Multipling Iris to sell

I've ordered a lot of new Iris this year and could only afford one of each. In a few years, I would like to sell some of the ones I end up liking the best on eBay or the Lily Auction. Is it best to divide them every year to get them to multiply the fastest or to wait 2 to 3 years. I do have somewhat limited space, so will never have room for more than about 3 clumps of each. I posted a list of the ones I ordered on turtlelu's thread about TB. So many exciting iris ou there it was hard to make up my mind about which to order.

Susan

tess, I think it's usually best to divide only every 3 years. Any sooner and you will really limit your blooming at home. Just feed them well after they bloom and they should increase more quickly.
Sometimes you can find a place in your neighborhood that will let you grow more. Here, it is at my community center but at least one person I know gardens on some land her church owns. Sometimes a relative or friend will let you use a patch.
My daughter grows a lot more than me and sells them to landscapers.....

Susan,

I'm planning exactly what you're planning. When I dug and divided the majority of my irises last year, I replanted 3-4 divisions of each cultivar. My intention is to allow them to increase for a year, then start digging and selling one clump of each cultivar every year. I'll save and replant one division of each dug clump. That way, I'll eventually have 1 yr old, 2 yr old, and 3 yr old clumps in my garden so I'll always have a mature blooming clump of each cv.

Of course, Ma Nature rarely cooperates with such carefully laid plans. ;-)

Laurie

This message was edited Jul 25, 2004 11:02 PM

laurief is doing exactly what my daughter, Laura, is doing. You will have some at all 3 stages and the 3 stage is the one you can divide and sell, keeping some for yourself. Good luck.
Oh, btw, what is the Lily Auction?

woodspirit1,

The Lily Auction is a small, online auction site exclusively for plants and garden-related items. It is run somewhat similarly to eBay but on a much smaller, less intimidating scale. Check it out!

http://66.70.38.191/cgi-bin/auction.cgi

Laurie

Woodspirit1, I have gotten some great daylilies from The Lily Auction. Ususally with a bonus on top of what I've bid on.
I do compare prices to other websites before bidding and ususally find I can get some great deals on the auctions ones.

Susan

I just found the e-mail I printed out where I'm supposed to send you shipping money for iris. Will get to it tomorrow morning. Thanks for the info ion the Lily Auction.