Re: CULT: water

From: James Brooks <hirundo@tricon.net>

At 06:03 AM 6/10/99 -0400, you wrote:
>From: z88keys@mindspring.com (L.Zurbrigg)

>dear Dennis:  Has it been as hot and dry there as it is here? If the plant
>does not get enough nourishment, the pods will shrivel. Another possibility
>is that they were false pregnancies, although these usually continue to
>ripen like the real thing. It is very dry here, and I have had to water a
>lot. I water the smallest new seedlings, and cut limbs to create shade, but
>it has been tough on them. I also water each clump that has a seed pod.
>Lloyd Z in Durham NC

I noticed when deadheading spent bloom stalks how absolutely full of water
the stalk is, even after the flowers are done and seed pods are forming.
Like a lot of plants that originate from arid environments, the iris seems
to ration the water to where it is needed most, which may explain why after
a dry April and May some of my TBs looked more like SDBs - the plant just
wasn't about to squander its energy making a longer stalk if it didn't have
the water to fill it. I suppose this is why cutting spent stalks is such a
good idea if you want rhizome growth. 

So far I can't determine that any of my crosses took, but it is so nice
having feedback from someone like Lloyd Zurbrigg on this list to give the
rest of us an opportunity to know what to do should the blessed day ever
arrive that I do have the opportunity to nurture some seed pods that I
want. I guess any seed I raise this year will be courtesy of the bees and
other insect pollinators. 

 
James Brooks
Jonesborough, TN
hirundo@tricon.net
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