Time to fertilize beardless soon

In case anyone didn't know, late summer and early fall are times of tremendous root growth on the beardless irises. And they are still setting their flower bud production for next year deep down inside.

Depending on your area, the best time to fertilize them for the fall is late August through September. I give them all a handful of 10-10-10 or equivalent, and pile on some cow manure (well composted) around the plant, but not over the crown of the plant. Beardless, particularly Japanese and species crosses are heavy feeders.

This does not apply to newly planted this year irises, unless they are good sized clumps. Don't give them anything more than some Miracle Gro or some compost for the first year.

One of my customers asked if it would hurt them, as the fertilizer causes them to produce new top growth. The answer is no, it won't hurt them a bit. They might produce some new top growth, but that's only going to die back anyway. Perennials that die back, including irises are not hurt by new top growth in the fall. Trees or shrubs that have woody stems would be.

So if you want big increases on your beardless, and better bloom next year, feed them well this fall :) It's a good time to increase their mulch too. A good mulch is around three inches high. And keep them well watered until ground freeze.




This message was edited Aug 13, 2009 2:10 PM

AIS Award winners have finally been announced for Japanese iris.

THE PAYNE MEDAL (JI)

(Total votes cast = 109 )

37 LITTLE BOW PINK (Donald Delmez)

Runners Up:

25 DIRIGO RED ROCKET (John White)

23 RIVULETS OF WINE (J. T. Aitken)



Award of Merit

(Total votes cast = 159)

30 LAKE EFFECT (Bob Bauer/John Coble)

21 BEWITCHING TWILIGHT (Chad Harris)

Runners Up:

17 ANGEL MOUNTAIN (Bob Bauer/John Coble)

16 OREGON MARMALADE (Lee Walker)

13 BEYOND CHANCE (Donald Delmez)





Honorable Mention

(Total votes cast = 276)

24 GINGHAM GEISHA (Dennis Hager)

23 CRAOLA KISS (Lee Walker)

22 KOOL CRAOLA KISS (Lee Walker)

22 LADY IN PINK (J. T. Aitken)

22 PINK PUFFER (Jill Copeland)

Runners Up:

19 ANGELIC CHOIR (Chad Harris)

19 CHRISTINA’S GOWN (Jill Copeland)

18 FIRST STRIKE CRAOLA (Lee Walker)

12 SIMPLY STATED (Dennis Hager)

12 WISPY CLOUDS (Bob Bauer/John Coble)

Thanks for the info.
I have been digging and moving plants in preparation for my new "fall" arrivals. The holes quickly fill with water, think we've had a lot of rain? I do enjoy wearing my stylish red farm boots.

Yesterday I engraved my new plant markers. Have added an identifier, of where I got them and year. They look spiffy. As my camera is kaput here's your visual. A sandwich label , of black, white, black plastic, engraved with block letters through the top black layer so the white letters show through. Cultivar name on the front, ie Isabelle, type of plant on the back, ie Siberian. Small hole drilled in the upper left corner. Attached with stainless steel wire to a 24" galvanized, size 9 gauge wire rod with loop at top. Then on a separate label I engrave the place and year and attach with green plastic covered gardener's twisty tie.

Another tree snapped off in the last storm and I am waiting for the chainsaw man to come and cut it up and feed it through his chipper shredder. At least I'll get some more material for the compost bins. The groundhog officially won. I pulled the remaining squash, beans, and corn plants and added to the compost bucket. Of all my years gardening this has to have been the WORST. Destructive Critters, Damaging Weather, and Toxic Plants (I got poison ivy, twice).

Hey MIttsy -- love those boots. I have red shoes (look like plastic dutch shoes) if the kids would leave them alone! When I'm not wearing them, I'm out it a pair of crocs!

Polly -- thanks for the information. 3" of mulch (over the crown or not?) I've got a new Japanese and I want to do it right.

Roni

Roni,

Not over the crown.

Glad someone asked about mulching over the crown. I did mine wrong. I pulled the mulch
back yesterday in order to fertilize and soak the soil around the crowns. I did see a couple
of places where new growth had tried to emerge but the mulch was too thick.

These are the JI's from Ensata planted May 7. 5 of the nine bloomed. One croaked as a
result of my leaving it in a zip lock bag for about 3 weeks waiting for a good place to plant
it.

Pic of the 4 x 4 plot. The runt in the left front is a tiny branch of a couple of "wild" irises
a lady gave me.

Size of the larger one. A couple of them are not quite as tall but, since they are all
different cultivars, it is not a worry.

The two larger "wild" ones. The coffee cans were an inspiration to keep the deep mulch
off the crowns and permit feeding and watering.

Lastly, an internet site explains the former Miracid fertilizer is now Miracle Gro for acid
loving plants. Azalea, camellia and rhododendron. 30-10-10 with many micro nutrients.
I think miracid was recommended on this forum for beardless iris.

That's a great idea, Jerry. The coffee cans around the iris. Do you plan on leaving the coffee can there for the winter?

