Re: CULT: shade in Texas

From: Linda Mann <lmann@icx.net>

Donald Eaves in zone 7 Texas wrote:
> I wonder if these were planted in the high shade of the oak
> trees
> with perhaps some morning sun whether the performance would be
> improved?  Anyone in the hotter, drier, breezier areas have any
> suggestions?

My gravelly soil tends to get really dry by mid-May, one of our drier
months (hah! not this year..) & temps often are in the upper 80s or
90s.  My late bloomers are at peak then, & that's how I wind up with
those itty bitty cute little blooms.  I've experimented with shade and
it really does help some cultivars.  Others don't like it.  I've found
that trees blocking the afternoon sun help and probably east sun for
half a day would help a lot, if you can keep moisture levels adequate. 
Providing for deep rooting also helps (2 ft would be super) and not
dividing (dig starts off the edges of the clump to keep them thinned
out) may help some cultivars (trade-off with disturbing roots). 
Competition with tree roots could be a problem, but if you use a
sub-soiler to lay out rows and deep cultivate with chisel plow or
shovels with a farm tractor two or three times a year, that will keep
the tree roots down.  I didn't get my rows plowed at all last year, so
had a lot fewer problems with weeds this year (chamomile smothered 'em
last year, so no new weed seeds & no old ones plowed to the surface),
but "usually" I plow them after bloom, sometime in the summer, and late
in the fall or winter or Feb or ..

Linda Mann east Tennessee zone 7b


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get involved. Share your thoughts!
http://www.onelist.com
Join the ONElist Weekly Survey.  Go to homepage for details.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index