Re: CULT: I.versicolor

Juri asked:

<< I planted my first versicolors two weeks ago. Now I found they are best
 food for our slugs. I have now only the roots in most cases.  Are
versicolors really so tasty? Or it's my slugs that are so hungry?  >>

Juri, I have slugs and sometimes I have lots of slugs. I also have many kinds
of beardless irises. I have seen slug damage on most of these from time to
time, but I have never seen them eat a plant all the way down to the ground,
and most slug damage shows up gradually over time. It is usually only an
aesthetic problem. Here the irises that the slugs love best are the Iris
cristata which has a tender leaf, grows in the shade and is low to the
ground. They eat holes which expand into bigger holes as the leaf grows. I
had some versicolor seedlings in pots on the ground in an area where there
are slugs and they were not eaten. 

For slug control Henry, my husband, goes out at night with a flashlight and a
small bamboo skewer such as those used for grilling and hors d'oeuvres, and
stabs them. I keep my eyes open for their eggs, which I destroy.

Are you certain it is slugs? 

Anner Whitehead, RIchmond, VA  Zone 7
Henry Hall  henryanner@aol.com
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