Dell, I am a regular user of beneficial nematodes for the same purposes in the vegetable garden and lawn as you described. I have also extended this to my bearded iris because I had such a difficult time with iris borer as I garden organically. It has been quite effective and I have had several years now where we have been "borer free." Bob Hoel Near Chicago On May 25, 2010, at 12:21 PM, pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org wrote: > Send pbs mailing list submissions to > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > pbs-owner@lists.ibiblio.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of pbs digest..." > > > List-Post:<mailto:pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > List-Archive:<http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Beneficial nematodes (Dell Sherk) > 2. Floral Treats (James Waddick) > 3. Tigridia light requirements (Leo A. Martin) > 4. Re: Floral Treats (Jane McGary) > 5. Re: Floral Treats - wide crosses (James Waddick) > 6. Re: Floral Treats - wide crosses (Jim McKenney) > 7. Re: Floral Treats - wide crosses (Boyce Tankersley) > 8. yesterday's missing messages (Diane Whitehead) > 9. Re: yesterday's missing messages (Diane Whitehead) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 17:02:16 -0400 > From: "Dell Sherk" <ds429@comcast.net> > Subject: [pbs] Beneficial nematodes > To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <001d01cafb84$64bec840$2e3c58c0$@net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > I don't remember our having had a discussion about nematodes for pest > control. I have used them for a number of years to control whatever insects > eat holes in my vegetable root crops. Last year I began trying them for > control of cucumber beetles. There I neglected to control the adults > adequately and lost most plants to bacterial wilt. Nematodes are also > supposed to help with flea beetles and any other insect that spends part of > its life underground. And they are not supposed to be harmful to earthworms. > > > > So it occurs to me that they might be useful against insects whose larvae > burrow into bulbs and tubers. Has anyone tried this? Note: they are also > advertised as being effective against fungus gnat larvae. > > > > I'll be interested in hearing what our collective experience with these tiny > critters is. > > > > Dell, in SE Pennsylvania, zone 6/7 > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 17:15:07 -0500 > From: James Waddick <jwaddick@kc.rr.com> > Subject: [pbs] Floral Treats > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <p06240803c820a5af8d49@[192.168.0.101]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" > > Dear Friends, > After weeks of unseasonable chill and damp, the sun has come > out and temps near 90 (same for humidity). This has triggered some > much awaited bloom. > > 1. Helicodiceros musciverous. I have written a few years > ago about trying this in the ground here and surprised at its > survival. You can still Google this and find it is only hardy to Zone > 9/ 10. It has survived at least 4 years and perhaps longer, but this > year after a long cold continuous chill it came up strong and has > bloomed yesterday. The incredible (and incredibly stinky) flower > (inflorescence) is one of nature's wonders. Perfectly shaped to > resemble the rotted rear end of a dead horse (as it is commonly > known). The spathe spreads wide in a putrid sort of pink color. The > hairy tail-like spadix emerges from a hole (no imagery needed here) > and flies swarm too it like candy. The odor is as bad as you can > imagine for rotting flesh. > > Considering its often reported tenderness I am thrilled to > have a blooming plant in the garden, stink and all. > > 2. Dracunculus vulgaris Closely related to the above in odor > and as another Aroid, this is a far more common plant in my climate. > I have 4 good sized clumps that bloom regularly. Two flowers open > yesterday and continue perfuming the garden today. The flowers are > well over a foot long and half that width looking like a slab of meat > that has gone 'off'. But the color is rich and robust with a deep > black imposing spadix to offset the weirdness. I have at least 6 > flowers to go and anticipate each wonder as they open. > > Recently Tony Avent, Tom Mitchell, Alan Galloway travelled to > Crete and Tony posted photos of this species in the wild with white > spathes, yellow spadix and a range of marbled colors as much as 6 ft > tall. Wow! Check out his Plant Delights blog if you haven't already. > > 3. Sisyrinchium patagonicum On a much smaller scale. I've > tried a variety of South American Yellow Flowered Sisyrinchium and > none have proven hardy in my climate until now (I wish S. striatum > 'Aunt May' was hardier). After starting from seed last year and > planting out in mid-summer, the resulting plants have produced a > number of small yellow star-like flowers of bright clear yellow. A > first! > > The flowers are one and one half times as big (but still > small) as our common (weedy) 'Blue-Eyed Grass' S. latifolium and a > good variation. Now I wonder if they'll set seed or even cross with > each other. > > I also tried