Re: [SAG] peat moss
Marge Talt wrote:
> Fastest way I've found to moisten dry peat is pour boiling water on
> it. Takes a lot of it, but seems the hot water penetrates the peat
> fibers faster than cold water, in my experience.
>
> Will chime in on the use of peat with rhodies. I generally reserve
> peat for the mix I make to plant rhodies and azaleas. Note I said
> "mix". I'd NEVER plant something in pure peat moss. But, peat is
> highly acidic and this genus demands acid soil, so I add some to the
> rotted wood chips, pine bark fines and native clay mix, since
> although my native soil is acid, rotted organic material tends to be
> neutral in composition. Sand is also good. As has been noted, these
> plants require that hard to obtain item "continually moist soil that
> drains sharply".
>
> Making sure they do not dry out is critical, as is planting high in
> clay or poorly draining soils.
>
> If all cultural practices are right, and a newly purchased plant
> dies, it is also possible that it had acquired one of the fungal
> diseases they are prone to at the nursery. Whenever rhodies (more so
> than either evergreen or deciduous azaleas) get stressed in any way,
> they tend to fall prey to the various fungi that can do them in or
> severely injure them. Be sure to remove any dead branches or
> branches where you see leaves wilting while the rest of the plants
> leaves are fine. Dip your clippers in a bleach or alcohol solution
> between cuts as those fungi can be transported by tools.
>
> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> mtalt@clark.net
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> ----------
> > From: Lynn Barbee <msgardens@HOTMAIL.COM>
> > Date: Sunday, March 18, 2001 10:13 AM
> >
> > I have trouble every time I use sphagnum peat moss. It seems like
> it never
> > really gets broken up enough to get mixed in with the soil. I once
> mixed it
> > into a hole for a rhodo I planted, and noticed a few weeks later
> (when
> > removing the dead rhodo...sigh...) that there were still places
> that were as
> > dry as can be, where I had not mixed enough to moisten the peat.
> Any ideas?
> > Lynn
Marge: If a rhododendron is infected with fungi, at least in the Pacific
Northwest, cutting off the dying limbs is a waste of time. The roots are
infected, recovery is very difficult but I am told possible. If one can combat
the infection, no generally available fungicide will even touch these critters,
with a competitive micro-organism there is some limited hope.
A typical garden soil mixture around here is wood chips, native soil, and small
rock in equal parts. One can vary from there by observation of plant condition
and soil moisture holding properties. In this mix it is the soil and wood chips
that are holding the water loosely.
A typical rooting or growing on soil the trick is to get just the right amount
of very coarse peat moss to hold a limited amount of water if one uses a
synthetic soil mixture of perlite, coarse peat moss and crushed rock.
--
Walter Brooks Jr.
29814 11th Ave SW
Federal Way, WA 98023-8210
253-941-3854
c1w2brooks@qwest.net
