Re: CULT: Bleach Therapy and Formulas

Anner -- Anything that goes out of here gets a 5-minute dip in a 15% Chlorox solution and is rinsed well and dried before packaging. I usually plant stuff from well-reputed commercial gardens without further treatment, and the same goes for plants obtained from friends' known-to-be-healthy gardens. Otherwise, incoming plants get the Chlorox treatment, too. -- Griff

----- Original Message ----- From: <ChatOWhitehall@aol.com>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 9:25 AM
Subject: [iris] CULT: Bleach Therapy and Formulas


Greetings.

It has long been the received wisdom that newly received bareroot bearded
iris rhizomes should be given a brief soak in chlorine bleach water to deter
soil-borne disease and beat back any insects which have hatched in transit. The
formula suggested was ten percent bleach, which was one ounce bleach to nine
of water. Most, I suspect, just put a couple of glugs of bleach in the
bucket and filled it with water.

Now, the bleach on the market, at least around here, is much stronger than
it has been in past. A daunting chemical which appears strong enough to burn
its way to China if spilled. I believe it is three times as strong, or perhaps
they have reduced overall volume by thirty percent, but for some reason, now
when I need to know, the bleach bottle no longer tells me.

So I am wondering about the received wisdom, and wondering about new
formulas.

It seems there are four sorts of bearded rhizomes. 1) The ones dug from
one's own garden; 2)the one's obtained from other gardens one knows,
non-commercial; 3) Stuff from a local group's sale; 4) commercial bare-root rhizomes,
from near or far.

So I am asking, in which situations, if any, do you bleach irises before
planting them, or selling them, and with the new ultra or extra concentrated
chlorine bleaches, what formula, ounce to ounce, have you decided is about right?

Also, does anyone ever dip plants in a little horticultural oil solution to
beat back aphids or whatever?

Thank you.

Cordially,

Anner Whitehead
Richmond VA USA USDA Zone 7

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