Re: New Subscriber
Hello!
I'll just have to make an addition to this answer. We have a grower here
in Stockholm that grows plants in a very special way! He makes what we
call it 'Wet beds'. He makes flower beds (partly rised)and put plastic
in the botten and filles it up with plant soil, peat and ... it is now
about 2 feet high (and 1 feet above groundlevel). Fill it with water,
but you must have a drainage hole an half inch from the top. The plants
grow like crazy in these beds, and the
root systems gets enormous. I think this method can be applied with some
modifications for iris.
We have also growers that grow plants that do not tolerate lime at all,
in an Island in sweden called Gotland. In Gotland the ground is only
limestone, but to build a peat bed you make it in a similar way by
covering the ground with plastic and build it up with peat blocks, peat
litter, plantsoil oakleafes and so on....
Gunnar Andersson Sthlm/Sw
ps this method is good for clay soils aswall ds.
DFingerhoo@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 96-03-20 15:40:20 EST, Julie writes:
>
> >My name is Julie Greenhill and I am a new subscriber to the list, having
> >been lurking here for about a week now. I love to garden and have about 100
> >tall bearded iris in my garden. Iris are a link to my youth as we had lots
> >when I was growing up. I imagine that is why I am still so attracted to
> >them.
> >
> >I am interested in trying Japanese iris. Does anyone have much experience
> >growing them? Can anyone recommend a good mailorder source? Can they be
> >grown sucessfully where I live? (Cheyenne, WY) I have started reading
>
> Hello, Julie, and welcome to the list! I think you're facing 2 problems
> with the Japanese iris. One is that they'll need more a lot more water than
> you get rain; you'd have to water them pretty regularly. The other is pH.
> I'll bet your soil is alkaline, and that is supposed to be fatal to Japanese
> irises. You'd have to lower the pH to the neutral or acid range with soil
> amendments--peat moss, sawdust, aluminum sulphate, or a combination. They
> like a lot of organic matter in the soil, too, and lots of fertilizer. But
> it's worth a try--nothing ventured, nothing gained!
>
> I hesitate to recommend my Eastern JI suppliers, only because of the big
> difference in soil types.
>
> Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden, 608 NW 119th St., Vancouver, WA 98685 (color
> catalog $2.00) has sent me nice bearded iris stock, and they also have
> Japanese irises.
>
> Laurie's Garden (Lorena Reid) 41886 McKenzie Hwy., Springfield, OR 97478
> (Price list for 1st class stamp) has lots of Japanese to select from.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Dorothy Fingerhood
> DFingerhoo@aol.com
> Newfield, NY (former resident of Lander and Thermopolis, and remember those
> years fondly!)
