do I plant these?

I picked up a bag of 2 dozen iris bulbs at a fund-raiser this summer. I've never planted irises before, but I can't wait to see what I have! My question is, should I plant them now, or wait until spring?
Thanks

How long is it for you until the ground freezes up? They usually say to plant things in the fall so they have 6 weeks before frost. However, I have planted things just before frost, and just made sure to keep them watered well until freeze up, and they survived. It is getting a little late in the season though.

I'm not sure how you would keep iris rhizomes over the winter, but maybe someone else would have an idea.

It's hard to put iris in the ground right now and have them root properly in our zone. You really need 6 weeks before frost. They might dry out before spring--how about potting them up for the winter?

Irises like to be dry. Plant the rizome very shallow with the crown exposed to the air in a shallow pot. Water sparely and keep in a cool place with a bit of sun. I wintered some over in my basement near a window last year. You want them to root, but not rot.

It depends on whether you picked up iris bulbs or iris rhizomes. Bulbous irises can be planted now up until the ground freezes. Rhizomatous irises should be planted *at least* 6 weeks before your first frost. If you purchased bearded irises (which are rhizomatous), your safest bet is to pot them up and overwinter them in sunny windows in your house, then plant them out after the last frost in spring.

Laurie

Thanks for the help! I only paid $2 for the batch, so who knows what I've got. Guess I'll scan out the basement for a place for them.

It's easy enough to tell the difference between bulbs and rhizomes. Bulbs are basically round with a somewhat pointed tip from which the foliage will grow. Rhizomes (depending on the classification/species of the iris) are irregularly shaped (sort of potatoe-like) with the primary fan of leaves growing out of one end. They may (or may not) also have smaller rhizomes growing along the sides of the primary rhizome.

Laurie

Definately rhizomes. If there are smaller ones attached, can these be cut off to make new ones?

Yes, if they're not too small, but they'd be better off being left on the primary (mother) rhizome if they are very small so that the mother can continue to nourish them.

Yes, they can be cut off, but depending on how big they are you might want to leave them on. If they are really tiny it would be better for them to stay with the "mother" rhizome until they are bigger. If the "mother" rhizome bloomed this year, it won't bloom again and it is now making babies that will bloom when they are bigger.

oops...didn't see your post laurief.

Laurie--whoops. I didn't even think of Dutch iris bulbs. Good info!

Sunny windows did not work for me--that group got too hot on the South side of the house.
The cooler basement & east light did better for me.

HELP!...... I just planted a bunch of iris last Saturday. I thought as long as the ground wasnt frozen it would be okay. Should I pull them up and put them in a pot in basement? They were pretty dry. I got them from a lady who dug them up around the first of September.

LB, I planted some iris last year October 1 and they made it, but I had to mulch them. You are warmer than me and definitely warmer than Michigan--your iris should root okay. Just watch for frost heave & push them back down in the dirt.

I just planted the last of my iris acquisitions for this year, but we have just now started getting a few nights in the upper 40s. They had to go in the ground as I have no basement for things to live in. I'm so far behind I haven't even gotten any pansies this year, and that's one of my favorite things to do in the fall. I'm going to miss them.

Thanks for the info Wanda, you always have the answers!

I just hope I have some pretty blooms next year on this barren 5 acres. Been working my butt off getting three new beds ready for next spring. I wasnt able to dig up and bring anything from previous home except two unnamed iris', two daylillies and a peony. I'm going to need some help from you guys next year filling this 5 acres.

Lisa Moore

Lisa,

Show up for the Iowa or Missouri Round Up--no one goes home empty handed!

To stop spring heaving, you can either step on iris when you see them popping out of the ground, or put brick on top when they are frozen. Bricks or stones stop heaving.


If you have room inside, why not pot up a couple of iris. They might bloom next year so you can see what you have.

Inanda

I have also used wire coat hangers cut into 10 inch loops, bent into a sharp "u" and shoved into the ground over the rhizome. That has been pretty effective against the thaw & frost cycles here.

Can I take a big tub and pot my rhizomes all in there together for the winter? (I have about a dozen) Do I need to leave much room between them? Should I use potting soil? How deep? And when would I plant them in the spring?

Guess I have a few questions!!
Lauri

You can use a big tub if you punch a bunch of holes in the bottom to provide excellent drainage. Use a commercial potting soil mixed at least 50/50 with perlite. Six inches deep potting mix should get the irises through the winter. If you know they're all the same cultivar, you can plant them about 6" apart, but if they are different irises, you may want to spread them out a bit farther so they don't grow into each other over winter. Be very careful NOT to overwater the irises or you'll rot them. Let the potting mix dry out between waterings.

You can plant them out as soon as your last spring frost date has passed.

Laurie

3 years ago I found a bag of unplanted iris in the basement after Christmas. Ground of course totally frozen by then. I planted them in a tray, one of the black ones you get at a nursery. They started growing happily under lights in coldish basement right away. Planted them out in the spring and they have since bloomed. I do not recommend this treatment however, I was lucky they survived.

Inanda

I had a few iris' left that I didn't go ahead and plant outside. The ones I did plant though have started sending up green leaves already. We still haven't had a real hard frost, and the days have been mild. It's been about 5 weeks since I planted them so I'm still hopeful they had enough time to root well and I'll have some beautiful blooms come spring.