Re: CULT: "Shaving" roots

From: "Kevin or Cheryl Oke" <okephoto@gulfislands.com>

Hi:  Just a quicky on roots and all that.  I have left some rhizomes
in the most awful of conditions (I don't even dare admit how awful!)
for more than a year, then remembered the poor souls and planted
them with the scrawny old roots attached in spring.  They flourished
this year and are the healthiest little dickens I have in the iris plots
at the moment.  I think they were so grateful at having been put into
ground that they rewarded me for fear I might uproot them again --
I promised them not for a few years at least will I torture them thus.
Truly, I have found iris to be the most forgiving of plants.  Then again,
I haven't paid any great fortune for any of mine, so I don't baby them.
Don't baby anything in my garden actually.  Have been in the process
of building a house for three years, so gardening has taken a back
seat.

Can't make the chat tonight, but I just want to say how much fun I'm
having with this site - now that John has me on track.

Cheers from sunny (not rainy) British Columbia. Cheryl Oke
-----Original Message-----
From: John I Jones <jijones@ix.netcom.com>
To: iris-talk@onelist.com <iris-talk@onelist.com>
Date: October 23, 1998 10:38 AM
Subject: [iris-talk] Re: CULT: "Shaving" roots


>From: John I Jones <jijones@ix.netcom.com>
>
>I thought I might try to summarize a number of the comments on shaving
roots,
>and planting in pots because it seems as if some of the issues are getting
>intermingled with each other.
>
>Lets see if we can get some basic facts organized.
>
>1. Bill Shear's experiment this fall proved that dried out roots on
rhizomes
>that have been out of the ground for long enough for most of the foliage to
>wither are still able to revitalize and grow side "feeder" roots. These
plants
>did better than some of the same that had had all their roots shaved off
and
>planted at the same time.
>
>2. Obvioulsy then, rhizomes with plump creamy colored roots and yellow root
>tips that have only been out of the ground for a short time will start
growing
>side feeder roots more rapidly.
>
>3. That is not to say that plants that have had their roots shaved off will
>not re-establish. This should be obvious with all the reports we have had
on
>successful growth after shaving roots.
>
>4. Some people prefer to shave the roots off thier rhizomes because it
makes
>it easier for them to plant. But, rhizomes planted in this manner are
likely
>to do "less" well than those planted with some roots attached. (This
assumes
>of course that in both cases proper care is taken to plant the rhizomes
>properly - meaning getting good soil to rhizome contact in the growth area
of
>the rhizome and existing root structure. Remember here that new roots grow
>from the "chin" of the fan or increase). Many of commercial growers shave
the
>roots. Rick and Roger at Superstition, Maryotts, and others. AND they grow
>some amazing rhizomes.
>
>5. Some people prefer to leave the old roots (at least some of them) in
place
>to help keep the rhizome anchored in place. Wind, animals, careless
spouses,
>kids - whatever the reason. This would also seem to have the added benefit
of
>giving the plant a little head start.
>
>6. None of this of course has anything to do with whether you plant in pots
>for a while or not. That decision has much more to do with your local
growing
>conditions and the time of planting.
>
>7. In areas where it is very hot, planting in pots so you can keep them in
a
>shadier area and control the moisture better may give the plant a month or
two
>of growth it might not otherwise have.
>
>
>Personally, I found this summer that starting rhizomes in pots for 4-5
weeks
>had several advantages. First, I could do all the work of fussing with the
>roots, mounding the dirt etc. standing at my workbench. Made it much easier
on
>my back. Next, several weeks later, when my beds were finally ready for
>replanting, it was very easy to knock the plant, root ball intact, out of
the
>pot and place it in the ground. It was easier to get the rhizome at the
right
>level, and I noticed that all the plants had strong, vital, (and not yet
>rootbound) root systems that immediately took off in their new location.
Any
>minor root shock caused by the replanting was more than compensated for by
the
>4-6 week head start that the rhizomes had in growing new roots systems. I
>think that they actually did better in this case than putting them directly
in
>the ground because their time in pots was during a couple of hot dry spells
>that we had this summer. Other plants put in the ground at the same time
did
>not seem to recover from dormancy as quickly.
>
>
>Anyway that is my two cents, actually a number of two cent'es from other
>people that I have tried to collect into a dime.
>
>
>Fire when ready, Gridley...
>
>John                     | "There be dragons here"
>                         |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
>                         |  to indicate the edge of the known world.
>
>John Jones
>To reply to me personally click on
>/*@ix.netcom.com
>j*@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
>
>Subscribe to iris-talk at:
>
>http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/iris-talk
>
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