organic solution for iris borers

Hi, I need to dig and divide my iris clumps and I'm fairly sure they have borers. I've heard of people soaking the rhizomes in clorox/water solution to drown the borers that are still inside the rhizomes. That sounds unwise to me, so I'm looking for advice. I also need to know how to store them until fall so I can take them to a plant swap. I don't have enough pots to plant all of them. Some I will just put back in the ground. Thanks

Hi, Silverfluter! Rot can also be caused by a fungus, but if it is the pink borer, here are three references:

http://tinyurl.com/9qwwh
http://tinyurl.com/abpoe
http://tinyurl.com/d4src

Bleach and alcohol are suggested treatments, as is Murphy's Oil Soap.

After dividing, iris should be allowed to dry a bit, so if you can hold off digging until the end of October, you can just offer the plants bare root. As you divide, you can write the variety name on a leaf. I have known instances where very dry rhizomes, out of soil for several months, have revived and grown, but that is exceptional and not to be practiced on purpose.

If you need to dig now, and it seems maybe you do to cure the rot, you might wash them clean of soil, treat, let dry outdoors for a week, and then store them in baggies in a vegetable crisper. I've not done this, but it might keep them just dormant enough.

November is late to be setting iris inground for spring bloom, but some will settle in enough to do it, especially if our first freeze holds off a bit.

Iris like slightly alkaline soils, so we can accommodate them on that score!

Yuska, thanks alot for the info. I quickly read most of that, but I'll go back over it later. I bookmarked it. I have a question about storing them in the frig. Can you store them in the same frig where you keep food? I was relieved to know that I can use Murphy's Soap. I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to have a garden if I couldn't do organically. Thanks again.

Altho it seems odd at first thought about the frig, if washed clean of soil and inside a sealed baggie, the plants would not affect any food. And ethylene gas, if any, produced by any ripe produce should not affect the iris through the plastic baggie. My only concern would be if the iris are chilled enough to think they've been through winter, and they might try to bloom as soon as they're planted, at the beginning of real winter. It's an experiment, and I wish I had already tried it. You'll need minumum cold, (the crisper) just enough to keep them from drying too much. Check them periodically for mold, which should not be a problem if they dried properly outside first.

Ok, I think I'll dig up one clump or maybe two, let them dry and put them in bags, and then do the rest in October.

Just one more point. This is covered in the references but I'll comment on it since it will help you with storage. As you dig the rhizomes, use your shears to cut off the foliage halfway across the fan. I have never liked doing that (!) but there is a reason for it. In the digging and dividing process, some of the roots are inevitably lost, and when the rhizomes are replanted the remaining roots cannot get established and support all the foliage simultaneously. After replanting, new leaves will begin appearing at the center of the fan and the cut ones will shrivel and drop off over time. With the foliage trimmed, the rhizomes for storage will be easier to fit into baggies.