CULT: More on bloomouts and aphylla
- Subject: CULT: More on bloomouts and aphylla
- From: n*@charter.net
- Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 14:01:39 -0000
I found the suggestion of nicking a rhizome to induce increase quite
interesting.
In our orchards years ago, we used "scoring"--taking a knife and
cutting through the bark into the cambium for short stretches on a
tree trunk--to help regulate bud formation. In dicots (and I assume
monocots too) growth rates and character is mediated through
hormones. The differentiation of a growing tip from vegetative
(making stems and leaves) to fruiting (making flower parts and stems)
changed depending on the ratios of certain hormones--and nutrients.
We could influence that with scoring--and with fertilization. Too
much phosphate, relative to nitrogen, and the trees overbloomed. Too
much N relative to the P and they overgrew. The N-P ratio influence
seems to be true also for irises.
So a possible treatment for or preventative of bloom-out might be a
(gentle!) increase in the available nitrogen. I'm wary of soft rot
in trying something like that, but? Worth a try? Might try upping
the available calcium, perhaps by adding some gypsum, a few months
before. Tissue toughness--cell wall development--is hindered by
shortages of calcium, I think. It seems that could be a factor in
vulnerability to softrot.
On aphylla, I note that aphylla native to Poland is found in the
southern part of the country in "Xerothermal grasslands." I
translate that to be "dry, warm"--which in Poland would be relative
to the area.
Incidentally, the only part of the name "aphylla" that is Latin in
origin is the terminal "a," the rest of the name is from the Greek.
Neil Mogensen western North Carolina
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