Iris From Seed?

Need some tips as I have never grown a singe Iris from seed!

How long to bloom from seed...?

How do I grow Siberian Iris from seed?

How long can I keep them in the house atfer they germinate?

This is very very exciting- a DGer sent me a ton of mixed Siberian Iris seeds! I'm planning a huge bed, hehe. If I can keep my mum outta them that is! :-))

Thankies guys!

I tried and succeded. First soak your seeds for three to four days and change water daily then rape in a wet towel paper and keep them in fridge for a week then sow them you will have seedlings with in 6 to 8 weeks.
Kaleem

I soak my iris seeds by putting them in a panty hose baggie (loosely tied) and hanging them in the loo tank for a couple of weeks. This year I started over 25 diff. kinds, so no time to change water daily.

Then I put the wet not dripping baggies in ziplock baggies in fridge (take out all apples)-ethane - for 4or 5 weeks, watching carefully to check for germination. All germinating ones get potted up in the warmth.

After 4 or 5 weeks vernalization, I bring them out into the warmth of the room- still in their ziplock baggies and watch carefully for germinatin. Only then do I pot them up.

Seems to work with all iris. Aftr potting up, I give them half strength fert. every otherweek. I always fert. of 1st and 15th of month. That way I never forget. In between I use plain water with bit of h202(hydrogen peroxide) in the water.

I also add a bit of epsom salts to the fertilizer.

Inanda
Inanda

Egads. I didnt do it right! Good thing I saved some seed back. :-O
Thankies guys!!

What did you do Crimson?

I planted them in a makeshift mini greenhouse in garden soil. They are in full sun. lol

Dig em up. Dump the pot out onto a plate or tray or something and go through the soil carefully. Then do the soaking thing.

The soaking is needed to get rid of the growth inhibitor. It stops the iris seed germinating in the fall. If the iris seed germinatd in the fall, as soon as it is ripe, it would not survive most winters.

So you haven't hurt the seed at all. Just rescue it now. You have just lost a bit of time.

Inanda

Thankies so much! Will get right on that after supper.

Yummy fish fillets!

Crimson, I recently learned that Bearded Iris seeds can stay dormant for up to 12 years. All is not lost.

Wowzers!
Iris seem to be an amazing plant. Mum got one in Tennessee- it's leaves are huge- we can't wait to see what it looks like blooming. She wont even let me get the little baby off it- She's being so mean! That Iris hog! haha

I put my crosss in 6" inch pot of soil about 15 seeds tp pot bury in ground water every day that is above freezing and i have iris in spring in late may i line out in beds . and in two years i have bloom .i put my seeds out late NOV>

Tazzy,

Not sure if it is cool enough for Joicie to do that in Florida. I do often get orphan seedlings in the spring. particularly from my siberian iris. Mine of course, have had fall rains and winter snow nad cold.
Ginny

DUH >just saw the the Florida address
yes you have to do the ice box way .And you will do Ok on sib la. jap . species but some [parts of south with high humidity and heat will not be able to grow TB< IB< SDB> MDB iris they just rot . i bet you could grow Pacific coast iris from seeds they are beautiful but only a few places can grow them

This message was edited Mar 6, 2005 10:05 AM

Egads.

Hmm. I'll try it out and if they wont grow here I'll plant those others you mentioned.
Thankies guys!

I know that Margiempv who lives in Arizona doesn't refrigerate her seeds at all. She just soaks them for a week and then plants them in half potting soil and half seed starter soil. Then she plants quite a number (15, 20?) in a 1 gallon container. And it doesn't get too cold there anytime. Although I've put the ones I got from her in cheesecloth for each type, marked them, and put them in a plastic container. I did put it in the fridge for about a week, changing the water every day - which was a no brainer since they were already in cheese cloth. Then you will find incredibly convuluted procedures on the internet. You can put them right outside after you've planted them. Just keep them wet.

I believe Ginny from Winnipeg has the answer for Crimson in Fountain Florida. If you don't have many seeds and if you didn't make the cross yourself stick them in a stocking and rinse them over and over. It isn't the soaking that is important it is the rinsing. Ginny's suggestion of sticking them in the "LOO" Toilet Tank for us south of the border that is critical. Everytime you flush you create the rinsing effect and washes off the chemical inhibitor which prevents the seed from germinating. Then stick them in the refrig. as Ginny suggested. I stick my seeds in 4" pots, about 10 to 20 to a pot in a product called "Redi Mix" by Scotts the first of October. I water every couple of days until we get a freeze. Once the pots are frozen I leave them frozen until the first of February when I cover my little A frame with some plastic. I do provide a little heat to keep the soil from refreezing. About 2 to three weeks I see my first seeds germinating. I have about three hundred different crosses so it would be impractical to stick them all in the "Loo". The deep 4" pots don't take up as much room as a l gallon container. What you see are the early & mid blooming varieties in the pots the late blooming varieties are just now germinating.

Bob in Denver

My "A" Frame - nothing fancy, but it works!

Bob in Denver

Wow, Bob! How do you have time for that many plants!
JanetS

Looks like alot of work to me... lazy in Iowa

It is a lot of work, keeps one young, I think? Half of last years crop.

Love the toilet tank thing
I spend so much time in there, I could multi task LOL ?

I replied with a witty post and DG ate it!
Well, I forgot what all I said so, whatever, lol.

Thank you guys for all your help. I'm going to try the loo thing cause it sounds so funny and very easy. Just hope I don't forget they're back there!

That's alot of Iris Bob!

I have had good results from just planting siberian iris seed in the fall. Outdoors, in a row, well marked so you don't dig them up by mistake. They will germinate the following spring, and bloom the next year. Actually, I think the seeds I used were from at least a year previous, saved indoors. No special treatment. Of course, we do have a touch of cold here in Iowa in the winter...

Ah Bob, to have a 'loo' and a freezing winter - I can see why your loo might get a little stuffed up with that many seeds. I wrapped the few I did this year in cheese cloth bundles and put them in the fridge. Everyday I rinsed them out. But for the few I had, the loo would do. :-)

Just a quick note to tell you the unidentified seed I posted are in fact Japanese Iris seed. I do have quite a few that germinated and are growing, not yet put into the ground. The neighbor I have that had the seeds has a lot she is going to divide and has offered to share them with me. I am soooo excited! About the seed as well as the gift of plants. Hers are just blooming now. Mine have been done blooming for quite a while, maybe three weeks. Didn't realize that some bloomed so late in the season. Thanks for the input.
JanetS

Oh thats great Janet i so love the jap. ones and they will probably be acclimatized By growing from seeds >i lose half of what i buy they just hate the move .

I thought it was pretty cool as well! I am always amazed at what seems to find it's way into my yard on it's own. I have yellow flags, pyracanthas, some type of spruce, and a nice little dogwood all growing well, and all gifts from nature. Isn't it just wonderful! I am trying to figure out now where to put the seedlings I have grown from the iris seeds and some daylilies as well. I have never put things out that I grew from seeds. They are all on my front porch now, and I am constantly having to water them because of this heat! Should I put them where I want the to grow, or do you think I should put them in a more protected area till next season. Thanks for the input.

My vote is for put them in a special nursery bed next. I try to do this with most of my new plants, unless they are real vigorous, and can withstand forgetting to water...I lose way too many plants that I put where I eventually want them to grow - usually because I forget to water, and small plants need more faithful watering than big old well rooted ones. I also like to be able to just see what they look like while I plan the best place to put them...