Tossed out into the cold!

I dug up a bunch of irises I purchased years ago from Schreiners that hadn't bloomed in forever and lost their tags.Potted them up into full gal. pots with nice rich,well draining mix w/additional super phosphate. The idea was to re-id them so I could actually plant them with other plants they'd co-ordinate with...."Mega Bucks" w/ fire engine red mailbox will put your eyes out*G*After two years of being in pots only a few from trades have bloomed. Is there anything I can do to get them to bloom so I can get them out of the pots and back in the ground?

I was told they need so many hours of cold weather to set buds so I sat them out of the greenhouse last Thursday so they could get a good chill....probably too late in season to set buds.


P

Maybe not .
i have trouble with bloom in pots why i do not know

I think sometimes iris take awhile to reach bloom ready after being transplanted, and it's probably not any different if they are in pots. I've transplanted some after dividing them and didn't see blooms for two or three years. I've never tried to grow iris in pots though. What type of iris are you talking about?

Peggy, I have several in containers and they bloom. I think age/degree of root development has a lot to do with it. Mine stay outside year around and bloom just as they are supposed to. Set those pots outside and forget them - they will 'do their thing' when the time is right. If you have any re-bloomers and wish to trade, dmail me.

Your problem may be the potting soil. If by "rich" you mean high nitrogen content, that's not going to promote bloom. High nitrogen will promote lush foliage with no bloom. Fortunately, nitrogen leaches out of soil fairly quickly, so as long as you don't add any additional nitrogen fertilizer, the irises should be able to bloom normally.

Irises do typically bloom better in the ground than they do in pots, though, so you might want to find a nice sunny spot in your yard where you can plant them out and let them stay until you can ID them and relocate them to permanent garden locations. As long as you plant the entire rootball as it comes out of the pot and don't disturb the roots at all, the iris shouldn't experience any sort of transplant shock that'll set it back.

Laurie

Roots aren't the problem...there's big roots coming out of the drainage holes so I'm hoping to get them back into the ground this fall....if they bloom and I can id them.

My potting mix is my own. Peat,perilite,vermucilite,shifted compost and decomped pinebark w/ lime and super phosphate added.I did give them a good dose of 20-20-20 as I was cleaning them up to set outside last week.

I have tall bearded, one intermmediate"Bumblebee Delight" and a some dwarf varieties in pots and a bunch in ground from trades.The only rebloomer I know for sure I have is Second Act.

I wanted some more dwaves but Schreiner's doubled their prices on the dwaves and I'm cheap...LOL

Some of the talled bearded I know I have but need to id and re-label are:
Champange Elegance
Bride's Halo
Stepping Out
Supreme Sultan
Gypsy Queen(Gypsy ?)
Sweeter Than Wine
Wench
Blue Crusader
Blue Cadilac
Blue Suede Shoes
Skiers Delight
Jonn
Second Act
Egyptian
Lullaby of Spring
Tennesse Gentleman
Mega Bucks
Blue Eyed Blonde(intermmediate?)


there's a bunch more but that's all I can think of at the moment.

P

Gypsy Queen, Blue Eyed Blond, and John are all intermediates. Bumblebee Deelite is a miniature tall bearded.

Champagne Elegance, Lullaby of Spring, and Blue Suede Shoes are all rebloomers.

The talls really shouldn't need chilling to bloom, but the median irises (particularly the SDBs and MTBs) and dwarfs (MDBs) will perform best in areas with winter seasons with extended cold periods.

That 20-20-20 you just dosed them with contains too much nitrogen for bearded irises. You should stick with a 5-_-_. The 20 you just gave them may result in lots of nice foliage and few blooms. If the compost you added into your potting mix contained lots of nitrogen, you may have the same problem.

This message was edited Feb 13, 2006 8:20 AM

Checked Plant Files...I have Gypsy Woman.

Laurief,

thanks for info on types of irises.


I only gave them that one dose of 20-20-20 last week. The compost is from city water plant's re-cycling center made up mainly of wood by products ,limbs and yard waste from indivduals yards and of course stuff from water treatment....otherwise known as EEEuuuwwww!!


P

Gypsy Woman is a rebloomer.

City compost is notorious for containing all sorts of things, some of which may contaminate your soil with undesireable elements, insects, and diseases. Does your city analyze and guarantee nutrient values in the compost it distributes?

Yes,they do.They give out new info sheets each year.

They have knuckled down on what they will accept in loads from private homeowners because a lot of trash has been hidden in loads of yardwaste in the passed. They now have a one road you come in on and have to stop at a little building for your load (coming in) to be inspected. I've been using their compost for about 12 yrs. now and I can say it's much cleaner now...but I still will not use it on my veggie garden.

P

I had some of the historics bloom on a garden discard pile last spring. And one bloomed just laying where I dropped it --only was touching a little bit of dirt. Must have had a bloom stored somewhere inside it.

