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Old 27-02-2016, 12:41 AM posted to rec.gardens
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Default Hi there !

I'm new here , but have been posting at rec.gardens.edible for some time
now . Rather than pester those folks , I thought I'd ask here .
When is a good time to rake the leaves and stuff back off the Iris and
similar bulb plants ? We live in a clearing out in the woods , and they get
covered with leaves in the fall . Right now we have daffodils budding and
starting to bloom , but those will bloom thru snow . I'm looking for a
generalization , like after danger of hard freeze or something like that .
I'm just not sure how hardy these are , and this has been a really strange
winter (North central Arkansas , ~1500 ft elevation on the Ozark Plateau) .
--
Snag


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Old 27-02-2016, 01:27 AM posted to rec.gardens
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Default Hi there !

On 2/26/2016 3:41 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I'm new here , but have been posting at rec.gardens.edible for some time
now . Rather than pester those folks , I thought I'd ask here .
When is a good time to rake the leaves and stuff back off the Iris and
similar bulb plants ? We live in a clearing out in the woods , and they get
covered with leaves in the fall . Right now we have daffodils budding and
starting to bloom , but those will bloom thru snow . I'm looking for a
generalization , like after danger of hard freeze or something like that .
I'm just not sure how hardy these are , and this has been a really strange
winter (North central Arkansas , ~1500 ft elevation on the Ozark Plateau) .


I live in an area that is generally snow-free with only light frosts a
few nights during the winter (never lingering after sunrise). I keep
the leaves in my beds all year. In the winter, they protect tender
plants from frost damage. In the summer, they keep the soil cool and
moist. This latter is important since average daily high temperatures
July through September exceed 90F while the air is quite dry.

--
David E. Ross

While many tributes to the late Supreme Court Associate Justice
Antonin Scalia now fill the news media, his legacy was not
necessarily positive. See my "What Price Order, Mr. Justice Scalia?"
at http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_scalia_wrong.html.
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Old 27-02-2016, 05:28 AM posted to rec.gardens
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Default Hi there !

Terry Coombs wrote:
I'm new here , but have been posting at rec.gardens.edible for some time
now . Rather than pester those folks , I thought I'd ask here .


heya!


When is a good time to rake the leaves and stuff back off the Iris and
similar bulb plants ? We live in a clearing out in the woods , and they get
covered with leaves in the fall . Right now we have daffodils budding and
starting to bloom , but those will bloom thru snow . I'm looking for a
generalization , like after danger of hard freeze or something like that .
I'm just not sure how hardy these are , and this has been a really strange
winter (North central Arkansas , ~1500 ft elevation on the Ozark Plateau) .


irises don't like being smothered and will withstand
our winters, so i don't think you have any worries down
there. i'm assuming you are talking about the rhyzome
or bulb kinds and not the more finicky swampy kinds. i
clean up the debris either in the late fall or in the
early spring. the iris borers eggs are often overwintered
in the debris nearby.

daffodils also are very hardy for us if not planted
in too low a place, but they also don't do as well
planted in narrow raised beds either. otherwise we
have them growing up through all sorts of things. if
you want them to multiply faster then they do better
without competition, but they'll survive with it as
long as you don't take off the green leaves when they're
growing. the nice thing about daffodils is that the
animals will mostly leave them alone. the rest of the
bulbs here get eaten by everything. i always plant
extra...


songbird
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Old 27-02-2016, 06:04 AM posted to rec.gardens
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Default Hi there !

songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
I'm new here , but have been posting at rec.gardens.edible for
some time now . Rather than pester those folks , I thought I'd ask
here .


heya!


