Re: CULT: BEGINNER STILL - DWARF/DUTCH IRIS HELP NEEDED

--- In iris-talk@y..., hederst@z... wrote asking about bulbous iris:

Let me second what John Bruce is telling you....I. danfordiae and 
Dutch Iris really are iris, but a totally different kind than bearded 
iris.  Dan., reticulata, which is a blue-violet dwarf similar to 
danfordiae, and Dutch, Spanish and English Iris have true bulbs and 
are handled much like tulips and daffodils. Now is the right time to 
plant them.

A comment about the Cambrian Shield and your drainage, soils and 
such.  What you are bringing in from the forest is probably strongly 
acid and very low on Calcium.  I had a friend (for the benefit of 
Idaho folks, I am referring to Charlie Davidson) who used to have a 
large and especially lovely garden near McCall, Idaho, at an 
elevation above a mile high on glacial soils and granite--perhaps not 
much different from what you have in your area.  He found it 
necessary to haul in soil.  Preparing beds meant opening up an area, 
filling with the hauled-in topsoil, and for lilies, iris and such 
applying liberal amounts of lime.  The native plants, of course, will 
love what you are doing.  Iris may not.

Also, he found maximizing slopes toward the sun and southern 
exposures very important.  Even so, he got bloom but little increase 
on bearded irises.  My memory of the COLOR in his garden is 
exquisite.  The mountain conditions and unique chemistry of the 
glacial soils yielded fabulous colors in Charlie's Garden.  The 
memory is 
sweet.

Neil Mogensen  z 6b/7a near Asheville, NC


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