Got a question for Iris Experts

I have a problem
I got ahuge box of iris-named -Traded for my buskwheat lavender Pillows
well we got snow.ground is froze.what can i do to save these.I have a wet cellar-damp.ground floor -anything i can do till spring help please thanks robin

Wow, that's a dilemma.

I would do one of two things.

Either pot them up and keep them just damp for 6 weeks so they can settle in and grow some roots and then put them, pots and all, in the garage so they can go dormant.

Or I would put them in a box of sand, then into the cellar and plant them in the spring.

I've never done this with iris, but I have saved my glads, cannas, and dahlias over with the sandbox trick. Iris are pretty tough, so it might work. With iris though, just make sure they don't stay too damp or they will rot.

Hopefully someone else has actually saved them over unplanted and will have a better idea. The only other alternative I can think of is send them to someone in a warmer climate that still has 6 weeks until frost and trade them something to hold them over for you until next year.

I have used the pot up method, give them time to root and let them grow all winter, it should not hurt them. In spring set them out and you might see blooms. I will still have 6 weeks or so here before the bad cold (ha 25 at the worse) and I have a raised bed if you want to send them this way until you are ready in the spring, it would be no problem.

LMK Mitch

I wa sthinking of pottting them up all i have for a garage is one of those with tarp on it not air tight so potting them up could be a answer thank-you
Hi mich

They will do great that way - or at least have for me. I dont have a huge number of Iris here but I do have 100 or so and they are a great bunch of plants.

Robin your plants are always welcome here - long term or short term :-))

Mitch

you have a 100 iris lucky you
I am starting my iris collection have clematis and hellebores and daylilies -I remember wanting lol
looselife mints and stuff that invade -Now I want plants -That I didnt know about when i started.I have been giving away things since i learned.But i am still learning.do you have all named iris mich robin

Nope not named most of mine are saved historic Iris, I now have to wait for them to bloom and then id them and then they will be named again. I hunt over fields, roadsides, churches, farms, and graveyards to find Iris (always asking first and most of the time getting the ok before I take a piece :-> evil grin). So some bloomed last year and some this year, I only take one piece so it might take a while to see them all bloom! The best I have is a pure white and only gets 8in tall or so... but I have all colors and all heights. I go looking in the dead of winter when they are the only thing green for me so I never know what I am going to get - thus I know the pots work, I take a piece and pot it up until spring.

Mitch

Your best bet is to pot them up and overwinter them in your house in sunny windows or under lights until spring. I have successfully overwintered late-arriving irises this way. I would NOT recommend putting the pots in your garage or basement; your garage is too cold, and your basement is too damp.

Potted irises should be watered sparingly. The soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings. Soil that is kept consistently damp will rot bearded irises.

Potted irises kept in sunny windows or under lights will continue to grow all winter. You might even get bloom out of a couple of them. However, their foliage will be thin and floppy due to insufficient sunlight, and they will be prone to aphid attacks while indoors (easy to squish with your fingers)... but at least they'll survive the winter. Once you get them planted out next spring (after all danger of frost is passed), they'll recover nicely and grow normally. It's highly unlikely you'll see any bloom next spring, though.

Good luck,

Laurie

It is true they take a while to get blooms after growing them in pots...

Why do aphids attack-?where will they come from robin

I don't know where they come from, but each time I've had to overwinter irises indoors, I've ended up with a boatload of the little buggers. As long as I check the plants every day and squish all the aphids I find, I can keep their population down to a reasonable number. They love to hide inside the bases of the fans and spread up the leaves from there.

I have never had the aphids here in the potted ones I wonder how they get into the house in numbers...

I have had aphids and spider mites from other peoples plants coming in when i have gotten a trade.I simple treat when i get the trade-first I add a little warm water and bleach soak my daylilies-then rinse with cold water-
Then i spray them -with a chemical for pests-I check on bottles at store. then I rinse well plant take a toll -but after shock .I use fish water-as fert and come right back.
Right now i got lots of daylilies that come in-I can not plant as well
I had a emergency and came back and was to late with weather.So Im potting things up to save till spring.

I put some of my plants that are prone to aphids in with the orchids where I have a small electric fan this year. I have a theory that the lack of air circulation compromises the plants that have tender growth. Don't know how I came to this conclusion, but I haven't had trouble on the plants with the fan thus far. And I've had spidermites on the brugs in the room without a fan next door. Anyone agree or is it just poppycock?