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Bearded irises
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Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on Tue, Aug 23, 05 at 5:04
| I have visited Monet's garden this year and was impressed with how well irises behave there, they stand like soldiers garding the Gardener's Mekka. I have been trying to get a similar result in my garden, followed all the advice about planting irises, however the flowers continually tend to fall down. Can anybody tell me why? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Bearded irises
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| Stop watering them with beer, Meggs....:) Sorry, I am no help at all, haven't a clue. Cheryl. |
RE: Bearded irises
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- Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on
Tue, Aug 23, 05 at 8:31
| Cheryl, how did you know? No, joke, my son had this hobby some time ago[5 years ago] and brewed some beer with his mate. Guess what? It ended up in my garden!!!! Well it is not entirely true as after a while they learned to make better stuff and it was drinkable. So you are saying that the effect is still lasting and my irises are pissed? |
RE: Bearded irises
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Only a guess - You have sandy soil in perth? You are planting the rhizomes too high - like most of the old advice gives - with uncovered tops? In sandy soil they need to have uo to 2" of cover.
They may not have very strong root systems, and need a good depth of soil, potash for root development, and watering well at the stage of maximum growth, which is generally early Autumn and spring.
You CAN stake the bloom stalks with bamboo canes if you need to. |
RE: Bearded irises
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- Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on
Tue, Aug 23, 05 at 23:59
| Thanks Jan, I was hoping for your advice :-)))). Yes, the soil is very sandy, really it is beach sand, fine powdery, beach sand. We have improved it after 20 years on this block, however, with persistent winds some of the beautiful organic matter blows away if the mulch is a bit thin. I will dig them deeper when I do my replanting in December, and I will give them plenty of potash. Now I will just put some potash around them, I must say they are flowering very nicely, if only they could stand tall :-(. |
RE: Bearded irises
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If you still have problem with them rocking in the wind, a trick i was taugh was - cut a piece of coat hangar wire, bend it into a U shape, and pin the iris into the ground. A 1/2 brick placed over the rhizome sometimes helps, but I find the ants and slaters take up residence.
Cheers, Jan |
RE: Bearded irises
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| Well, Meggs, who'd have thunked it....... Glad you got some good advice there, the folks on this forum always seem to come up with an answer. |
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