Received irises now what?

Thanks to Jill, I received my purple iris rhizomes today. They look pretty dry and I was wondering if I should put them in some water until I can plant them. And speaking of that, what do I need to do with them? I have never planted anything in the ground (always planted everything in containers) and was wondering what I need to do to get the soil ready for for planting? Can I make a raised bed across the front of my greenhouse and plant them there? Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks,
Jesse

dont soak in water. fastest way to rot. plant in raised beds is fine. dont plant the rhizome below soil. just plant the roots and let rhizome rest on soil.

all my irises are in raised beds of some sort. good drained potting mix is fine. water in well.


you can plant now. i just planted some a week ago and already see new growth.

How far apart did you space yours?

Jesse

mine are about a foot apart. two foot if different variety. that gives them space to grow. i dont plant too far apart as being close gives them aliitle bit of someone to lean on if need be. and you wont need to divide for awhile yet. heres a pic of my raised bed so you can see

I plant my iris on mounds with about 2-6 in a circle with the green leaves outside & root end in center. I seperate by variety. My rhizomes have their crown exposed to the air. No mulch near the iris--too much moisture can rot them. I plant daylilies & other perennials between each iris clump to space them and give my beds year round color.

Same bed in July. Iris are barely visible.

Jesse, I got my irises from Weegy over the weekend also! It's really her you should be thanking -- I couldn't believe how many irises were tucked into that box!

They have to be dried out to travel well, so don't worry about how they look, just get them planted soon. Did you check out the planting page on the Iris Society web site that I Dmailed you? They had some good tips on soil preparation, although I don't think my bed is amended to the recommended depth... I think I only got my clay soil loosened and amended (with well composted horse manure) to about an 8 inch depth, but the irises seem to be doing fine. Good drainage is important, and so is not planting them too deep... the top of the rhizome should be at or just below the soil surface.

If that foundation bed in front of your new house has been mulched over the years, the worms may have taken care of amending the soil for you. Dig down and turn over a couple of shovelfuls, break it up, and take a look at what you've got. If it's real solid clay, just breaking it up won't be sufficient -- you'll need to add compost or leaf mold or "clay breaker" or some sort of organic stuff as you turn and break up the soil, or it will just compact itself again. If you do raised beds as you were considering, you can move them later (probably be better soil and better drainage).

I plant mine about 18 inches apart, but I'll plant 2 or 3 rhizomes in a clump. Planting them so the rhizomes are all pointing the same way will create a more natural look, and they won't run into each other too quickly as they increase.

I'm pretty new to irises, so that's all I know, LOL. Maybe somebody can point us both to a previous thread on planting/culture.

:-)

I hope noone laughs too loudly (that I'd be able to hear) ,

edit: never-minded what a dummy I am. Figured it out after some sleep. lol

Deborah

This message was edited Aug 23, 2006 12:19 PM