squirrels?

I just bought 20 iris. I've never grown them before. I plan to put most of them under my mature maple. They will get plenty of sun until the tree leafs out, then somewhat less. I have lots of squirrels, moles, rabbits, etc. Are they going to steal and eat my new iris? I know to plant them shallowly. I plant tulips extra deep to avoid squirrels, but I don't think I can do that with iris. What pests are trouble for iris?

I'd like to know the answer to this one too. Hope someone can help!! I have lots of rabbits, moles and deer.

sylvi74, it's very important to plant them shallowly. If you plant them too deeply, they may rot in the ground. Hopefully, they will have enough sun under that tree to bloom well for you. As to the critters, Irises are usually not among the favorite foods of marauders. I've never had them eaten by gophers, squirrels or rabbits. That is not to say that they are safe from them because I've read of others who have had mole/gopher damage to their rhizomes. Deer, on the other hand, have nibbled the leaves of mine when there hasn't been much else for them to eat. Given a choice, they will usually choose something like roses etc., but push come to shove, they will eat just about any plant when they are hungry enough. You'll notice that some plants are labeled 'deer resistant' and none are labeled 'deer proof'. Much depends on the kind of deer, the location of the plants, and mostly on the availability of other food. In some places of the country (where I used to live for one LOL) the only way to protect plants from deer is to either keep very aggressive dogs outside or to build an 8 ft. high fence completely surrounding whatever you want to save from their damage. Since there are so many factors that influence what they will eat, I've found that your best bet is to check around with people who live around you to see what kinds of problems they've had with the wildlife in your area. Then you can decide what kinds of controls you need. The good news is that Iris is one of the least browsed plants you can grow. They are very tough little guys.

sylvi74...Congratulations on your first iris purchase. It's very likely you will become addicted to them within a couple of years. Planting under the Maple tree is not likely to give you the best results. Not only for the lack of sun, but also due to the maple trees shallow and invasive root system. I have one iris bed just outside the drip line of a maple, and you would be surprised to see how quickly the roots seek out the extra attention given the iris. I also have a hybrid seedling box about 10 feet from the drip line of the same tree. The bottom of the box has about a foot of sand for good drainage, with pots of seedlings on top. When I remove a pot to separate and transplant the seedlings, I find that the maple roots have actually grown through the drain holes in the pots to get at the good soil and moisture in the pots. The pots are actually held in place by the maple roots, and have to be forced out of the bed. >>>> I too have squirrels, and occasionally one of them will decide to dig up my rhizomes, usually ones that have been freshly planted. They nibble on the rhizome, but usually just cause a hassle of having to replant. Just yesterday, they invaded some rhizomes that I had in pots while waiting to prepare a new bed. Dug about 6 of 30 completely out of the pots and ate about half of one rhizome, nibbled on the others. I have had some luck by sprinkling powdered cayenne pepper on the rhizomes they are really attracted too. Seems they go after the same ones over and over. Sorry, but I have no experience with moles or rabbits.>>> The irises will do better in a sunnier location away from the tree..... But by all means, if it's the only place you have, go for it. You will be glad you did when you are rewarded with spring bloom.

Thanks for the critter info. We have 167 acres and mostly the deer leave my stuff alone, I really think they just come that close to the house out of curiosity, I see occasional deer tracks in my beds but they don't usually do more than nibble a bit. Now the rabbits are a different story. I can't grow crocuses because they never leave the foliage or buds alone long enough for them to bloom and last year something kept my dianthus eaten to the ground all spring.

Irises are totally new to me so I didn't know what to expect.
Thanks again,
Vicki

thanks zac, I'll have another look at the site. Good to know squirrels won't eat too many of them-they took every crocus I had one year!