AB: Increases

Jeff Walters wrote:

>  Yes, it is. Arilbreds tend to increase much faster than TB's, so much =
so
>  that they need to be dug and divided frequently to maintain their vigo=
r,
or
>  you will find them declining as fast as they increased. Sharon
McAllister
>  has written to the list that she has to divide and replant every year.=
 I
>  can get by with replanting every other year, but if I wait longer the
>  effects can be dire.

Just to clarify -- I was referring to the
older types with onco-like growth habits
when I wrote of annual transplanting.  That's
the rule I learned from the experts when I
started growing that type over 20 years ago,
and I've found it to be good advice.  [Both
ONLOOKER and ZEZURA succumbed =

when left in place past the first year -- which
is typical for that type.]

This does not apply to the 1/4-breds, which
respond well to the same treatment given to
TBs.

The newer 1/2-breds are also a different story.  =

The ones that put out horizontal rather than
vertical increase are normally left in place two =

or three years.  They don't choke themselves to
death, so they only have to be dug before they =

encroach on their neighbor's territory.  =


There are more gardenable cultivars even
among the 3/4-breds.  For example, I have a =

test bed of tetraploid 3/4-breds, planted in the
fall of 1992, which is still thriving -- and last =

year's bloom was comparable to that in a =

first-year planting of some of the same cultivars. =


In short, annual transplanting produces the
highest quality rhizomes for sale -- but it
isn't always necessary in the home garden. =


Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com
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