Hardy cyclamen, apology and clay soil.

[Adam]

Hello Bonaventure.  Thanks for your understanding,  and fuller explanation
of your garden's layout--and Ray, Yeah, I meant to post my observation
privately, not to the list.. I can understand brushing the leaves off to
expose the cyclamen  leaf patterns.  And Ray, how often does this kind of
"goof-up" occur?  writing to the list via hitting Reply, instead of looking
up the eMail address of the intended recipient? I feel somewhat
embarassed--and am apologizing for lousing up the procedure., but I'm still
learning
.
.  Re clay and drainage:  Filling the hole with gravel doesn't solve the
drainage problem unless there is a way for the water to drain away from  the
depression, or the surrounding soil is amended to drain better,.    I can't
claim that I know how to grow sikokianum, yet, because I've only wintered it
once, in faily heavy clayey loam, amended with wood ashes from the chimney
, gypsum, and a bit of peagravel, on a very gentle slope no more than 2
inches to the foot.   But I also wintered a plant labelled elephas from
Heronswood, which I assume is a correct labelling., in a near identical
site.   It hasnt bloomed yet, but I hope to see it bloom this spring.

Re html postings that are troublesome for  archiving efforts--  Many
computers  using Microsoft  now have html built in as a default position
which  jumps in when replying to any message arriving at their computer  in
html format.  if it is not specifically undone by the sender for such
messages.  Our computer  (Microsoft XP) is set to send email only in plain
text, but it shifts to html in replying to messages sent in that format and
one must watch for this.

Cheers, Adam in Glenview, IL  Chicago suburb.     USDA 5a --who will order
from Chen Yi again just to find out what turns up.  Survival rate of her
stuff is no worse than what I got from Heronswood.







----- Original Message -----
From: "Bonaventure Magrys" <magrysbo at SHU.EDU>
To: <ARISAEMA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL>
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: Hardy cyclamen, etc.


> Hi Adam (and all fellow members),
> welcome to the list. No offense taken. My general philosophy is "if it
> ain't broke, don't fix it".
> I'm not a night fairie, no, but I generally brush the leaves off once or
> twice in fall if they've piled up to deep in the cyclamen spots from leaf
> fall or migrating mulch. The base of the oak against my property side is
> high, and away from it is a sloping bed that goes down towards the center
> of the yard. Its a bit higher a few feet from the fence/tree trunk and
> there is a bit of a dip where the cyclamen are in groups right against the
> trunk, but so far no problems. On top of the "ridge" are some of the more
> moisture-sensitive perennials, but even with high mulching, they stay
> dryish, enjoying a moist spring. By late summer, the leaf mulch is almost
> gone and I find dormant tubers and rhizomes even partly exposed. So be it.
> They stay like that thru late summer and until the end of fall. Covered
> now, they're ok as the covering diminishes in late spring after all growth
> and blooming has ceased. Most Arisaemas are on this built up sandy slope
> with leaf mulch cover (3rd winter now for me and them at this location).
> More towards the yard center, where the dip gets filled in more, I brush a
> little extra off the Cyclamen purpurescens - mostly to enjoy the leaves,
> likewise some of the Hexastylis. I just took about 4 inches off the tops
of
> Hepatica americana and acutiloba (thank you Sunshine Farm) and they're
only
> slightly decayed around the leaf edges.
> That'll probably be it for the year as leaf fall and added shredded leaf
> mulch will stay in place.
> Good observation about clay soil. Its usually given me a problem when I've
> had to dig into it, crumble it up, and or leave a depresssion in it no
> matter how deep its filled with well draining material.
> Bonaventure
>