Re: OT-BIO: Janet T. US Zone 2/ Can Zone 3

I prefaced my original statement by stating some of my recommendations defied 
current conventional wisdom but worked for me. In fact most of the current 
"authorities" suggest "any good garden soil" , or "slightly acid", or 
"slightly alkaline". Other sources define "any good garden soils" as having 
as having a pH range between 6 and 7.  The better (read more expensive) 
bagged, prepared commercial preparations are pH adjusted to 6.5. Many text 
and reference books state a pH of 6.5 is "best". Understand, the first 
reference book I have that states this is a 1972 publication with information 
from the USDA, actually the National Plant Food Institute published the 
reverence. I suspect, over time, information gets repeated enough that it 
becomes conventional wisdom and accepted as fact, without testing. My nemesis 
in the world are twofold -- first misinformation and second curiosity. So I 
test.

The plants that bloomed in pH 10 were healthy, mature rhizomes planted into 
that environment. Stalks did lack some strength relative to those on their 
counterparts planted in pH 8. This may or may not have been due to a 
difference in nutrients present in the two different locations or moisture 
content of the soil. Of the 10 different rhizomes planted in this 
environment, all have now increased (except one that was stolen by the dog. I 
don't know how its doing. He will neither tell nor show me where he put it. 
He's my dumb dog)! Increase is now on a par with the increase counterparts 
achieved last year. I have not checked the pH this year. The value of higher 
pH levels is also antidotally supported by serfing the web and viewing 
pictures of western state beds planted in what most soil maps show to be 
alkaline areas.

It would be nice if some others growing in alkaline soil conditions would 
weigh in on this subject. As an added note I have had iris survive in pH 12 
enviorenments (not reccomended).

Additional tidbit: Some hybridizers or gardeners interested in red iris may 
make use of the following: Potassium (K) aids in the formation of anthocyanin 
responsible for the formation of red color of fruits and leaves of most 
plants.

He who believes all that he reads should nither believe nor read.- I. Tink

Bill Burleson   Zone Twilight 7a/7b



 


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