Can Iris tubers be moved in spring?

I have a large clump of reblooming iris that I forgot to divide and move last fall. Must I wait for them to bloom, or could I try a spring move?

you can move them now, but I don't think they will bloom for you this year, thats why it is best to move after bloom, JMO, :)Anita

If you don't mind giving up spring bloom, you can divide as soon as your last frost date has passed. If you want to see spring bloom, though, you should wait until after bloom to divide your clump.

Laurie

i pot them up early spring and have had them bloomed- just smaller growing
ideal time is aug-sep

Thanks everyone! Now I'm on the fence, but it's a fence I know I can go either way with without worry of doing them in.

Over the years I've collected perhaps a dozen varieties of iris, not many but a good start. This year I'd like to get serious about identifying them and showing them off to their best advantage. Is there a spot on the Iris forum that would give me suggestions?

What exactly do you want suggestions about? How to attempt to identify them? How to show the off?

Iris-- I move whole clumps of them in the spring when they are only a few inches tall. Just shovel under the clump and leave as much dirt as possible intact around the roots. Water in their new spot to settle in. Mine still bloom if I do it early enough.

I'm most interested in how best to show them off. I have quite a few gardens. Should I put a couple of varieties in each garden, say groupings of 5, or would they look best in one large garden, lots of groupings of different varieties.

I'm thinking that by seperating them, I'd have something blooming at all times, some iris, some other perennials, but perhaps if I investigate more varieities of iris I might find they bloom at different times, thus solving this problem .....

Then there's the question as to how best to tag/record the variety. Last summer I used little plastic stakes but I'm now noticing that they didn't do the job as I accidentally moved a great many of them when raking. Perhaps bigger tags are better, though they're not the most attrative things in the garden.

Has anyone tried garden software as a means of recording their iris?

As I'm new to Dave's I'm not certain if I can or should post this to two threads, this one and the thread about reblooming iris. Having read and thought about postings on this forum, I realized that the clump I'm thinking of moving is a reblooming clump, which is probably whey it's grown so large so quickly. While I love Wanda's idea about moving the clump, I think I'll let the rebloomers stay where they are until the end of this fall. Last year I had fantastic results.

I too have had good luck moving iris in the early spring and still having blooms. But if I was unsure of the cultivar, I'd be inclined to let them bloom in hopes of ID'ing them first.

As far as relocating them....I have many iris mixed in my beds. Like you mentioned, it does create a nice visual show. I have lots of dwarf iris along the edges, and then taller ones a little farther in. When deciding where to place them, I do keep their neighbors in mind--and make sure they have ample space and sometimes plant them in a small mound so they get good airflow and don't stay too wet. As I've added irises of known varieties, I've been using the metal garden markers and they really stay put. I keep my garden inventory in an excel spreadsheet--and it works great for what I need.

Wanda may have more comments on this--from looking at the photos she posts, you'll see lots of mixed beds--and they are LOVELY.

It may have been last year or the previous year that I had the
same question. I basically wanted to know if they would still bloom,
and I found out for myself that yes, if enough of the soil is left
intact as opposed to removing the soil to the point of Iris nudity,
yes, they may still bloom.

In fact, almost all of them did. Those I
stripped of all soil made me wait another year.
It is going to be a great year for Iris at our home, I can't
wait until blooming begins!

:-) KM

What? I plant mixed beds? Who snitched? Lots of lilies, daylilies & other perennials in these beds. Just leave lots of room between them for air circulation. I put my iris on mounds of dirt so I can mulch all my other perennials for water retention and weed prevention.

Lovely photo wandasflowers.

When do you divide your iris, Wanda?

I planted a whole bunch last year, my first real big planting. I was wondering if I should divide them all the 3rd or 4th year, or alternate every third clump, and divide the 3rd, 4th and 5th year, every third one.

If you plant a whole bed the same year, then divide every 3-4 years, it seems there will be a year or two down the line without much bloom.

What do you, and others suggest about that.

Thanks

It depends on the variety of iris--the cheap historics seem to multiply more quickly. The expensive new ones seem to multiply slower--figures. I often remove extra rhizomes around the edge of the clump or big dead mother roots from the centers of the clumps. The dwarfs multiply extremely fast, but don't seem to mind the crowding.

If I look into the clump and it is so crowded that I see no dirt, I remove rhizomes. This time of the year is a great time to look, my iris are just starting to green up.

can I move them after a blom? or when is a good time to dig them and move them?

I'm glad I found this thread. I know zilch about irises...other than I like them! I stuck them all willy-nilly in a few different flowerbeds last year. Now I know I don't like where they are at and I want to move them to a bed that has more sun and more room. I think I'm going to take the chance on them not blooming this year and move them. I have one clump that is kind of horseshoe shaped...should that be divided?
More so than this picture ( I thought I took apic of the one I was talking about).

http://picasaweb.google.com/michelle.katt/SpringGardening/photo#5045101003432985346

Thanks,
Michelle

I'm iris ignorant too... I have a mess of them I've had for years, but only ever had a couple of blooms. I need to renovate the beds they are in, so need to dig them up. I think they are in too much shade and will move them to a sunny place. I probably have about 100 fans. Since I'm not worried about blooming this year, should I divide them? I've divided hostas and day lilies, but not iris, any hints on where to cut them? The rhizomes are currently sitting half above ground, is that ideal or should they be totally underground? They seem to have found that position on their own.

Many thanks for advice,

Laura

Laura, Here is an informative article answering those questions. I would not divide them at this time, wait at least until all danger of frost has passed.

http://www.tucsoniris.org/articles/planting_and_growing/

~Margie

Thank you, that was just what I needed. I can probably wait a week or two to work those beds and I'll leave the Iris until then to dig and divide. I have plenty of other chores needing doing in the meanwhile!

I think they are bearded Iris, I know they are not Japanese Iris. Is there a way to tell from the foliage which they are? These were a gift several years ago, I remember there was at least one nice blue and a purplish/brown color in the bunch. They were a gift from a friend who had just gotten them from another friend, so she did not know what they were either!

Laura

Wanda, thanks for the info. I have a mix of all kinds of bearded, so it only makes sense they will multiply at a different rate. Duh. Of course I'll never see the bloom you had last year, I have too many other iris, and perennials mixed in. I'll just have to enjoy your pics. Polly

In Zone 6 we moved them now or in the fall. I usually divide and transplant them in the spring just as they break dormancy. If I plant new ones, I wait until fall. As for the person whose have never bloomed, perhaps you have them planted too deep. Never entirely cover the rhizome.

Hi, I'll post some pics so you can see what they look like, would love the feedback on planting depth. I think too much shade is the problem.

Laura

Last year I read an article about drought tolerant plants that suggested Iris as an ideal choice - the thought was so simple yet one I'd never considered perhaps because their blossoms are so lovely that I've always given them a choice spot in the garden where they could be easily watered. Now that I'm rethinking my entire iris design, thanks to Wanda and her lovely photo, I'm considering selecting a dry spot where my iris should thrive while saving other more easily watered spots for less hardy flowers.

Good idea?