Re: OT-BIO: Melanie and Karen Small, plus 2 questions
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: OT-BIO: Melanie and Karen Small, plus 2 questions
- From: "* I* J* <j*@ix.netcom.com>
- Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 17:57:46 -0600 (MDT)
Melanie J. Small wrote:
>
> Greetings iris lovers. I am a graduate student who has joined this list
> on behalf of my mother, Karen,
Welcome to the list Melanie. Maybe we can infect you with the iris bug as
well, after all thay can be grown in containers and pots.... <grin>
>
> Here are the two problems:
>
> 1) A few of her plants, Lacy Snowflake in particular, have abundant
> foliage, but few bloomstalks. This is Lacy Snowflake's second year
> after division and it only has two bloomstalks.
I would ask the question - how many increases does it have. Abundant foliage
doesn't (necessarily) indicate how well it is increasing. This years increases
will (generally) be next years bloomstalks. If it only had two increases last
year, then it sounds like they are blooming, and you have more of a problem in
terms of how well it is increasing. How long has she been growing irises in
that spot in the garden? Does she fertilize them? Are they getting 5-6 hours
of sun daily? All of these things can have an effect on how well they grow.
Others may have more comments on this problem.
> 2) Some of the leaves, but not all, on a few plants have an unusual
> appearance. She says the leaves can best be described as looking like
> crepe paper,
If I understand your description, it is just an effect of the wierd weather we
all have been having, specifically the warm and cold cycles. When we have a
warm spell we get a growth spurt. A cold cycle hardens off thse cells. If you
then get another warm spell and rapid growth, the hardened cells can't expand
swiftly enough and the wrinkling occurs. Won't harm the plant.
John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.
John Jones, jijones@ix.netcom.com
Fremont, California, USA, Earth, USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay)
Max high 95F/35C, Min Low 28F/-2C average 10 days each
Heavy clay base for my raised beds.
There are currently 83 Iris pictures on my Website. Visit me at:
http://members.home.net/jijones
