Iris Bonanza

My mother has a mixed bed of bearded iris that is 10 feet wide and 40 feet long. It didn't start out that large, but she's done nothing to the original bed for 11 years except let it bloom. Some dirt has washed in over the plants and grass has come up in it. This August she mowed it to about 6". NOW she tells me I can have what I want to dig.

These are white, pink, yellow, blue, purple, and maroon. I vaguely remember orange-ish pink as well. So today I dug the outer edge a foot in. I have washed them off and I have two bushels of Iris rhizomes with a very very short fan of leaves. I am normally NOT reluctant to prune, but I am having trouble getting the nerve to cut a fat rhizome.

I've researched a little and found many sites -- this one seems to be the most susinct: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1993/6-30-1993/iris.html

I also have a new raised flower bed built yesterday that I didn't plant anything in the back 10 inches... I was thinking of PURCHASING irises. Oh happy day. I love a bargain. And I have LOTS of flower pots and terrific dirt to put them in.

Any advice?

OK, that was yesterday. I hosed off all the pieces, then dunked in a bleach solution -- why, because I saw that on a couple of threads and it shouldn't hurt. Let them set out and air overnight. Then today I planted three of them in an established bed, and potted up SIXTY of them in 1-gallon containers. I ran out of containers, but I still have left about 20 pieces with no green on them.

I've stored them in a milk crate with air flow until I get a few answers about planting them. I can make a trail plot for them and plant them close together just to see if something lives...?

Blooms now are not my goal -- long term healthy plants are my goal. On the other hand I don't want to set myself back too far out of ignorance...

Well? Does silence mean I've screwed up so badly that no one wants to tell me? I have access to about 10x this many more.

This message was edited Oct 2, 2006 11:05 AM

just stick in ground barly cover rihizome with soil put a spoon of low nitrogen fertiler under them and water in ,
And
"YOUR GOOD TO GO ",
they are very easy plants and the older ones you cant kill

Congratulations on your new iris border, LOL!

I'm new to irises also, but I've got a couple of comments from what I've learned here.

Don't worry about their having been mowed... I think most people cut back their iris fans in late summer and/or cut them to the ground for the winter, so it shouldn't affect them much.

The rhizomes without green leaves are probably older "mother" rhizomes. My understanding is that these rhizomes won't bloom again, but they may still produce some new rhizomes for you. Look to see if there are any little nodules coming out from them, perhaps with small new shoots... If so, they're good candidates for planting as long as you're willing to wait an extra year or two for blooms. I got a bunch of wonderful rhizomes from Nancy (nminmd), and I planted them in clumps that included at least one larger rhizome with fans and one or two older "mothers" also. If you do this, be sure to orient the rhizomes all roughly in the same direction or the clump won't look natural... and you still want to leave 18 inches between clumps (maybe as little as 12 inches if you're really tight for space). I've got a bunch of 1-2 gallon containers with irises I wasn't able to plant directly into the ground, and I planted clumps of several rhizomes in some of those containers also... will overwinter them in a sheltered spot and plant out next spring.

Bleaching and drying the irises before planting seems to be SOP. Tazzy gave you good advice about planting, too... Iris rhizomes should be barely below (or even partly above) the soil surface. Good drainage is essential since the rhizomes can rot easily. Depending on your soil and conditions, you may want to plant them in little raised "hills" in your bed. Do not mulch close to the rhizomes!

Well, I think that's about the end of my iris knowledge, LOL. Have fun with your new plants!!

Bleaching irises? Do you get white irises that way? What if you want black ones? ;-)

Seriously, why bleaching? To clean them? Isn't bleach a bit harsh?

I don't bleach my rhizomes or soak them. I just plunk them in the ground, shovel dirt around them, and water them in.

I hope that's all right. I've planted 27 rhizomes so far that way.

Well, I watch over them and fuss over them a bit, too. And if it's dry for several days, I water them again.

1 part bleach solution to 9 parts water. If there are any rot issues, bacterial issues; I've found this can take care of it. I had a disaster iris borer bed this year & the bleaching saved a lot of what was left that could have continued to rot.

1, What does SOP mean?

2, "Bleaching' isn't to bleach the iris. Totally submerging all incoming iris and lilium in a mix of one part bleach to 9 parts water for minimum 30 minutes and then rinsing well in clear water before planting is simply to make sure you are not bringing any iris borers or lily beetles into your garden. inanda

Standard operating procedure...LOL took me a minute too..

WH, I was over at Nicks a couple of weeks ago looking for some anti fungal, because I remember my dad doing that down in Houston. The guy said that with our dry air, it isn't needed(I didn't even see any on the shelf, and they are pretty well stocked). The low landers need it because of their humid air, thus a bacterial growing zone.

vadap, he was sooooo wrong.

If you are planting in the fall, you are already exposing the baby plant (of whatever variety) to multiple stresses, and a long winter ahead. It is a race between the plant (putting out roots, storing carbohydrates for winter) and the naturally occurring soil organisms that munch away at organic material. You want to give the plant an edge, at least temporarily.

Here-s an example -- last spring I put a bare-root rose (no signs of rot or damage) into a temporary bed while I was preparing its ultimate home. One week later I came back and found that the $$$%%%%^^^ TERMITES had emerged nearby and eaten up the bare-root rose, which was still valiantly trying to make roots and sprouts. I had to toss it, of course, because once the termites chew on something their scent is on it, and that is how they communicate to the other gadzillion munchers back in the nest that "Hey, there's food here!"

Of course the termites were eating microscopic bits of dead material and fungi that had latched onto the bare root. I still think that I could have avoided that by drenching the roots in an anti-fungal (Safer works great, and so does Physan if you want to be very sure). Ever since then I have soaked my bare-root roses, bulbs, and traded plants in anti-fungals before putting them in the ground.