: JI: acidizing water
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: CULT: JI: acidizing water
- From: J* B*
- Date: Wed, 02 Jun 1999 08:21:13 -0400
From: James Brooks <hirundo@tricon.net>
I promised to report on acidizing water for Japanese iris in particular,
and beardless iris in general.
I should first recap my planting errors. I planted my last fall's shipment
of JI, SIB, and LA iris in artificial bogs with 6 inches dirt covering a
plastic sheet and 6 inches wood bark mulch atop that. The dirt should have
been 12-18 inches according to Currier McEwen, but I would still be
spreading it now if that were the case.
Few of my JIs and SIBs were putting up new shoots this spring, but all the
LAs were fine. I went to Thailand at the end of March, our fall drought was
broken, I thought with normal winter moisture, and it was April, after all.
While I was gone it rained the night before my return - only time, and the
JIs in particular were in desperate shape. I potted those showing no
foliage and brought them closer to home, but even those in the garden
continued to decline.
Enter the pH meter a few weeks ago shortly after I had planted a major
order from Ensata at proper depth, including a $50 new intro PINKERTON. The
meter showed my soil pH to be 7.0, matching my water, and it showed that
Miracid, which may be a fine feeder, only lowered water pH to 6.8.
Enter crisis management, once the problem was known. I gave a side dressing
of sulphur around each plant in the beds and experimented until I found
that adding two teaspoons of white vinegar to each gallon of water lowered
the pH to 5.8, ideal for JI. I began daily waterings with that mixture,
checking periodically to ensure that the ground remained moist. Although
the LAs were growing well, foliage was slightly yellowed on some. I
continued my regimine of 1 gallon Miracid per plant every three weeks,
using the slow drip faucet on my milk jugs.
Since I began watering with the acidized water two of my "dead" JIs in the
potted intensive care ward have thrown out new growth, and several of the
new plantings from Ensata have begun to throw new leaves, including
PINKERTON, which I always gave extra water. My established JIs have tons of
buds for the best bloom ever, and the established LAs have been giving me a
show that is still going on. They are in a separate bed which is naturally
mildly acidic. The LAs in the bog bed gave out 4-6 blooming plants this
year, and of the SIBs in the bog bed only SHAKER'S PRAYER bloomed, and it
on unacceptably short stalks.
Preliminary conclusions: to make beardless iris happy and JI to survive,
test both soil and water with a pH meter, adjust water with vinegar or any
other cheap acidizer, testing until you get it right. Retest later. Use
sulphur on soil where indicated. You can hardly overwater Japanese iris, so
long as they are not perpetually in standing water, and some potted
varieties are grown just like that. Strive to get the pH for JIs right down
to 5.8 and keep it right there. This is an iris that absolutely must have
special care, although some varieties (mail me privately for suggestions)
are more adaptable than others.
Do not make the assumption that growing bearded iris has anything whatever
to do with growing Japanese. They are a totally different animal.
James Brooks
Jonesborough, TN
hirundo@tricon.net
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