Dividing Irises - Basic Questions

I've had tall bearded Irises for years but am new to dividing and maintaining them.
I first had the impression that the end of the rhizomes with leaves coming out was the mother with the babies pushed out the front and therefore had the impression that the youngest was at the opposite end of the stalk end, now I know that this is incorrect and the youngest is the one with leaves. I also see that there are side babies that do also have foliage but usually look small and young. I have some questions if someone could please help:
1. Will a rhizome that has bloomed still produce leaves for a few years or is it done once it blooms?
2. If a rhizome has leaves but no bloom is there a chance that it will bloom in some following year?
3. Is there a way to tell if a rhizome has a chance of blooming this season or next? Is there a nub on it or any sort of indicator?
4. Is there any use for rhizomes past the one with leaves? Will they produce leaves or babies if broken off? Most do not even have roots is that an indication that they are dead and useless?

I'm interested in having the most bloomers and thought that this discussion was good suggesting to divide while trying to keep some of the soil minimally disturbed so that they can be replanted with a chance of blooming sooner. Do people here agree with this method?
http://eveysblissfulgarden.com/Iris/PlantingInstructions.htm

Just stumbled onto this informative write up also:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/123/

This message was edited Jun 11, 2013 5:17 PM

Pete, I am also new to irises & will be interested in the answers... from what I've been able to tell, you can't kill these things, so that is a good thing. LOL!

Also, since you have only the one type, and mine are unidentified, let me know if you'd like to swap some rhizomes to increase our color base. I KNOW these don't look like yours (which are gorgeous, btw...). ;)

Lori in TX

I prefer the Dave's Garden write up because it is simpler. I also prefer the alphalpha meal to the pellets. Make sure any fertilizer is low nitrogen as the higher number will just produce leaves.
Also you are in CT not the south with more heat.

Lori: Yes I need plants that you can't kill and grow like weeds!
I've offered these to family and neighbors but I'll let you know if any
are left. I also think that I'm going to widen the bed and plant them
in groups of 3 as I see many suggest so I'll be using more of them.
What colors are yours?

Thanks irisMA, right I was thinking more about the technical details
given about the plant rather than the specifics on growing in the South.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2013 9:00 AM

You should have a great batch of color next year.

Pete, IF memory serves me, I have one type that is a dusty purple with a little gold, and one that is white, and I have some that I have NO idea b/c I've never seen them bloom b/c they were stuck in a completely shaded area & overgrown with vines. :(

Let me know something & I'll pop some of these in the post! :)

Lori V. in TX

I hate to disagree, but if you pay $50.00 per rz, you can kill them! LOL pic:Muleshoe Money

Happens☺

Pete, I think that unless you are in a special microclimate, you're in zone 6b, which should not make much difference for irises, but might for some others.

I otherwise don't get too technical. When we moved into this house, the former owner had a few irises planted in a somewhat sunny area fairly close to the garage, but they never did anything for the first couple of years but grow a bit of foliage. About three years ago I dug them up and moved them into another garden and figured if they did nothing there, they were at least closer to the trash. They lived through the first summer after the transplant and have done nothing but multiply ever since. They are quite tall, so the big thing for me is to find trellises that support without damaging. There were probably half a dozen to begin with and this spring there were at least 20 stems and most had 5 blooms per stem. The second photo is from May of 2012. The third photo is from 2011. Apparently they just like it there. Getting to feel a bit like the sorcerer's apprentice with these. Almost as bad as the Siberians and their "crop circles." And they are in the shade.

In my opinion, anything that grows good weeds can grow good flowers.

This message was edited Jun 25, 2013 1:32 AM

Jill just did another great article, this time about dividing iris. Might be just the information and pictures you need to get you on the right track:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4318/

I always love her articles. . .so clear and understandable, and with pictures just when you need them most!

great article!

Ugh, went out to work on dividing some iris, wondering if that's why they're doing so poorly this year, and discovered I have borers for the first time ever. No wonder so many petered out and disappeared. I thought it was just our sopping wet spring.

Can anyone point me to a good resource on how to get rid of borers?

Hope this helps you:

http://www.irisgarden.org/borermain.html

Hi Cathy166, Wow, those are some nice pictures there!
I'm very close to Bridgeport in Trumbull so I think I used the next zip code over that gave 7a - you are probably right that I should switch it to 6b.

I'm finding also that some parts of our yard just seem to have much more fertile soil. That is funny about growing weeds, our beds seem to be very good at it! I just weeded and mulched and after the rain and heat the weeds are back, right though the mulch!

I grew up in Stamford by the way, went to Rippowam in the 70s.

Thanks to everyone for the tips and links!

I widened the bed with my son's help and finally redid the iris bed in groups of 4 about 26" apart as can be seen in the picture below. I also divided one of the Hosta plants that was overgrown and up against the foundation. I used mulch but not above the irises:

Agree with Bookerc1 as to articles by Jill M. Nicolaus (critterologist) here on DG. Her articles are easy reads and also very informative.

Cathy166 I looked up our zone again and if I put in our Zipcode I get 6b but if I look at the 2012 USDA map it looks clearly like 7a, Stamford also looks like 7a. I don't think it really matters much but I am curious about it.

When I divided these Iris's I replanted about 20 and threw the rest in a pail. The ones in the pail are doing great if anyone wants some. Message me on here.

This message was edited Apr 18, 2014 8:23 AM

The USDA just recently re-did the zone map ( not sure if it was '12, or '13?). In my case, I went from 5a, to 5b,.....But I sure can't see any difference in the weather !LOL....Arlyn

The plants were ahead of you adjusting to the zone. ☺

I've done essentially nothing to these irises since dividing them. They didn't do well last season, I think the weather was not good. They bloomed like crazy this year and I cut about 10 large ones to put in vases on our front porch, very nice. They've moved quite a bit probably with all the rain and water.
Thanks for all the help everyone!