I'd guess mine are historics, as they're just whatever someone had too many of at a yard sale or friends yard. Mostly the avg purple but one intense blue. But I digress.

Summer before last I forked a bunch of iris out of their too shady habitat and plumped them down where I thought they'd maybe do well. Being busy I just shoveled a light layer of sandy dirt over the roots to keep them from drying out. This past summer they bloomed beautifully, to remind me I'd never "planted" them. I'll see if I can't get to it this year. THey are a gorgeous pure yellow.
Up late as usual, Hi Wanda. /;-)~ Blooms

I plant my iris on mounds with most of the top of the root out of the soil. Keeps them high & dry in my Iowa clay. Also makes it easier to mulch the rest of my gardens without rotting my iris.

Wanda...I think your iris would bloom regardless of conditions...you have that magic touch :)

charlotte

I manage to kill some occasionally. I have my iris in mixed beds with my daylilies, lilies & over 150 kinds of perennials. It has been a challenge to keep them dry and the rest of the beds mulched. I hate weeds and I hate to drag watering hoses. We have so much frost & heave that I'm out in mid winter shoving newer irises back into the ground. No teens to chase any more,might as well garden!

I just wanted to say hello to my 'old iris buddy', laurief. I have read her posts several years now (at another site), and always deeply value her input! Furthermore she grows some nice stuff up there in 3b. I am really glad you're here, laurie! I miss many of the friends from the 'old place'.

Bigred, I couldn't keep myself from responding about the 20-20-20. Not in my wildest dream would I ever put that formula on an iris bed. I used some 12-12-12 one year, and even that was TOO much; I got a lot of rhizome rot from it, and fewer blooms. It seems to be the (12)-0-0 in that formula that does the most damage. What I use now is Triple Super Phosphate (0-46-0). I have stopped the nitrogen formulas altogether, and my rot problems have gone almost to "0". I hope you find this information useful, and don't give up. Irises are an on-going 'lifetime' experience, and (for me) personally I've had some painful losses through trial and error. I am attaching a picture of one of the beds that I now use super phosphate on. This scene was a disaster several years ago when I used the 12-12-12.

Be still , my heart! What an incredible iris bed!

well! that's convincing! I'm going to look for the high phosphate fertilizer for my irises, that's for sure!

Hi Leon!

It's good to see you again, too! You're so sweet. I still hang out at that "other place" as well as this one. I just glanced through some of your journal entries, and it looks like I might have to do some begging from you again this year. ;-) Surely I've got some irises you'd like, as well.

Time for me to REALLY bundle up and head out to the barn. We're having January in February, just like last winter. Brrrrrrrrr!

Laurie

Wanda, Thanks! Six or seven years ago I was ready to give up on irises. Then I finally learned by MUCH error to lay off the nitrogen. They just do not need that much for lots of flowers. My rot problems have gone to near "0".

Sjms,
The super phosphate really works well. It took me a long time to learn this. I get a ton of blooms with it.

Laurie,
I saw the weather for tonight here, and from the looks of things it's heading south out of MN. I just came in a few minutes ago from my second 'hobby', woodworking. I got a new table saw yesterday so I have been playing with that all day. I've got sawdust in my eyes, hair and down my neck.

I miss the 'other place', but didn't have much choice in leaving: I was locked out for over 30 days, their new privacy/copyright policy stunk, and with their new software destroyed my member page and as far as I know my Journal too. My requests for an explanation have gone unanswered. I couldn't even log in.

You should still have my e-mail address, so let me know if you see something you like. And, yes you have a two or three I've had my eye on for some time. I checked out your website last month. (Just snooping around:-) Very impressive!
Stay warm!

Leon,

I lost your email address when my old computer went kaput, but I will D-Mail you. Do you know how to pick up your D-Mail? Just click on the "Home" link at the top of any page on this site, and it'll take you to a page that'll show you if you've received mail. Or you can just click on the "Mail" link at the top of any page.

Laurie

Thanks Laurie. Got it.

I think the snow has stopped for the night, but they still cancelled our flight out in the morning to Vegas. Looks like we are going to leave 8 hours late (if at all) and fly east thru Cincinatti to fly west to Vegas.
They did this last year and added a misconnect to make it all so much more interesting. We spent the afternoon evening running from airline to airline to find a way to Vegas--ended up going back home. 2006 trip to Vegas--deja vu!

Wanda,
Lotsa luck! From watching the weather map it looks like all that white stuff is heading this way, with a COLD front passing through overnight. It's still 52; so a predicted 30 degree drop will put us back into winter! Have a safe and enjoyable trip if you don't get canceled again.

OK,flog me with an limp organic carrot but I only gave them that one dose of 20-20-20 before putting them out side on the bench. When they went into the pots I included a high super phosphate and lime in the mix. I here do by swear "NOT" to put any more 20-20-20 on my irises .....LOL. I generaly don't put anything on irises planted in ground other than a couple inches of compost a couple times of the year.....maybe I should start scratching in some SP each year too?


