Re: Data base of trial gardens
You can add my name to the list of gardeners willing to guest irises.
Harold Peters
Beautiful View Iris Garden
El Dorado Hills, CA USDA zone 9
harold@directcon.net www.beautiful-view-iris.com
----- Original Message -----
From: J.F. Hensler <christyh@povn.com>
To: <sibrob@egroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 8:40 AM
Subject: RE: [sibrob] Data base of trial gardens
> Finding people willing to commit to trialing plants is a challenge and I'd
> love to see a list of those who wouldn't be hesitant about critiquing new
> plants.
>
> Most people seem to be scared away from such projects by the list of
> questions, so thought I'd print the basic list I use and see if the
reasons
> behind some of the requirements might not make trialing seem less daunting
> a task.
>
> Soil ph and type... for obvious reasons. Plants that can adapt to wider
> variations are a plus and I'm always looking for places where a species
has
> a difficult time growing well. A list of things that died is as important
> to me as the list of what grows well.
>
> Average summer high, average winter low, average rainfall ... gives a
> better picture of what the plants have to deal with and most of us have
> some idea of what these are for our areas.
>
> How heavy you feed and water, if they'll be in full sun and if they have a
> protective mulch. Any of these things can change conditions radically. (A
> large rock nearby can boost the zone by as much as half!)
>
> Not keeping opinions to oneself is ideal for irises. Secrecy is best left
> for the perennials under consideration for patents. I probably learn more
> about a plant when it fails than I do if it succeeds and being able to
> compare notes with others leads to more information for everyone.
>
> A few things I ask about that most hybridizers might not include are what
> other species a gardener might be familiar with. (I just can't seem to
> resist trying species-X. At the moment, a cute little dwarf setosa has bee
n
> tempting me with thoughts of "border" sibtosas!) If a gardener has the
> space, I'll send along starts of the parent for comparison.
>
> One thing I probably do differently, is ask that a plant be neglected once
> it's had some time to get its roots down. The average type of gardener
I've
> run into might dote on a plant the first year or two but isn't likely to
> fuss over something indefinitely. I'd like to know how a plant does when
it
> needs to look out for itself.
>
> With the "right" conditions available where a plant is likely to struggle,
> I prefer to send more than one start... one that will be pampered and one
> that won't, so comparisons are easier. This also seems to make it easier
> for trialers to come to grips with the idea that it just might be the
plant
> that's at fault and not their gardening. :)
>
> Christy Hensler
> Z4b near Newport, WA, USA, where it's trying to snow again!
>
> ----------
> From: Totoo@jps.net
>
> I think Christy's idea if setting up a list of people who would
> trial plants is a good one. Here in The sibrob there are plenty of
> people like me who aren't quite up to the daunting task of
> hybridizing. We however are experienced gardeners, love Siberians and
> keep great records. ( Plus I've never been known to keep my opinions
> about plants to myself!) <<<
>
>
>
>
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