RE: Iberis sempervirens

Karen,
 I am in a much warmer zone than 5a, but it sounds like the Iberis
sempervirens didn't stand much of a chance.  She says "They did not grow
(from starting as such small plants) well during the summer, so maybe they
did not get good roots before winter."
The other thing that occurred to me is that the manure, if it wasn't
composted or she used too much, may have burned the roots of the small
plants setting them up for winter death.
Either way, the combination of inadequate roots and perhaps poor drainage
would do them in.
Marilyn Dube'
Natural Designs Nursery
Portland, Oregon, zone 8b


-----Original Message-----
From:	owner-perennials@mallorn.com [owner-perennials@mallorn.com] On
Behalf Of Karen Butner
Sent:	Monday, April 16, 2001 11:14 AM
To:	perennials@mallorn.com
Subject:	Iberis sempervirens

Hi all,

Anyone have experience with this plant. My sister just lost a bunch of
these for the second time and we are both only guessing as to why. Below
are her comments to me when I asked her the composition of the raised
bed they were in - my thinking they were too wet over the winter. My
other thought is also one she mentioned - that they were close enough to
the edge of her raised bed that their roots froze. She also lost many
plants in this and another raised bed. December for us was colder than
usual (-5 to +20 all month but with constant snow cover) but we are in
z5a which is -20. The bed is about 6' x 8' x 8".

Her comments:

The candy tuft...the soil should be draining okay, except that it seems
to be in clay soil, even though it has manure mixed in and was top soil
to start. This might mean that it held the moisture too well over winter
and did rot. I wondered if, because they are planted as an EDGING in a
raised bed, whether the roots would have been exposed to freezing
temperatures, causing some of the problem. Each place I have tried has
been the same type of edging...with the front side exposed. They did not
grow (from starting as such small plants) well during the summer, so
maybe they did not get good roots before winter. They were mulched with
leaf compost.

Thanks,
Karen
z5a, north central Ohio

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