I'm hoping to get a lot of these potted irises back into the ground this year.


P

If you're covering the rhizomes with a couple of inches of mulch, that may be the cause of your non-bloom. Rzs that are buried too deeply (under soil or mulch) often refuse to bloom. The tops of the rzs should sit level with or slightly below (no more than 1/2") the soil surface. If you must mulch, make sure you have the mulch pushed well back away from the tops of the rhizomes so they are not buried.

A light feeding of superphosphate about 6 weeks pre-bloom would help promote flowering. If your in-ground irises are never fed, your soil may be depleted of essential nutrients. Have you had your soil analyzed lately?

Laurie

bigred, you're being too nice to them.

In our warm zone, irises don't need & can't tolerate such things as peat moss, compost, woody planting medium, manure, mulching, nitrogen fertilizer....

I'm in zone 8a Texas, alkaline clay that shrivels up many plants...
& the irises love it.

They'll live & bloom better at an abandoned homestead than they will with too much good stuff.

I would get them out of that planting mix right away, it's way too rich, & put them in the ground.

Digging them out & placing them where you want once you have them identified isn't difficult.

Here, I'd put them in the ground in a sunny area, with the top of the rhizome at the leaf end exposed, water them in, smile pleasantly at them, & go entertain myself somewhere else.

They'll bloom.
probably not this year, it's too late, but next year.

Best luck, & have fun!

sylvia

Laurie
I plant them like"ducks sitting on water" but I have noticed that some in pots have pulled themselves down deeper....not just covered by soil shifting when watered but down pretty deep.

Sylvia,
I do have a have that "Jewish Momma" attitude..."Eat,eat...You'll feel much better"...LOL. Have notice some in the ground in the worst possible places do much better than ones in beds I've actually had time to work and ammend.

I've got several(15-16) large pine trees and 3 or 4 different types of oak trees in the yard so we're pretty darn acid.I may throw some lime into the spreader when I do the amdro,weed and feed application this year and save a little lime for flowerbeds.I keep saying I'm going to test soil in several places but time just never seems to be on my side.

P

you know- i am rethinking the TB's after seeing your picture, TBGDN- I have preferred the smaller iris just because they seem to do better with the cold winters....but you're in practically the same zone as me---so thanks to you, I'm working on a rather too large order as we speak........

sj,
I know that feeling well. I just can't seem to put down an iris catalog (especially when I'm stuck inside on a cold day)! Come spring I'm usually plowing up more lawn for a new iris bed. Somehow I must get this obsession under control!(:-)

or not!

I'm growing all types of iris and loving it in my clay soil. My main thing is too get them onto mounds for good drainage in my mixed perennial beds.

OK Wanda you've got my curiosity up. What is the iris in the foreground? Looks like 'Stepping Out' near the fence, and possible 'Blue Crusader' or 'Yaquina Blue' in the distance? Also what is the lilac/mauve just left of the angel's face; and the yellow way back?

wanda-- as always, I'm admiring your mixed border with so many beautiful iris! Wish I could get mine to look that beautiful!

Hi, Everybody-- Am lurking here, trying to absorb all of the advice. I guess I didn't realize iris were almost 'allergic' to nitrogen--too much N on my iris is probably my problem, too. Will quit that right away and stick to superphosphate.

Do siberian iris like superphosphate too?

TBGDN-- good to have you posting on DG and so sorry things didn't work out on GW for you. That must be frustrating.

Big red, thanks for asking the questions and good luck with your project. t.

tabasco,

Unlike beardeds, the beardless DO love nitrogen. Actually, they prefer a balanced, acidic fertilizer - something like Miracid.

The problem with nitrogen and beardeds is two-fold. First, nitrogen tends to promote abundant foliar growth at the expense of blooms. Secondly, nitrogen tends to promote rapid, soft growth which is particularly susceptible to bacterial soft rot in beardeds.

In very sandy soil, nitrogen can and should be fed to beardeds because it leaches out of the soil so quickly. In loam or clay soil, however, nitrogen should be fed very sparingly to bearded irises to avoid the problems mentioned above.

Laurie

thanks again, laurie.

I should add that I can give my bearded irises more nitrogen than most because of my rainy climate. The frequent rains tend to leach the nitrogen out of the soil. I usually fertilize with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 16-16-16.

Foreground is Thornbird--stunning tan colors & vigorous.
Virga is white and Violet on this side of the statue.
Deep Purple & White is Stepping Out--the only iris I keep 2 clumps of.
Persian Berry is the rich deep rosy color on the backside of the angel.
The blue by the fence is Full Tide.
The deep rose/purple under the tree is historic Dauntless.
The yellow & white is Wedding Candle by the fence.

Section of the Same Flowerbed in August. I need to do more sweeping border photos by the month to give you a better look at beds as they change thru the summer months.