Re: [gardeners] Dahlia woes
Annetta Green (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 2 Sep 2002 11:23:13 -0400
We also get those kinds of deluges here in most of FL. What happens is the
two weather patterns from the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts come together
over our central FL area, causing big thunderbangers almost every afternoon,
all summer long. We also suffered from the same drought that George talked
of and are finally coming out of it. Of course this means that some areas
are so dry it does not take long for the water to soak in. Then there are
other areas that have never flooded before that are suddenly covered with
water, like part of my back yard. This morning my DH and I spent a couple
of hours digging out all of my daylilies and moving them to higher ground.
They have been planted in the same area for over 5 years, and yes the area
has flooded, but never for more than 24 hours at a time. Usually the water
is gone by late afternoon. After three days straight of sitting in ankle
deep water, I felt they had to be moved. We dug a hole in the new bed, that
had been prepared for winter annuals, then went and dug out a shovel full of
mud and lily to dump into it. I think we moved about 30 daylilies this
morning. I had tried, in the old bed to have pink fade into yellow. Who
knows how they will be now. I just planted the smallest in front, like
Eenie Weenie and Happy Returns, and the larger ones to the rear like
Eye-yi-yi and Along-the-Way. A lot of others lost their tags in the move,
which are still under the water, so I have no idea of what got moved where.
Hope I can identify them as they bloom to retag them.
Anne in FL
zone 9b, sunset 26
It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one
who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The
other is mere business. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Shirley" <gshirl@bellsouth.net>
To: <gardeners@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2002 2:12 PM
Subject: Re: [gardeners] Dahlia woes
> Most years we don't need to water, nature does it for us. We are back to
normal rainfall patterns
> now after 3 years of drought. Normal means tremendous downpours at 1 inch
per hour followed by
> bright, hot, sunshine. This is what "burns up" our plants. For example:
the spring/summer is gone
> with the exception of a few hot chile plants. The sweet chiles have mostly
wilted from the humidity
> and heat. The okra loves this heat and humidity but just how much okra
does two people need? We did
> better during the drought because our plantings only got the water they
needed not the excess we've
> been getting now.
>
> Many folks don't realize that SW Louisiana gets 65 to 100 inches of rain
per year in a "normal"
> year. Unlike the PNW it doesn't fall as a gentle drizzle each day, it
deluges and then dries up,
> deluges again and the cycle continues. We've been two days without rain
now but the humidity is 96%
> and the temperature is in the low nineties daily.
>
> George
>