re-planting Iris?

I dug up a bunch of Iris from the yard of an elderly friend. Beautiful tall, really tall, yellow ones. I am in the process of cleaning them and dividing. laurief's website suggests re-planting 2' apart and 1' apart in the triangle shape for a clump. These Iris were in a big circle so do I do the triangle thing repeatedly in a big circle or how do you suggest? I want to re plant hers for a great beautiful effect. thanks.

Do you know what type of irises they are? The description of "really tall, yellow" makes me suspect Iris pseudacorus (a beardless type that presents a danger to natural waterways because of its very aggressive growth habits). If it is a pseud, you should be very careful to plant it in an area where it can not escape into waterways or choke out your other garden plantings.

If, however, it is a bearded iris, then your planting options are dependent on the effect you want and how often you are willing to divide and replant your clumps. The closer you plant them together, the more frequently you will have to dig and divide them to avoid overcrowding. Your best bloom will occur on established, 2-3 yr old clumps. New clumps usually don't provide much (if any) bloom because they concentrate their energy toward establishing strong root systems for the first year or so. If you plant your irises too closely, you may end up having to dig and divide them before they ever have a chance to really give you a nice bloom display.

If you've got a bunch of rhizomes to play with, try planting them in different arrangements to see which perform and look best to you over the next few years. Sounds like a fun experiment!

Laurie

I don't think they are the pseud. one. They are no where near waterways. I am going to guess they had not been divided for 8 yrs or more. They are over 3 ft tall.

OK, 3' is not exceptionally tall for an iris. That's an average height for a tall bearded. Of course you'd know for sure that the irises are bearded if you remember seeing beards on the blooms. The beards are fuzzy, caterpillar looking things on the top center of each of the three lower petals (falls) on each flower. Do you remember such things on the flowers?

laurief, I meant to type they are well over 3 ft. They catch your attention because they are so tall; 4ft? I think they are bearded Iris. I have plain ol' blue bearded Iris in my yard. These are so striking because they are so tall and they were so many!

There are a few TBs that can grow that tall, but the only way to know for sure whether you're dealing with beardeds is to identify the beards themselves. I don't suppose you took any photos of the yellow irises that you could post here?

no pix. would the rhizone indicate anything? they are pinkish?

Pinkish? I don't know. I suppose some folks might consider a very clean bearded rz to be pinkish. Or maybe a pseud. Or maybe other types of irises.

Since you aren't certain what type of irises they are, I recommend you plant them away from your other garden plantings and away from any water source until they bloom again and you can get them identified. Then you'll know where and how to plant them correctly.

Laurie

Some of the Lousianas I planted had pinkish rhiz. Could that be it? They do get very tall, some of them.
Can you post a pic of the rhizome?

I will try to post a pix. The flesh, when a rhiz. is cut, is pinkish. If they have not been divided for years, 8-10 and they cover an area 4 x 4 ft, I would not call that invasive, would you?

Anastatia, it's not necessarily invasive in the garden, as the conditions may not be right to make it invasive, however once a seed gets in the wild, it may find the proper spot to become invasive. For me Iris Pseudacorus is not invasive in the garden at all, but more southern areas it is taking over waterways. I deadhead the pods before the seeds sprout, just in case. If we can see the pic of the rhizome it may help. Polly

The interiors of bearded irises rhizomes are not at all pinkish; they are cream-colored. It's sounding more like your iris is a pseud. Pseudacorus appears on the noxious weed list of a number of states and is being actively eradicated by some states because of the destruction it has caused to natural waterways and native flora.

In a dry garden bed, pseud tends to mind its manners reasonably well. I have mine planted in a low spot adjacent to a small, land-locked pond that dries up every summer behind my barn. My clump has remained quite small in that setting where it grows in heavy competition with cattails and swamp grasses. Even so, I doubt if I could remove my clump with anything less than dynamite. Once a pseud grabs hold of the earth (esp. of you have clay soil), it does NOT let go.

Check with your state Ag. Dept and make sure it is legal to grow pseud in your state. If it is, I recommend that you plant it where you want it to remain for the rest of your natural life.

Laurie

Oh my gosh! It is noxious weed class C in Washington state. The yard it is from has no water, except rain and the hose. Is that why it has contained itself to that 4 x 4 area? The next thing ya know I am going to invite you all over for spinach salad!!!!

LOL Anastatia, make sure it's fresh and bagged. Pick a few mushrooms you find out in the woods too.

We haven't determined what the iris is yet, so don't give up on them just yet. And even if it's a Pseudacorus it could be a cultivar that's not invasive.

Doesn't the person you are getting them from know the name of it. Show her some pictures of the Pseudacorus, and see if she thinks that's it, if not take some and plant them. And show us pics when they bloom.

My Lousianas had the pinkest rhiz, and they are not invasive.