Re: LA: Irises for Houston
- To: i*@onelist.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] LA: Irises for Houston
- From: W*@aol.com
- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 08:58:08 EDT
From: Wjobe@aol.com
William,
We grew bearded iris in Houston. We took 200 different varieties with us,
four years
later when we moved, we still had 100 of them. We learned a lot during those
four years!! First we did remove some trees to let in light, and we had dirt
hauled in
for raised beds. We learned about using lime since we had so many pine and
oak
trees. We learned not to over fertilize. We certainly learned we did not have
to
water!! It was interesting to note that the survivors were mostly the
rebloomers.
They like more moisture because they increase so fast. But one that really
did
great there and really increased well was Vanity! For some reason, it liked
Houston!! I volunteered at Mercer Arboretum to learn about growing things in
that zone. That is where I was introduced to Louisiana iris. They love the
water!!
I donated 75 different rhizomes to be planted in the new gardens they were
building.
They were raised beds ( 2-3 ft high) perfect, right? Wrong, although they
were
raised beds, the staff planted them in among the perennials and added a
watering system for the dry periods!!! Well, needless to say, most of them
rotted!!
I told them that they need to move the iris and put them where they would be
"high and dry"! Linda Gay joined the AIS and became very involved with them
then.
She was the head Horticulturist at Mercer. She chose a sight on a hillside
and
excavated down about four feet and added large rocks then gravel before
putting
the ammended soil back. I donated more rhizomes and the last I heard they
were doing much better.
Leslie Jobe'
In Owensboro,KY Where we are having an organizational meeting on Tuesday to
start an iris society here in Owensboro. Wish me luck!!
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