Re: roots and rot

Clarence - that's a new one to me.  how in the world do you keep them from
falling over?  around here (for once, this isn't just me) we have to 'plant'
with only the roots below ground - the rhizomes rot if they are covered with
soil.  i really did have to stack rocks on top of the rhizomes to keep them
in contact with the soil enough to grow some roots, and even then, they
tended to fall over in the rain when the rocks slid off.

>I welcome it when the seller is kind enough to cut off the roots of bearded
>irises!  These old roots are nothing but rot material!  

also, one of our club members from Dr. Bill Greise from kentucky published a
little study in the bulletin some time in the last year or so (my memory is
starting to classify things as either today, last week, last year, some time
in the last 10 yrs, and sometime before that - not very fine resolution any
more!).  i can't remember the details, but he compared rhizome/plant
performance with roots intact and with roots cut off and found that they did
better when the roots were left intact, that those roots are functional and
do more than just keep the plants from falling over.  but i don't think he
was concerned about roots as a haven for rot and crud so didn't study that
part of the story.  Interesting!

i was looking through some of my old notes - when i first joined AIS (more
than one year, less than 10), there were a lot of notes in the bulletin about
the 'rot problem'.  there was something about a new kind of rot or blight.
was that a new strain of spring soft rot?   or did they decide the rot is
always in the soil and just becomes epidemic when the weather is just right
(or just wrong!)? 

we need to get a plant pathologist on line!

linda mann e tenn usa
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