I use plain Miacle Gro, unless I see yellowing on the leaves then I switch to Miacle Gro for acid loving plants. If you were going to use Miracle Gro for acid loving plants on a regular basis on the beardless, I would alternate every other time with Miracle Gro. Use one and then in two weeks the other.

Japanese irises like a slightly acid soil, and most peoples soil is slightly acidic. Siberians like a neutral to slightly acid. The other beardless normally tend to be like the JIs.

I am sure the cans should be removed over winter to insulate the crown from the near 0 F
we occasionally have here in January. I just cut the bottoms out of the plastic coffee cans
and carefully eased them over the foliage. I was meaning to ask if the foliage is normally
cut back over winter which would make the insertion of the cans much easier in the spring.

This is a new adventure for me so I am open to any suggestions. The blooms this summer
were really attractive and I would hate to lose them notwithstanding the nearly $50 in the
iris price plus shipping.

Jerry, honestly they look well grown enough I doubt you would lose them for any reason. I would probably remove the plastic cans, but I don't think it would be really necessary. I just would not want the mulch to slide back or wash back over the crowns, as you do have it pretty deep. And the crowns are hardy to at least minus 20, so I would think zero would never even make them flinch.

Cutting back leaves is a matter of choice. I don't, Pirl does, and we both have great luck. Not cutting back protects the crowns from harsh weather. Cutting back eliminates any foliage for bugs to overwinter in. I f you have any problem with thrips, or borers, which almost never bother JIs, then I would say cut back the foliage. Also leaving the foliage on will keep the mulch from slding onto the crown.

I would suggest keeping the cans on long enough for the mulch to settle down.

OH No, I just realized I have mulch over the crowns. I will remove it tomorrow 1st thing.

Oh, no Steph, LOL. It's not going to hurt the plants at all now, it would just affect them this winter. The mulch keeps the crowns moist, and if it feezes over them wet, there's a chance it would suffocate the crowns. I push it back from the crowns just a little.

In warmer climates it wouldn't be a problem. I know Dee says she pilles steer manure right up over the crown.

You're going to leave the leaves on yours, too, Steph.

Yes the leaves will stay on in this country. I am thinking also I might put some pine boughs over top to help cut any winds over winter. Thta way they still get air and won't pack down. What do you think?

Pine boughs will be good.

Mittsy, I also love your red boots!

Polly, thanks for the info about fertilizing. This is the first year I have fertilized my Siberians with Miracle Gro, after reading an earlier post of yours. It has really made a big difference in how much they have grown. Its good to know that I should continue through September. Still have a few that I need to move, and I did buy some peat to put in the holes before I replant them. Since I am fairly new to Siberians, your information has really made a big difference. Now I will just have to wait until next year to see the final results.

Shadow

BLUEBERRY FAIR

Beautiful Pic of Blueberry Fair.

A lot of people seem to be against Miracle Gro for some reason, other than being eco friendly, and not using any chemicals. I don't understand it, as I have great luck with it. (I do understand the people who do not use any chemicals at all, and certainly value their beliefs.) For me Miracle Gro every two weeks does wonders for my plants. I can give them compost, 10-10-10, or whatever but Miracle Gro throughout the spring, summer and fall really makes all the difference in growth and flowering.

Peat will help the sibs too. They are quite heavy feeders, although not as much as JIs, but still it's hard to fertilize or enrich too much.

Please let me know how they do next year, if you've seen good increase, and better blooms.

And yes, a gorgeous picture of Blueberry Fair.

Miracle Gro or an equivalent is by far the better fertilizer than the standard NPK dry
types. The ACR or Miracid is 30-10-10 plus Boron-.02, Copper-.07, Iron-.325,
Manganese-.05, Molybdenum-.0005 and Zinc-.07. The trace nutrients make a huge
difference for healthy plants.

In my area, there are 4 different MG mixes available: Tomato 18-18-21, All Purpose
24-8-16, Bloom Booster 15-30-15 and the above ACR. All have slightly different micro
nutrients to meet different requirements.

I have used all 4 and have never burned a leaf or root as far as I know.

Thanks Jerry, I would almost bet one of those trace ingredients is really helping. I do put the standard 10-10-10 or equivalent on in the spring, but the Miracle Gro is what seems to cause the substantial increased growth. Since I've been using it, I think my irises multiply twice as much as before.

So is this a dry, that you spread out, or one you mix with water?

The ones I referred to were the water soluble types. Either mix manually in a watering
bucket/can or use in the hose sprayer attachment. I have done both. I am thinking of
using it dry around irises but these are concentrated to be mixed with a lot of water and
a teaspoon full goes a long way--maybe one tsp per iris spread around, not on the
rhizome.

Edited to explain "irises". I was referring to bearded iris where watering can add problems
unless they are in a dry climate or they need extra water in the early fall/late summer for
reblooming. Since the beardless require a lot of water, the best solution is water and feed
at the same time.

This message was edited Aug 20, 2009 4:48 PM