Iris Bulbs

I live in zone 5b. Do the iris and dwarf iris bulbs stay in over winter or do I need to bring them inside for the winter? Thanks, Karen liebran

Hello Karen, I live in zone 6 and I always leave my tall bearded irises in the ground. I don't think they are lifted anywhere.

The only iris you would have to dig and bring in are some - not all Louisiana iris. Everything else - leave in their beds.
inanda

walking iris are not hardy . Louisiana's are hardy in New York so it would have to be real cold to kill them.
Big problem with iris in cold-climate is heaving from freezing thawing ground .. you can mulch and
some folks put rocks on the rhizome (bulb ) to keep from heaving
your safe with dutch TB, dwarfs etc.

Liebran

I live in Northern Michigan, Zone 5a and I leave my Rhizoms in all winter. Just remember, do not bury deep. Iris like to have thier feet exposed....

Deann

Good. Thanks everyone. Another question: Do you cut them down or let them die down on their own? Karen

I'm in zone 4a and I don't dig any of my bearded or siberian iris, and they do just fine.

I am testing some Japanese iris this year to see if they will winter over. Some hybridizers say they are hardy here, and some say not. I'm going to test them and see what happens. If they live through this winter, I figure it will take at least 3 winter survivals to declare them hardy. :)

Most years I wait until we've had a hard freeze and then cut them down and clean them up. I have gotten behind and not gotten that done some years, and they didn't seem to mind.