When is a good time to rake the leaves and stuff back off the Iris
and similar bulb plants ? We live in a clearing out in the woods ,
and they get covered with leaves in the fall . Right now we have
daffodils budding and starting to bloom , but those will bloom thru
snow . I'm looking for a generalization , like after danger of hard
freeze or something like that . I'm just not sure how hardy these
are , and this has been a really strange winter (North central
Arkansas , ~1500 ft elevation on the Ozark Plateau) .


irises don't like being smothered and will withstand
our winters, so i don't think you have any worries down
there. i'm assuming you are talking about the rhyzome
or bulb kinds and not the more finicky swampy kinds. i
clean up the debris either in the late fall or in the
early spring. the iris borers eggs are often overwintered
in the debris nearby.

daffodils also are very hardy for us if not planted
in too low a place, but they also don't do as well
planted in narrow raised beds either. otherwise we
have them growing up through all sorts of things. if
you want them to multiply faster then they do better
without competition, but they'll survive with it as
long as you don't take off the green leaves when they're
growing. the nice thing about daffodils is that the
animals will mostly leave them alone. the rest of the
bulbs here get eaten by everything. i always plant
extra...


songbird


Hi there yerownself ! Yeah , these are the bulb kind , yellow and blue
ones . We've got several kinds of daffodils , yellows and whites . All are
planted in small open clusters because I know they'll fill in in a a couple
of years . We've also got some tulips and some gladiolus in the "rose
garden" , and maybe some volunteer marigolds . I haven't had any problems
with critters eating the bulbs , though something tunneled right thru the
root system of a young rose bush , killing it .
--
Snag


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Old 27-02-2016, 05:29 PM posted to rec.gardens
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Default Hi there !

Terry Coombs wrote:

I haven't had any problems with critters eating the bulbs,
though something tunneled right thru the root system of a
young rose bush , killing it.


Probably voles, once voles become established you've got a huge
problem, they multiply fast, they will kill all your shrubs, and you
can forget all about a vegetable garden. Do not set out poison, best
solution is a couple of cats... if you live in a rural agricultural
area feral cats are best and they will be readily available. Ask the
local farmers and most will be happy to let you set traps at their
barns as there are always new litters. Just be sure to bring the cats
to a vet to be fixed, to be innoculated, and chipped. Then all you'd
need to do is have a shelter set up with fresh water and some food.
Feral cats are not expensive to feed as they mostly eat what they
kill, but putting out food each day keeps them from seeking another
feral cat community. If you live where winters are cold you'll need
to heat the shelters and use heated water bowls... they're low wattage
and on themostats so they cost only pennies a day, the shelter heater
is a pad that only comes on at about 35º and only with the weight of a
cat. I have heated shelters on my deck and in my barn. I have a half
dozen regular ferals that were born in my barn, and then there are
several visitors that come to mooch a meal but don't stay long. Feral
cats are excellent hunters, they work in teams, my six regulars keep
40 acres clear of all rodents including squirrels, and rabbits too...
I have flowering plants coming up that I planted and forgot about
until the cats got rid of the rabbits. I made a small opening in my
vegetable garden fence and the cats patrol in there constantly, no
more nibbled crops. A good shelter is the Kitty Tube:
http://www.thekittytube.com/
Costs a bit less on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...R4EW4ZZBRAW95S
I have two on my deck:
http://i64.tinypic.com/19bfpx.jpg
Northerntool.com sells this small dog house. It's set up in my
gardening shed, I don't tell the cats it's a dog house:
http://i68.tinypic.com/33k3gb8.jpg




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Old 28-02-2016, 10:14 AM posted to rec.gardens
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Default Hi there !

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
Hi there yerownself ! Yeah , these are the bulb kind , yellow and blue
ones . We've got several kinds of daffodils , yellows and whites . All are
planted in small open clusters because I know they'll fill in in a a couple
of years . We've also got some tulips and some gladiolus in the "rose
garden" , and maybe some volunteer marigolds . I haven't had any problems
with critters eating the bulbs , though something tunneled right thru the
root system of a young rose bush , killing it .


could be one of a number of critters. i
would not worry too much about it if there is
no repeat. voles can do that, but other animals
dig holes too, sometimes plants die from having
their roots exposed, other times the animal is
feeding upon the plant. not sure in your case
as you'd have to inspect the roots for damage.

iris bulbs here are mostly left alone. once
in a while a young deer will pull some up when
going after the crocuses, but as with the daffodils
they learn to not do it again. i just hope to
have enough of everything growing that we don't
get too depleted.

watching the redtail hawk hunt today was fun.
the wind was nearly perfect that it could hover
in place to hunt. it even dove into the snow in
the back yard to try to catch something, but it
missed.


songbird
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