Re: CULT:TB: Iris Mulch
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] CULT:TB: Iris Mulch
- From: B* S*
- Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 09:11:31 -0400
From: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>
>From: BobGWilson@aol.com
>
>Dear Anner and Bill, I seem to be either the "idiot"iris grower or the avant
>garde fool. I had a raised bed - about 4' above the sloping driveway - at my
>office. Every year the owners would put 3-4" of coarse shredded mulch around
>the junipers and yews. The actual soil was 8-10" below the surface. This
>garden - about 8'x12' needed some spring color. I planted four different
>iris. Two years later, I was digging rhizomes the size of large sweet
>potatoes, and had larger than expected and more abundant blooms than in my
>well tended garden. Probably the coarse mulch allowed drainage,allowed room
>for root growth,and did not decay like cocoa shells. Also, this bed recieved
>direct sun untiol 4:00 in the afternoon.
This is a case of the irises growing IN the decayed mulch with direct sun
and excellent drainage. I suspect the situation might have been different
if the mulch had been over the irises and the sun and drainage less good.
The materials also matter. Coarsely shredded wood and bark (a very
commonly used and often free mulch material around here), when applied
repeatedly over the years, builds up an excellent, if somewhat acidic,
soil. I have spurias in such a situation and they do very well.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
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