S. palmifolium without survival, but I have a > few more seedlings to sacrifice. > > 4. Iris speculatrix This is a fairly rare (in > cultivation) iris in the Chinenses Series. Originally described from > Hong Kong it grows farther north along the E. Coast of China. I've > grown this for years, but it has never been happy. At least 2 -maybe > three - moves and it has found a spot to its liking. The clump > doubled last year and now has 4 open flowers. The flowers are small > with a mix of pale lilac, white and yellow with an interesting halo > marking around the signal. > > This is in the same group as I. odaesaanensis, I. koreana and > others. A good woodlander that would be happier a zone or 2 south of > here. > > 5. Iris 'Alley Oops' This was introduced a few years ago, > but I have finally grown a plant. The ancestry is unknown, but > guessed as a rare cross between I. pseudacorus and some Siberian > Iris. This is an odd chromosomal mix and surely it is sterile. The > flowers resemble I pseudacorus, but the falls have fine purple veins > washed with pale yellow. The yellow fades quickly to white. It is a > vigorous and intriguing mix of characters. So far, I 'think' I like > it. > > Of course other choice non-bulbous plants are popping up > surely (in part) to our sudden change to warm weather. It would be > nice to be somewhere inbetween chill and sweltering like 'moderate'. > > Oh well. Best Jim W. > -- > Dr. James W. Waddick > 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. > Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 > USA > Ph. 816-746-1949 > Zone 5 Record low -23F > Summer 100F + > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 18:14:01 -0700 (PDT) > From: "Leo A. Martin" <leo@possi.org> > Subject: [pbs] Tigridia light requirements > To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > Message-ID: <2a2d54f5fa3447ec627b8487b9bbaf67.squirrel@http://www.possi.org/> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > I've taught myself I can't grow garden variety Tigridia outdoors in our > summer heat, but I still want them. What is the light like where they > originate in Mexico? I have some very bright windows. > > By the way, Milla magnifica bulbs from the PBS BX a few years back are > sprouting. I moved them into a very large pot. Maybe flowers this year? > > Thanks, > > Leo Martin > Phoenix Arizona USA > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 18:37:33 -0700 > From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Floral Treats > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <E1OGj7N-0007sy-GX@elasmtp-spurfowl.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > Jim Waddick wrote: >> 5. Iris 'Alley Oops' This was introduced a few years ago, >> but I have finally grown a plant. The ancestry is unknown, but >> guessed as a rare cross between I. pseudacorus and some Siberian >> Iris. This is an odd chromosomal mix and surely it is sterile. The >> flowers resemble I pseudacorus, but the falls have fine purple veins >> washed with pale yellow. The yellow fades quickly to white. It is a >> vigorous and intriguing mix of characters. So far, I 'think' I like >> it. > > This sounds very similar to 'Holden Clough', which I have in this > garden. It is a lot shorter in growth than I. pseudacorus but has > flowers like Jim describes. They make elegant floral arrangements, > especially in a copper or bronze container. It is a vigorous spreader > but fortunately I planted it where I didn't want anything else. > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon, USA > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 23:22:35 -0500 > From: James Waddick <jwaddick@kc.rr.com> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Floral Treats - wide crosses > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <p06240805c820fecd7051@[192.168.0.101]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" > >> J5. Iris 'Alley Oops' >>> guessed as a rare cross between I. pseudacorus and some Siberian >>> Iris. This is an odd chromosomal mix and surely it is sterile. >> Jane McGAry replied: >> This sounds very similar to 'Holden Clough', which I have in this >> garden. > > Dear Jane and all, > Sort, but only slightly. 'Holden Clough', named after the UK > nursery where it was found was known to be a seedling of a 40 > chromosome or Sino-Siberian and guessed at the other parent. Some > people think it is I. pseudacorus, others favor I foetidissima. It is > a bit tender here and I can't keep this one going. > > 'Alley Oops' is a cross with a 28 chromosome or Garden > Siberian with an unknown, but guessed to be I. pseudacorus. > > Siberian Iris Series contain 2 distinct groups of species: > Sino-Siberians with 40 chromosomes each and a half dozen species, and > the more common garden siberians with only 3 species (siberica, > sanguinea and typhifolia). There's one know cross between these two > groups. Oddly both groups are all found in China (And some spread a > bit further afield) > > 40 chrom siberians have been crossed with a lot of other iris > most notably PCNS to make a group known as Cal-Sibes. The 28 chrom > species form the basis of most modern garden siberian