Re: Report of Springtime in the South (U.S.)
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Report of Springtime in the South (U.S.)
- From: s*@aristotle.net (J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey)
- Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:20:37 -0700 (MST)
Griff Crump responded to a query I sent weeks ago after finding soft rot on
a rhizome of NIGHT AFFAIR. He said:
>You did well to leave the rhizome in the ground. No need to deal
>it a setback by digging it. I've used full-strength bleach in such
>situations, but these days use about a 25% solution. The effect of
>the stuff is immediate, so you don't have to do it again if it rains
>later. The best thing for the cut area, however, is sunlight.
Thank you, Griff. To update, although I did basically what you prescribe
(and what Linda M. recommended) we had a run of stormy days and rot
persisted. I began to run out of rhizome to excise. Tom Dillard (aka
all-purpose local guru and translator of horticulture mysteries to the
masses) suggested digging, bleaching, drying and letting NA rest until our
danger of frost is past (early April). This I did. NA is now a shriveled
bit of floral sculpture decorating the top of my microwave.
I am thinking of gilding NA, painting red lips between the remaining
increases, stringing it on fishing line and suspending it from the middle
post of a wooden box scaffold which I will have painted royal blue. This
creation would be entered in the design category of our annual show. ;->
On a related subject, the Central Arkansas Iris Society worked our display
beds at the State Capitol on Saturday. We found several lurid cases of
Erwinia but not one speck of leaf spot. One of the rot-infested rhizomes I
treated was a prodigy: Not only was it stinky yellow mush, it was crawling
with maggots! Everyone was suitably impressed.
celia
storey@aristotle.net
Little Rock, Arkansas USDA Zone 7b
average annual rainfall 49+ inches
average relative humidity year-round at 6 a.m.: 84%
more than 200 frost-free growing days
