Planting Irises on a slope

Yorktown Heights, NY

I have just finished remodeling my home and have some new areas in full sun that are begging to be planted with irises. I wanted to know if any of you have experience planting irises on slopes. I have about a 6 ft. wide garden bed with about a 2 foot pitch from top to bottom of the slope. I have heard that slopes provide good drainage for irises - don't know if this is true. Would I be better off planting something else in that spot?

Athens, OH

I have several iris (Janese, siberian, TB) planted on slopes. One slope is 15' wide (top to bottom length) with a 8' drop; the other is 10' wide with a 4.5' drop.
All irises are doing well.
ROX

McGregor, IA(Zone 4b)

Should be a good spot for iris. Remember that you will want to be able to get near the plants to deadhead and divide eventually. They need about 2 foot of space between clumps.

Stanford, CA(Zone 9b)

It sort of depends on how stable the soil is. Remember that you will be digging and dividing once in awhile and that this will disturb the soil so if you have a problem with erosion they probably aren't the best thing. Other than that, I think that it's a wonderful idea!

Yorktown Heights, NY

Thanks for the advise. Will let you know how it goes.

Athens, OH

Oh one other hint.
In order to reduce compaction on my slope, I put in some stepping stones so I could reach the iris.

Best of luck. ROX

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