Even if I plant "new" ones with 1" of soil covering the rhizome ( which isn't TOO deep, just deeper than I'd like) with my loose soil, there is no way they will stand up in any kind of a breeze! I've tried cutting the fans shorter( they were shipped with about 7" of leaf, and I cut it back to about 3"). That helped some with the wind, but did nothing to help with" critter action". I tried "staking" with a short stick, and tying the fan to the stick....Works fairly well, but very time consuming . Once the roots grow( or if there are already some nice roots to bury), they stay-put very well. This soil is very sandy, with a lot of what they call "sugar clay"( finer particles than sand, a little larger than "real clay" size), left undisturbed, it gets as hard as concrete. But if you spade it up, it takes a LONG time to "settle". The new "soil mix" that I've been using, holds water better, has more nutrients, and won't "set up " like the original soil, BUT ,it's just as "fluffy" at planting time. Setting a rock ,or brick on top will hold them down well enough, but I worry about "scratching" the rhizome ( I THINK wounds are where disease enters
),and shading them from the sun, and also holding too much moisture around the rhizome. :blinking:Maybe I worry too much!...Arlyn
