ground cover for iris beds

Hi Polly Could be the soil. Mine is in very coarse sand if you could even call it soil.

We're total sand here, Lynn. Isn't it funny how plants do so well in the sand, against what all the books say?

Your gardens are lovely. How many do you have, and do you have more pics to post?

iris photos? Don't get me started!!!! 2006 was a banner year

Same bed in late July with daylilies in full bloom.

Another iris border garden in May.

Same fence line in late July. This one has partial shade for my lilies.

Have a 4ft wide bed all around the top of the slope, planted with mostly iris.
Picture of another iris bed, iris in the background,plus the rhubarb are in the 4ft bed

I like the idea of planting iris with DLs... when my current spaces are full, maybe I can add some DLs to the iris bed, and vice versa!

Can you plant DLs between the irises if the irises are already planted on 18" centers? In other words, is one dormant while the other is growing so that you can have a DL 9-12 inches from an iris? Or do you need to allow 18-24 inches between DL & Iris as well as between DL&DL or Iris&Iris?

Beautiful pictures Wanda and Lynn, just what we need to help get us thru the long winter (which may not be so long here on the East coast). I've been out tinkering in the garden, right up till today, as it was raining today. looks like no snow thru Christmas now, weather in the 40s with sun.

I plant on a diamond pattern from row to row. Iris need plenty of air flow to keep them dry and healthy. I like 18 inches between clumps of ANY perennial of size. (Dwarf iris & small daylilies don't need as much room. My shallow beds are 6 foot deep & 40 foot long. The deep beds are 15 -20 foot deep & 40-50 foot long. I like good sized clumps of what ever I'm growing.

Well, that may put an end to my idea that I can interplant DLs in the iris bed (with irises spaced 18 to 24 inches from one another on a diamond pattern) or vice versa... LOL, I was hoping that this would be like daffodils & DLs, which can be planted pretty close to one another since they are actively growing at different times (my daff & DL bed is just a couple of years old, but so far they are not getting in one another's way).

I know--takes some space to let the iris breathe. Lilies do well planted in close to iris or daylilies. They are vertical so they give the iris plenty of "air". And lilies like their "feet" covered, so iris or daylily foliage works well for that. Lilies will bloom opposite your iris or with your daylilies.

Hooray for that idea! I ordered a bunch of lily bulbs (spring BB co-op) without a clear idea of where to plant them.... this helps!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I planted some new irises this summer between clumps of columbine... tried to space them with at least 12 inches between iris and columbine. I'm thinking that columbine foliage should be low and "airy" enough that the irises will do well even if they start crowding the columbine a bit...

Wanda, how close together do you plant your irises? You mentioned 18", but the pix look closer together than that. I'm looking to grow as many iris as possible plus as many other compatible flowers as possible . . .

I'll bet Wanda's irises were planted on 18 inch centers -- when they were small! Her plants look so beautiful, and so vigorous, that I think they look closer together now just because the clumps have grown and spread.

I try to keep my iris clumps under control--I don't like them more than 18 inches across. I spent this summer rearranging and giving extra iris away. The iris clumps are actually more than that apart since they have daylilies and other perennials between them. When they are in bloom, they just seem to take over the beds. Here is a March view of my "Cupid" bed. The daylilies are still mulched but the iris are sending up new growth.

Same bed in April though I moved another Cupid Statue into it.. This is almost my smallest bed--about 35 foot by 6 foot deep running this portion of the fence.

Same bed early May but shot from the opposite direction down across the bed.

Same Cupid bed as the iris start getting serious in late May. Note how big the daylilies, lilies & other plants are getting....

June --same bed and tall Bearded in full bloom-.

And after the Iris season is time for my beloved daylilies and Lilies.... Same bed in mid July.
Tricky to make sure the iris get enough air when it gets this dense.

All my other flowerbeds are built on the same model. Season by season.

Hmmm. My irises bloom in April and May. Daylilies in June. Then we have drought and scorching temps until after Labor Day!

My daylilies bloom from the first of June to late August, depending on the cultivar, amount of sun and location. This is another bed on July 25 this year.

Wow! I am so impressed by the wealth of information y'all have posted! About a year ago I began the project of turning my yard into a park after my DH told me we were NEVER moving to the country - a lifelong dream of mine. Having begun my project - it is probably a good thing we aren't moving, as the yard I have keeps me plenty busy! My two main interests at the moment are roses and irises. I have planted about 40 rose bushes in the front, and am now beginning the project of interplanting various smaller plants. I have one bed with iris and daffodils, that is interplanted with verbena that went wild here in the Texas heat. This will be the first spring for the iris and daffodils to bloom - though a few brave souls bloomed in mid fall, after being planted several months earlier. Guess those would be iris that were repeat bloomers? Or just confused by the Texas weather! Ha! Have planted more iris among one of my rose beds, and along the fence in the back yard. I live on a corner lot that slopes, so have mock terraced around the yard to create 7 long beds, with paths between.

Looks like you've been busy! We will be looking forward to to seeing your Spring blooms .

