Re: Why don't they bloom!
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Why don't they bloom!
- From: A* R* <a*@austx.tandem.com>
- Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 15:38:16 -0600 (MDT)
> your bed and how fertile it is. Iris will respond better if the soil is
> amended with compost or humus. Incorporate this, about half an half to
> your bed.
OK, let me ask this one more time:
I've heard that organic material and bearded iris are anathema.
Certainly topdressing with compost has been charged with rotting an
entire patch (Ginny's).
Is it merely putting organic material near or over the top of the
rhizome that is bad, or is it in the soil as well? I have yucky orange
"sandy loam" (read: clay with a little sand) and I planted my iris in
this without any additions. Tilling this soil is precarious because of
the tendency to compact worse and turn clay into concrete. We typically
do raised beds here but that's a pretty extreme solution. With a raised
bed, the *upper* soil will stay wet longer if the upper layer is not
deep enough, because the clay sublayer will not accept the water. For
roses we recommend 2' (yes, TWO FEET) of raised material.
So. To use or not to use compost? What about foliar feeding the
foliage (currently just past most bloom) with fish emulsion and seaweed,
tonic of choice? Is now the time for more alfalfa meal?
--
Amy Moseley Rupp
amyr@austx.tandem.com, Austin, TX, USDA zone 8b, Sunset zone 30
*or* amyr@mpd.tandem.com
Jill O. *Trades, Mistress O. {}
