> pseudacorus or
> my blue flags (Iris versicolor).
>
> Maybe something wrong with the water? It comes from a natural
> underground
> stream that only runs in winter/spring with a limestone channel.
> The pH of
> this water is about 8.2, as compared with the surrounding soil of
> 8.8
Kathy --
That pH is awfully high for your failed "bog lovers" (astilbe, rodgersia,
marshmallow, etc.). Those irises, for example, are commonly found in
ditches and stream banks where the water level fluctuates frequently with
no damage ever to the plants. Without actually visiting your garden I'd
say the problem lies more with the pH -- or perhaps even something else
-- than the immersion.
I'm not surprised that those "other" plants (heuchera, hellebore, etc.)
succumbed. They're totally unsuitable for bog situations.
Um, something about Aroids... Arum concinnatum are starting to bloom,
and the purple callas (Z. rehmanni) have finally decided to emerge from
the ground.
Dean Sliger
Warren, Michigan, USA
Zone 6B
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