Re: dry gritty vs. moist/was blue mist
- Subject: Re: dry gritty vs. moist/was blue mist
- From: C* P* L*
- Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 22:04:45 -0500
On Aug 31, Anne Dimopoulos wrote:
> This is slightly OT,
No it's not!
> but I've been thinking about the right approach to
> planting dry/gritty loving plants with those that like it moist and rich
> - the classic example is roses with lavender, dianthus, blue mist, etc.
> - there are lots of other similar combos. I plan to prepare a good rich
> moisture holding bed for roses and other plants liking those conditions,
> but leave the margins (here and there) unamendeded (or less amended) but
> digging in chicken grit, gravel, etc. - maybe mounding a bit to insure
> good drainage. I've been fortunate here as the soil is already sandy &
> fast draining and most beds are slightly raised, but the new beds will
> have a different configuration. How do you all combine plants with
> different requirements? Thanks for your input.
Here in East Central Illinois I have a bed of hard clay across the front
of my house. I experimented with different plant types by creating
mini-environments within this bed that varied from well-drained, gravelly
soil to ponding clay.
For example, my plantings of Geum triflorum[1] (prairie smoke) all
did well in well-drained, gravelly soil, but died in clay. Where I
amended the soil I dug a hole about three times as big as the pot
and stirred in lots of paving base (about a 1:1 mix with soil). The
Geums flourished, but as soon as they grew beyond the edges of the
amended soil they died back.
So... Amend as much of an area as you can, and take into account the
plant's mature size and the area that you'd like it to spread into.
My bed has only been around for about 4 years, so I don't know what
the long-term effects are. I suspect that freeze/thaw action will
shift the soil so that it will lose drainage capabilities over time,
but I don't know how long that will take (10 years, or 1000?).
Not much info here, but maybe my experiences will help a little bit.
Chris (who feels that his sentence constructs are lousy tonight, but is
too busy to deal with it :)
[1] http://www.hort.net/gallery/view/ros/geutr
http://www.hort.net/gallery/ 1999 online plant photos and growing!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