Thanks guys for brightening up a gloomy winter day.....Mary, I lived 40 years in Irving until 2 years ago....a bit north of you now, near the new Winstar casino

good gardening to all my trading friends....and thanks to Wanda for her generosity, can't wait to see the iris she has given me blooming in the spring
Jackie

Just doing my bit to beautify America --one garden at a time.

It's working Wanda, the ones you sent me had tons of new growth. In fact all my iris are still green out there, as of today.

Mine WERE green--now they are buried under 6-8 inches of snow. A good place for them to be.

Great thread, I'm enjoying it as I stare out at my brand new and immature bed of weeds and, oh yes, there are iris in there too! Thanks to everyone that sent them to me last summer..). Unless I want to weed all spring and summer I've either got to mulch or ask my iris to coexist with ground cover plants.....

I have a mixed iris/perennial bed also and have discovered the best solution to weeds is simply interplanting with low to medium drought tolerant plants such as echinacea (coneflowers), shorter salvias, and creeping phlox. Basically, I found that if something grew large enough to block sun to the ground, but not so large as to cover the iris, and so long as it did not require much supplemental water, which the iris did not need, the weeds were minimal for lack of sun and water, the iris did great and the bed looked pretty even when the iris were at their worst. Whew..long sentence!

My guess, Verbena is a great choice, as it meets these requirements.

I'm so confused!! I've had irises for years, I love them, but I didn't know they were supposed to be "dry" and/or sunny. ACK! I've had mine in the woods and they've done beautifully. I also have some others that I moved to a shady bed along with my hostas and they've performed well.

I'm a fairly new flower-gardener...I've always just planted what I liked but now I'm trying to be a little more serious about it, lol.

So what is the deal with my irises? Could it be they are a different type that doesn't mind dampness and shade? I couldn't tell you the name of them other than the small ones, Siberian Iris, "Little Sister". Those are the only ones that I actually bought... the others I dug.

I'm hesitant to dig them up and move them to a sunnier, drier spot since they've done well to this point. Have I just been lucky up to this point??

I'm sure somebody will come along with more expert knowledge... but I think Siberian Iris (as opposted to Tall Bearded types) do prefer moist conditions. The PF page for them says they like sun to part shade, so I'm guessing your woods aren't providing deep shade if your irises are blooming... http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/880/index.html

'Baby Sister' is a siberian iris, and they do like more moisture than bearded. The siberians like full sun to part shade. Do your others look like the same type as Baby Sister--same leaves and flower type only taller, and bloom at the same time? If so, they are probably siberian also. If they are doing well no need to change anything. Siberians do well with the same conditions as hostas. Sounds like you're doing precisely right.

This message was edited Jan 28, 2007 3:17 PM

Ditto on the Siberians. Other iris that do well with more shady spots than bearded are Iris cristata (very small) and Iris tectorum (Japanese roof iris). Again, whatever the case, if they are doing fine there is no need to move them.

Siberians grow well in part shade and wet conditions as well as sunny /dry areas. Germanica/ bearded iris prefer sun & dry areas. Different cultivar altogether although they tend to bloom about the same time.

Siberian iris are 3-4 foot tall with thin long blades. A clump looks like the "grasses" when not in bloom. The blooms tend to be 2-3 inches across on long stalks within the grass clump.

The germanic Bearded Iris grow from a large rhizome that is planted almost on top of the ground and only partially covered with soil. The flower stalks are tall and extend well above the flat bladed foliage. The blooms can vary to every color imaginable --Thousands & thousands have been bred & registered over the centuries.

Bearded iris can be on stalks as short as 3 inches and as tall as 4.5 feet! The blooms can be bigger than your out-stretched hand. Incredible variations.

With our closeup lens, I feel we concentrate too much on the bloom vs the entire plant. It can cause confusion in identification. I looked for one of my iris pictures showing blades to the ground. This is an Intermediate Bearded Iris "All Right".

I know my small ones are Siberian Irises. I will have to do some investigating and find out what the others are. All I can tell you (and it's pretty much useless information, lol) is that the colors are purple and yellow like the tiny Siberians. Some have fully green foliage and still others have variegated foliage. Now that I think about, I have a clump of cream/burgundy irises in a sunnier spot.

The older irises that I have were dug in an older lady's yard. I thinned her beds for her, she had planted them so long ago, she had no idea what they were (other than irises). I am supposed to go and dig some more this year. She has hundreds if not thousands of them.

Tiny Siberians????? I don't think we have your iris identified yet. How tall are the green grass like blades?

My tiny Siberians are called "Little Sister" and are about 12 inches tall. I'll post a pic when I'm home (at work right now). The other irises that have the solid green grasslike leaves are about 2 ft tall (same as the variegated ones). Hope this makes sense.

Wanda, there are tiny siberians, not too many, but 'Baby Sister' is one. About 8" foliage, 10-12 in flower. Foliage is still a little chunky, for lack of a better word. Here's mine:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=2351938

There are no variegated sibs, however, so that's not what MsKatt variegated one is.

MsKatt, can you post a picture of the variegated foliage one?