Bare root irises found in unopened box from 9/2011.

I just found 100.00 worth of irises in an unopened box in my garage from 2011. Can they be saved and if so what's the best way to get them in the ground to give them the most chance of surviving? I'd appreciate any help anyone can give me.

Now that I think back we were having an awful hectic fall trying to finish everything at once and these poor little guys ended up falling through the cracks.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi,

What kind of shape are they in? Are the rhizomes hard? If they're mushy I would toss them. But if they are hard, and dry, I would soak the roots overnight and plant. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Hi, take PollyK's advice. I once meant to throw out a seedling I had hybrized; put it in a temporary compost box to be added to the pile later. Gradually added other stuff. Forgot about the box for a year. Only the top stuff composted; the rhizome was still alive. I had forgotten what it looked like, so I planted it in the fall--and surprise! It bloomed the next spring--and then I put it in the trash because it had poor form and branching.

In August 2010 I received some iris for postage. They came in a small box wrapped in newspaper. The following May I was stacking some boxes in my utility shed and one of them felt heavy. I looked inside and wrapped in newspaper was an iris rhizome. It was solid so I planted it. In a few days I saw growth. That was out of the ground from August to the following May. They are tough.

Don

Too funny, Gussie: "and then I put it in the trash".

Thanks everyone for your advice. We have had some really heavy rains here and the ground is saturated. There is more rain predicted in the future and I live in a low lying area next to a river. Would you still recommend soaking the rhizomes over night?

Thanks again in advance for your advice. It is much appreciated.

Soak the rhizome for a few hours anyway. Overnight would be too long considering your rain and moisture. It does not take long for rhizomes to begin sprouting new roots.

Overnight will be fine, as remember you are just soaking the roots, not drowning the whole rhizome. But don't plant them in a wet area, that will kill them anyway. If you have other irises growing well, plant in that area.

This is today's photo of the rhizome I found in a box nine months later. Wabash. I love this iris.

Don

Don: Hmmmm....That looks more like Liaison. See mine below. What do you think?

This message was edited May 20, 2012 9:16 PM

I must be tired. Two of the same photo. Here is another view.

It looks like my Wabash....(picture on computer at home).

Wabash standards are pure white.