The "Hope Springs Eternal" Iris Bed

Here's an iris bed I put in this afternoon in the 30 degree wind chill. They are tall bearded iris. I got the rhizomes from my brother-in-law in NC who sent them in the mail this week. He thinned out his iris bed and was gonna dump most of the cullings into the compost. I double dug the bed, planted, mulched and constructed the temporary greenhouse out of a piece of plastic I got from the trash bin at Lowe's. I didn't make the man get out the ladder and get me two bags of cow manure from their top shelf in the outside yard. I put the plastic over them because I want to keep any precip off the bed, and keep the ground from freezing so they can root and they have been southern you all irises all their lives until now. I hope some of them make it!
Martha

good luck martha - iris are tough so there is hope

Good thread title. I'm new but feel your anxiety. Months will tell.
My thought is,will snow lay on the plastic and smother the newbies?

Ya, I would def remove it to keep it from smothering the plants...I would just do a really heavy leaf mulch
I'm sure Iris will chime in here

I would let the snow insulate them....iris are tough!

After 9 wks. my computer/TV & Tellie working. Very int. in expanding my 1 lonely Bearded Iris bed of 2 ft. started w/a WalMart fall special deal for $3. Called "Orange Sherbert" & maybe had 2 rhizomes. (No directions, of course, but took chance the decades ago, helping my grandmother plant these favorites for her "don't plant them too deep; clear plenty of space for their roots & leave their tops almost at the surface." Well two fat blossoms the next summer, but the way I winter mulch all w/chopped leaves & not scooped off early enough, I had plenty of "blades" but no blossoms. 3rd yr., I scraped off to the tops of rhizomes & had 9 giant, gorgeous blossoms. This past 2012, 15 or more very tall & it's spreading like crazy & needs to be divided by next fall TOPS.

I think I have the "formula" almost as I remember as a kid, but not how to divide/cut tubers at proper place, maybe even the right soil & water needs. Any suggestions would be most appreciated as I want to add a couple more colors (the perfect Red) is one. Thank all for what you can offer.

C.K. the Cap. in VT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5ZZ_PvNcws&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWlvKq3bSh8&feature=related

I always go to Google you-tube .Visuals are important.

This message was edited Nov 28, 2012 5:25 AM

Just to make sure there arent enough different treatments for dug iris - this is news to me but seems plausible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INX36ste_3o

We haven't had any snow yet. There was just rainy sleet yesterday. I just wanted to keep the bed from getting soaked and to amp up what sun there is. I am going to take it off pretty soon. In early spring, any that made it will get a dose of bone meal. This has worked for my established iris and the last few years have been outstanding. I go through about 10 lbs of bone meal on the iris and various other plants every spring. Cutting off rhizomes isn't rocket science. You have to check them for borers, gross but necessary, remove any parts that the borers ruined and any decayed matter, the old books say dust with sulphur powder, but I don't even know if you can get that anymore, I just let them dry off overnight. oh, and cut the fans back by half or two thirds. First year, if you got successful rooting, there will be only leaves. I won't know what colors I got for at least two years. My BIL told me what colors he thinks they are, but they all look the same at this point. I don't dig up my whole iris bed all at once, but do it in annual stages about a third at a time so I always have some iris blooming.
Martha

Gardenmart: I have been noticing the use of ferts.for iris and since our clay soil is not the best for them I will add bonemeal to my iris in spring.My TBI's and Medians especially have a hard time getting established.

Thanks for the unexpected tip.

ask irisMA, she and her husband raise irises. She'll know what to use.

I have been laboring under a false sense of security for 4 years as the farm where I dig used to react with "I never fertilize" when we exclaime about how big the clumps were.

Depends on your soil, I think. A farm would have far more topsoil than I do up here on my Massachusetts rocky hilltop. Iris could get whatever they need from better soil I am sure. I, however, have to fertilize.
Martha

In the spring I sprinkle a time release fertilizer on the beds....usually have great blooms...only time I've had iris die was when the landscaper dumped all the clay soil in the new bed......I've been digging in humus & sand, the iris in that bed did much better this summer.....

will have to try some fertilizer here - I have some in mixed into beds that do fine - however the two large iris only spots are heavy clay with any nutrients sucked away by hickory trees.

I You-Tube iris stuff and nearly all the vids.Talk about dividing every 3 years. I cant think of an iris clump here that lasts that long.
I have been more mindful last 2 years and do a better job of soil prep for the new ones. I dig in leaf compost. It seems to be working.

i have never divided them - will have to watch those links you posted.

You-tube is great for things like that.

