Re: CULT: Late planting/dividing

<My concern about using Reemay
                 this far south of Maine is the possibility of providing
a hot bed for
                 the TBs and the promotion of new growth too early in
the spring.  How
                 do you use Reemay over your plants?  Are the edges held
above the
                 ground level or are they possibly held down in contact
with the
                 ground.  What has been your experience in using Reemay?

                 Gary Keller Florissant, Missouri  Zone 6a>

I share your concern about new growth being triggered too early by
keeping plants continuously covered with Reemay, but haven't really done
any experiments with leaving it on all winter.

However, Reemay (which replaced cheesecloth type material as tobacco
plant bed covers in this area several decades ago) works really well to
protect plants before reliably (?well, that's a relative term...) warm
weather (i.e., before bloom stalks start showing).  I've used it for
many years with great success.  I cover plants when temps are dropping
below the mid-20s starting in March, then uncover them again when temps
warm back up.  Very effective in preventing freeze damage and subsequent
rot (except on sensitive cultivars) but a real nuisance - usually
requires covering and uncovering many times, and I don't usually bother
any more for most of my plants (later bloomers usually don't start
growing till temps have settled a bit, so that's mostly what I grow
now).

Once bloom stalks start showing, it's very difficult to cover the plants
without snapping stalks, and if a freeze is really sharp (25oF or less)
sensitive buds are likely to be damaged anyway because they are usually
what is holding up the Reemay, hence have no air buffer between them and
the cold air.  I have successfully covered blooming clumps of HARVEST OF
MEMORIES in the fall by using 4 re-bar (actually 4 ft electric fence
posts) topped by arched pieces of 1/2 inch plastic water pipe to support
the Reemay with at least 4 to 6 inches of air space between the blooms
and the Reemay, making a small tent.

However you cover, be sure to anchor the Reemay in close contact with
the ground so that cold air doesn't blow up under it.  Anchor the edges
with poles, sticks, boards, rocks, dirt, whatever.  I just let the iris
leaves hold the Reemay up to make the 'warm' air pocket, but with small
or late transplants in really severe cold, they might appreciate a few
piles of stuff (bottles, bent wire, hay, dirt piles, anything that won't
poke holes in the Reemay) to hold the Reemay above the foliage.  Adding
more layers of Reemay increases the amount of protection.

Also, as others in windy parts of the middle US have mentioned before,
getting the Reemay in place is hard enough in the windy weather that
usually accompanies abrupt drops in temperatures, and getting large
pieces of it to stay put can also be a challenge.  Anchoring it with
cinder blocks would probably not be a bad idea.

Does that help?

Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8




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