iris, but there > are relatively few wide crosses. > > ......and there's relatively few people trying these odd > crosses , so when one turns up like 'Alley Oops' or the earlier > 'Holden Clough' we all sit up and take notice. > > Best Jim W. > > > -- > Dr. James W. Waddick > 8871 NW Brostrom Rd. > Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711 > USA > Ph. 816-746-1949 > Zone 5 Record low -23F > Summer 100F + > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 09:48:16 -0400 > From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Floral Treats - wide crosses > To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <6ED8348AA8814904A27FE092BD30D70E@Library> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > I grow Iris 'Sea Krill' which I think is an I. pseudacorus cross. But I > don't really know anything about its ancestry. Can any one fill me in? > > > > It?s shorter than typical I. pseudacorus and the flowers are a paler yellow. > They also have a burst of short red lines on the falls. Take a look here: > > > > http://jimmckenney.com/iris_sea_krill.htm > > > > > > Jim McKenney > > jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com > > Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871? North, 77.09829? West, USDA zone > 7 > > My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ > > BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ > > > > Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS > > Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ > > > > Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 09:10:02 -0500 > From: "Boyce Tankersley" <btankers@chicagobotanic.org> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Floral Treats - wide crosses > To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: > <52857FDB394B7E45BA1F2E60D7313E2A1223E05F@cbgmail.chicagobotanic.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > > I find this discussion of Iris pseudacorus very interesting. When we > were researching the literature for the invasive species risk analysis > we discovered this species actually has a number of races (I am not sure > this is the correct term) within in it with different chromosome > numbers. > > Phenotypically, they all look identical to the human eye - and they are > all mixed up in commerce. > > One of the hypothesis explaining why this 'species' has been so > successful in naturalizing native habitats is this genetic variability. > If one set of chromosome numbers doesn't provide the adaptive > characteristics apparently sometimes a different set will. > > Like Jim Waddick in Kansas City, we have at last broken out of a cold > damp period and are enjoying some warm weather. Some of Jim Shields > Crinum crosses are in flower and a dark pink Hippeastrum hybrid. Both > are planted against the south facing side of my home where the winter > soil temperatures are moderated by the relatively warm basement wall. > > Boyce Tankersley > Director of Living Plant Documentation > Chicago Botanic Garden > 1000 Lake Cook Road > Glencoe, IL 60022 > tel: 847-835-6841 > fax: 847-835-1635 > email: btankers@chicagobotanic.org > > I grow Iris 'Sea Krill' which I think is an I. pseudacorus cross. But I > don't really know anything about its ancestry. Can any one fill me in? > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 8 > Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 07:53:46 -0700 > From: Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com> > Subject: [pbs] yesterday's missing messages > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <80B3C233-3C78-4D49-9D18-9A076AE595E4@islandnet.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes > > I was puzzled by Boyce's message this morning about Floral Treats - > wide crosses. It has Re: in front of it, which means he is replying > to a previous message, but I didn't receive the first message. > > I checked in the archives and found messages sent yesterday that I > didn't receive. > > It is possible that some others of you missed messages too. The place > to look is the pbs archives: > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbslist/old.php/… > > Diane Whitehead > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 9 > Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 08:10:36 -0700 > From: Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com> > Subject: Re: [pbs] yesterday's missing messages > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Message-ID: <F23E403B-9530-4D4C-B7DE-9196DF80A264@islandnet.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes > > Well, wouldn't you know it - as soon as I complained, yesterday's > missing messages arrived from wherever they'd been hiding. > > However, knowing about our archives is a good thing, not just for > messages that didn't arrive, but also for ones you may have deleted in > error, and ones that were posted long before you joined the PBS list. > It starts in June 2002. > > You can search by date, author, subject and thread. > > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > Diane > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > > End of pbs Digest, Vol 88, Issue 22 > ***********************************