Irises in SE Alabama?

I used to live in NW Florida and, as a rule, most Irises don't do well down there...possibly because of the sandy soil. Now I am living in SE Alabama with clay soil.....and I'm wondering if anyone knows if Irises will do well here? We have very acidic soil (as evidenced by the world reknowned tomatoes this area produces), so I don't know if that will affect them or not. My sis in NW FL has some luck with Dutch Irises and better luck with the Louisiana Irises due to the boggy conditions of her back yard (especially around her water garden). She also brought me a Walking Iris that I am trying out. But I have always had a thing for Bearded Irises. In fact, I had them in all the bouquets at my wedding (my attendants carried long stems of Irises and my bridal bouquet was mostly Irises). Plus, for my wedding invitations I painted a picture of a Bearded Iris...although I never got around to sending them out...ooops! My ex MIL had Bearded Irises growing like wildfire in her yard in south central MS. So, I'm thinking that except for the acidity in the soil here, the climate and soil are very similar. So, does anyone in this area (near Dothan) grow irises? Can you guys give me any tips on growing them? I figure you guys seem to really know what you are doing based on the pics you have been posting. Here is a pic of the picture I painted for my now defunct wedding invitations.

Great job on that painting! I have no advice for you about which iris would do well, but I grew up in Daleville, AL and I remember that clay soil. I have relatives in NW Florida too. I'm in Northern Califonia now, nice to meet you!

Sandy

Here's a list of the AIS clubs in AL. If there's one close to you, they could advise you.

Keep moving north.....iris love Tennessee....

http://www.irises.org/ais624.htm

Neil

Bama, I have horrible clay soil here in southcentral KY. I do ammend it and iris grow very well here.
They need good drainage for the TBs.

Neil, do you belong to the Nashville club?

Neil, that's an excellent idea.

I copied this from a website:

"Success with iris depends on keeping the rhizomes firm and healthy. In general, this is done by providing the rhizome good drainage while the feeder roots below remain moist but not wet.

Site Selection and Preparation
A full sun exposure is preferred; however, some of the delicate pink and blue iris hold their color better in partial shade. Excessive shade will reduce or prevent flowering. Good soil drainage is essential to prevent rhizomes from rotting. It may be necessary to plant the rhizomes in raised beds (at least 6 inches high) to obtain proper drainage.

Iris will grow in many soil types but a light, loamy soil with a pH of 6 to 7 that has been amended with organic matter is preferred. A tight clay soil may keep the rhizome too wet and should have organic matter (pine bark, compost) incorporated to improve drainage."

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8506.html

You may have to do a litle more soil prepraration, but it sounds possible. Some people build raised beds with lumber or bricks and fill it with good soil-it helps with weed control also.

I have a lot of very hardy old fashioned lavender/purple blend iris I could send you to try. I could put a few named ones in the box too. I think 8 or 9 rhizomes fit in a flat rate box for $8. If they don't make it, then you haven't lost a fortune. :-)

dmail me if you're interested.

Sandy

Edit: bluegrassmom posted while I was typing, she must have the secret recipe to amend the soil. :-)


This message was edited May 5, 2006 5:01 PM

Dad has a herd of black angus and I buy leaf mulch by the truck load. It equals lots of pretty blooms.

Thanks so much to all of you! I will get back to you tomorrow. It has been a really long day. I had to spend an hour in the doc's office (nothing important, just my monthly med check), then I dropped by my cousin's house and dug up some fig starts from my grandmother's fig tree, which I then had to c0me home and plant, as well as dragging hoses around to water all my 'babies'....and I'm wiped out! I apologize for not taking time to respond to all you guys have said, but I have a very limited amount of energy and when it is gone, it is gone! I will sit down tomorrow when I am rested and talk to ya'll. Thanks again for everything!

I had planted some Iris blubs my sis gave me. Half I put on one side of my garden, the other half on the other side. There was a little bit of slope to the garden, but since they wre just on the edge of the slopa I didn't think anything of it. Well, the bulbs in the lower side all rotted out. On the other side, I have a few peeking their heads out of the ground. I think for now I am going to hold off on trying anything till I see how these do. Plus, I have a lot of gardens to dig...and not much time to get them dug because I have flowers coming in for them....LOL!

I think what I'll do is next Spring I'll go ahead and build a bed above ground the way you guys suggest. I'll put in lots of compost to lighten the soil and make sure it has good drainage....then I'll see what happens. In the mean time, the Irises that were given to me already 'grown'.....some dutch, one bearded, one walking irises: those are doing fine. Nothing blooming, but the plants are healthy.....I'll keep an eye on them and see what happens.

Louisiana Iris are very fond of acid soil. And damp summers. :-)

My sis and cousin both have Balck Gamecock in their water gardens. I don't have my water garden in yet...but so far it has been very droughty here. My bulbs rotted because I water the agrden daily and the one side was lower and because of the clay, it doesn't drain real well. I didn't realize it was staying so wet because of the mulch. It is weird...we had an inch of rain this morning and by an hour or two later, it looked dry as a bone...but when I went to dig to plant the glads this afternoon, the clay was so sticky I had a heck of a time getting it out of my bulb plugger. I grew up with sandy soil that doesn't hold moisture well...but it rains all the itme...every afternoon in the summer. I'm 90 miles further to the north and inland and it is like a different world. My sis can grow things I can't. If she were anyone else, I'd say I could grow things she can't....but I think she can grow anythign she sets her mind to. She could stick one of my wooden walking canes in the ground and it would take root and grow leaves! Weird.