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

Hi Bill

Here in South Aust we tend to have very alkaline soils. We all bought soil
samples into a meeting once and and tested the pH. The range was from 5.4
(in the hills) to 7 -10 (on the plains). The person with a pH of 10 was
quite happily growing tall beardeds. Our pH here is 6.1 and we grow all
sorts of irises successfully. When we lived on the Adelaide Plains on
alkaline red clay pH 8.5 beardeds were very happy but some did better there
than up here in the hills and vice versa. I tried Sibs without a lot of luck
but I think the problem was more a lack of winter chilling.
hope this helps

Colleen Modra
Adelaide Hills
South Australia
zone 8/9
irises@senet.com.au
----- Original Message -----
From: <oneofcultivars@aol.com>
To: <iris-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 7:40 AM
Subject: Re: [iris-talk] 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>



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