Cult: Potting
From: John I Jones <jijones@ix.netcom.com>
Arnold Koekkoek wrote:
>
> From: koekkoek@dordt.edu (Arnold Koekkoek)
>
> Walter Moores' advice about potting in the south just might be worth-
> while advice for folks farther north. This year my garden space was not
> ready for my new purchases, so on the advice of an experienced iris
> friend I just potted them all.
Arnold,
You just beat me to the punch. I had somewhat the same problem with some of my
irises. That is, I had to pot some of them up because some of my beds were not
ready. I had the added advantage of being able to plant some irises in a brand
new bed at about the same time.
I kept the pots along the driveway where they got morning to early afternoon
sun. The new bed got mid morning thru late afternoon sun. This "comparison"
happened thru the 3 major hot spells of our summer.
The potted irises all did well, grew great root systems, and started throwing
up increases. I don't know about the root systems of the ones planted in the
new bed because I don't want to dig them up, but many of them are dried pretty
badly, and none show as much growth as the potted ones.
I think it has the added advantage for me in that it is easier to pot them
than to plant them directly in the bed. (While potting them, I can work
standing up at my bench). I get them at the right level, and can control their
environment better. When it comes time to put them in the ground, a couple of
quick strokes with my Japanese hand hoe, up end the pot into my hand and into
the hole it goes. Fill in around the plug and it's off to the next one. By the
time the potted plant is ready to transfer to the garden, the root system is
deep enough I can rely on my drip system to maintain the moisture level,
whereas with rzs planted directly into the ground, you have to pay closer
attention to the moisture in the top few inches of soil until they get established.
My two cents for my microclimate.
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
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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
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