Not having speakers, I miss out! I usually divide the hybrid clumps every 3 years....the non-hybrids more frequently.....

Well, due to the mild winters we've been having and the fertilization, I have to thin out because most of my iris are growing in a raised bed with wooden sides. so they grow right into the wood. I have to clear out along the edges all the time. I generally do some in mid-june for my plant sale and later on in the summer to spread around my yard. I still don't have a tremendous amount of sunny space for them to grow well, though my son has taken out some lower branches from our oak trees and that has opened up some formerly shady spots. I love how a garden is always a work in progress.
Martha

For sure....

Many thanks to those that posted the website (s) in regard to dividing Iris (& many other wonderful tips above). Only problem w/those websites is I got so engrossed w/all plants featured & read & made notes in regard to Clematis cuttings, dividing daylilies, etc. etc. Now I can put the idea of a small dynamite load to my monster (not blooming as well as they did) DAYLILIES to rest & rescue my 4 huge Clematis (all dev. Clematis wilt 2011/gorgeous 2/3rd up & nasty below w/me planting tall annuals trying to hide the dead-looking bottoms.) Many thanks again to all.

C.K. from the "Cap" of VT.

Well, I have been growing iris in one state or another for over 40 years. These came to me from my BIL in North Carolina. I trade all my old amaryllis bulbs down to him and my sister for things from NC. They plant them in the ground like tulips and have a beautiful amaryllis crop every year. Their ground does not freeze. I don't have to think about getting them to bloom again inside.
Martha

I grew amaryllis in FL, Martha....one bulb developed into a nice clump of Holland Star.....

Good luck with you new irises, Martha. I hope they all do well for you.

I don't have the best of luck with TB irises. They don't multiply well, nor do they ever get a ton of blooms. I went to Shepard Iris Garden in Phoenix, AZ when I lived there (the owner retired, is no longer selling and moved out of state). Their irises looked stunning. Large clumps with lots of blooms. I think it's the soil and the climate. I think my soil is much richer and not well draining enough, however I do have one bed with lots of TB iris that is much more sandy. They do a little better there, but not like the ones I saw in Phoenix.

C.K., I always have trouble with that clematis wilt myself.

Karen

I enjoy my neighbor's clematis. It was 60 degrees outside today. I think I might get some roots before the true winter sets in.
Martha

We've been warm, too, but colder weather is coming soon. Got some yard work done yesterday.

BTW, I meant to add above that even though my TB iris never multiply well for me, not do I got lots of blooms, the blooms I do get are gorgeous, so I keep them because of that. Just not really tempted to add many more.

Karen

bone meal, karen. your iris will thank you for it.
Martha

Sounds good to me.

I was out in the HSE Iris bed yesterday. They all appear to be still alive and green. The plastic tent appears to be working. Soil was still moist and unfrozen even though we've had some days in the 30's. There has been intermittent sun in the last few days so the plastic has helped mitigate the cold temps. If we get a heavy snow, I will take the plastic off.
Martha

Glad things are working out.....

Good to hear

It's gonna be a wacky winter, I can tell. I have daffodils coming up. Not all the ones I planted, but some. Not yet, you guys!!
Martha

My passiflora is still putting out new growth on my garage....

Martha, I think I will try that, but I hope my dogs don't get into it. I had some once, and boy did it stink! My dog kept wanting to eat it. I saw some small bottles of a concentrated liquid bonemeal that you mix with water and use as a drench. They were on clearance. Maybe I'll go back there and get some. Maybe all the ones they had left.

Karen

Yes, I can see how dogs would like it. I keep mine in our garage and right now it's only a little bit I had left over from a big 10 lb bag. I used nearly all of it this spring.
Martha

I had a package of opened bonemeal in a shed in the back that's open in the front. Every time I went past there it smelled like something died. I finally had to throw it out.

Karen

For storing the small bag, may I recommend a tupperware or sterilite cereal box? I had to go to that for my kitchen cabinets while I battled the weevils that get into flour and stuff. no open bags. but one of these will conveniently hold 3 lbs of bone meal.
You can probably find an old one at the Salvation Army or the Goodwill store if you didn't want to lay out for a new one.
Martha

Oh, good idea! I hadn't thought about that. Thanks!

Karen

An update on the HSE Iris bed: I went out and uncovered it over this Easter weekend. all the rhizomes that I planted last winter at Thanksgiving are still alive!! and growing! The snow finally melted off of them a couple of weeks ago and I could get at the plastic cover. It seems to have worked like a charm. Now, the real miracle will be if I get an iris from one of them. Not holding my breath here though. This would be their first year.
Martha