RE: CULT: Siberians -- was SIB - Patti Wenham


I agree with Jeff.  I'm also in the same zone as Jeff.  I have had much the
same experience with Fourfold White -- my first Siberian.  I lost count at
about 50 stalks in year 5.  The next year's bloom was about a dozen -- I
didn't count.  It took the better part of a day to divide that clump. 

I don't believe that this experience is necessarily zone-dependent.
Siberians don't like being transplanted and will often take a year or two
before blooming.  How much they dislike being transplanted will depend on
the variety.

To avoid transplant shock, I no longer dig to divide.  Every three or four
years, I cut two or three wedges out of the clump.  I no longer lose one or
two years of bloom.  

Most Siberians get crowded during the fourth or fifth year.  The rhizomes
get smaller the more crowded it gets.  At some point the rhizome size will
be insufficient to set a bloom stalk.  

The rule of thumb I use for all garden plants -- it's time to divide (or
fertilize fall bulbs) the year that you get a truly magnificent performance.

Maureen Mark
Ottawa, Canada -- trying to keep the snow on the iris beds
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Jeff and Carolyn Walters [SMTP:cwalters@digitalpla.net]
> Sent:	Friday, March 06, 1998 10:18 AM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	Re: SIB - Patti Wenham
> 
> Sterling Okase writes:
> 
> > Hi Patti,	
> >They never really need
> dividing 
> > to keep them blooming unlike the bearded varieties. However, after
> several 
> > years, dividing them is a chore, especially on those tetraploid
> varieties. I 
> > find a back hoe and dynamite very useful for this.
> > 	I don't have much trouble getting them through the first year but I
> live
> in 
> > Seattle (zone 8), pretty mild compared to where you live. 
> 
> My climate is probably closer to Patti's than is Sterling's - cold
> winters,warm and dry summers, pH in the soil and water around 7.0. I have
> had no real problems growing Siberians, but I do keep the mulch (fir bark)
> on all year round and make sure they get that regular watering in the dry
> summer months, which can be twice a week here with the high evaporative
> rates. Most, especially the Tets, seem to tolerate the pH, but I work a
> little iron sulphate into the soil in the early spring. I haven't lost one
> yet. I currently have 24 Sibs, including nine planted last fall (later
> than
> I would have wished).
> 
> Based on limited experience, I am inclined to disagree with Sterling's
> observation that  Sibs will thrive and bloom forever without division.
> Here
> is the bloom record of the first Siberian I planted (Snow Queen):
> 	1st Year  no bloom  (Spring planted)
> 	2nd Year  no bloom
> 	3rd Year  6 stalks
> 	4th Year  12 stalks
> 	5th Year  28 stalks
> 	6th Year   8 stalks  (after which it was divided and replanted)
> 
> There was no general environmental condition that would have adversely
> affected bloom in that 6th year. I have never had any disease or pest
> problems with my Sibs.
> 
> Jeff Walters in northern Utah  (USDA Zone 4, Sunset Zone 2)
> cwalters@digitalpla.net
>     
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index