Re: CULT: "Shaving" roots

From: "Walter Moores" <wmoores@watervalley.net>


-----Original Message-----
From: Ellen Gallagher <e_galla@moose.ncia.net>
To: iris-talk@onelist.com <iris-talk@onelist.com>
Date: Thursday, October 15, 1998 9:30 AM
Subject: [iris-talk] Re: CULT: "Shaving" roots


>From: Ellen Gallagher <e_galla@moose.ncia.net>
>
> Bill Shear wrote in part:
>
>>I performed a brief experiment this fall with a group of very dry
rhizomes,
>>on which most of the foliage had whithered.  On ten of them, I removed all
>>the roots before planting, and on another ten I left the old roots on.
>

>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> I remember Walter Moores (in Mississippi) and others saying they
> shaved the roots before planting and I wondered then and now what
> part the climate plays in all this.
>
> I do not shave roots *but* I do trim them to within 1 1/2" - 2"
> for ease of planting. I have received rhizomes from a supplier
> that essentially had no visible roots and they did just fine
> (harder to plant tho'). Keith Keppel sent me some this year with
> roots longer than 5" and so did others. They are now firmly rooted
> and showing green - they were trimmed before planting of course.
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Ellen Gallagher

     I shave off the roots on incoming plants that I receive and pot in
July.  I am currently in the process of unpotting and placing the entire
rootball in the beds.  The roots wind around and around in the pots during
this three to four month period and new central leaves have grown ten to
twelve inches.  I lost one plant that was potted.  For some reason LENTEN
PRAYER of Schreiners made no effort whatsoever to grow.  It did not rot.  It
just sat in the pot and refused to grow but was still firm when I tossed it.
It was a bald rhizome to begin with.

     Most of these new acquisitions were planted in four inch pots.  I
planted some in four inch degradable pots and even planted the medians in a
two inch tray that pansies had come in last fall.  I have taken some
pictures of irises in pots and will place these later on my website.

     Potting new iris acquisitions in the hot parts of the country gets the
plants off to a good head start, and losses are minimal.  Most of what I
stuck out in the garden in August curled up and died.  This was an
experiment, too.

     Walter Moores
     Enid Lake, MS 7/8 (wmoores@watervalley.net)


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