Irises & fertilizer

Hey everybody! This is my first time posting in this forum and I have a few questions.

Ok, first, how many of you fertilize your irises about 6 weeks before bloom time? I was told by a fellow iris-grower that they need to be fed 6 weeks before & 6 weeks after bloom time, then again in Autumn. Is this true? And if so, what kind do they like? I know that they like low nitrogen/high phosphorus, but what are the ratio numbers that you use? I got some bulb food at Lowe's the other day that is a 4-10-10. Will that work for them? (Too bad it's not water-soluble).

Second question, I also do worm composting...would that be a good substitute for iris fertilizer? Have any of you tried this with your irises?

I know I asked a lot of questions, bear with me please:) Thanks

~~Sarah~~

i am also a beginner, did not fertilize at all and have blooms on almost all plants. was told not to use fertilizer, just maybe some bone meal. dont know if this is good info but seems to have worked for me.

Hey rising creek,

I used some bone meal when I planted last August, and had blooms on all mine too. The lady that told me to feed them before & after bloom time said that if you don't, the stalks get top-heavy when the flowers are open, and will lean. That's happened to mine this year and last. Maybe I'll try it and see what happens.

We use 5-10-10 fertilizer. Always low nitrogen or you will just get leaves. Iris are heavy feeders so bed need renewal. Leaning stalks may mean that the soil was too dry. Had you much rain at the time that they were leaning? Water alsong the ground, not from above.

Our weather around here has been pretty wet lately; we haven't gone more than a week and a half without rain (sometimes less), so I didn't water them. Don't want them to rot.