Holding Rhizomes Over The Winter

Hi,

I am a landscaper working at a commercial property. Due to some construction I had to dig up a lovely bed of irises today. We are in Zone 7 and I am wondering if I can replant them yet this Fall or if I should hold the rhizomes over the winter and then plant in the Spring.

Thanks for your help!
Juanita

Hi Juanita,

I would replant them now if at all possible; I think they'll be just fine in your zone. You may not get bloom next year, but at least they'll have a better chance.

Irises are very tough & I would say just plant them Last fall while I was moving some & forgot to plan a few & found them when I went to the shed in november & it was cold but no snow I put them in the ground anyway .
They sure bloomed for me this spring & I'm in Mich z5 . very cold .

But maybe others may tell you differ.
susie

Thanks!! I kind of thought I could get them in yet. I didn't expect them to bloom next year, but I didn't want to lose them totally.

You guys are the best!
Juanita

Definitely plant them now.

I was just gifted with a large batch of Indian Chief Iris..I am trying to get them in the ground today but had to prepare a bed first...How deep do the rhizomes go in the ground?? I've been in the south so many years I can't remember the northern plantings...and haven't had Iris in years..

Appreciate the help...

Dusty

I am so glad to see this thread. I have to move some iris, and we've already had a killing frost. Can I pot them and store them in my attic? I winter store other bulbs, etc. there and monitor the temps which generally stay around 54 degrees. I have to prepare their new site, and there is no more time this year.

rvn....i planted some a couple weeks ago and they are coming up right now....i think we are in the same zone:)

Dusty - the rhizomes like to sunbathe so plant them in very well drained soil with the tops of the rhizomes just a touch above the soil. Do not mulch.

Marie_ - I've never tried it your way though last year I bought an iris in October and grew it on our unheated porch all winter, more shade than sun. It did fine and the temperatures there range from the 50's to high temp's on the sunny winter days but always back down again at night. They did fine.

Good luck to all!

Thanks again everyone. I got them planted this weekend, so all should be well. Our weather is holding right now. If only it would RAIN!!

Juanita

You did water them in well, right? They do want a good start with a good drink or two.

Oh yes I watered them. I'm a bit of a fanatic about watering. Try to teach all my clients the right way to water new plantings etc. If we don't have any rain in a few days, I will put some more on the irises to get them started.

Juanita

Great. It's amazing the extent some folks will go to in order to get the perfect plant for the site and then neglect it after the initial two ounces of water.

pirl i think you're talking about me. I didn't have to buy mine though, I divided an old iris bed that was here before i moved here. I probably tilled a quarter of a mile and stuck them in the dirt, and watered once this summer. crab grass grew over them and i thought i had lost them. i even mowed over them. when things slowed down and i had time i pulled all the crabgrass out. they are doing fine. i think it's pretty hard to kill them. I divided some last fall. it made a large row next to the old bed. this year they are huge, maybe blooms next year.
I give my mom 50 of the biggest ones. i tried to give several of them away but nobody wanted them. i didn't want to waste any of them so i even planted the little tiny ones.
I've got iris's growing in the bed i removed them from even after tilling the bed.

Good grief! Don't frighten me like that - I'm an old bat!

I wasn't talking about you but repeating what I hear too often on radio about people not watering the plants in thoroughly and then another watering, then let them grow.

How nice that you got them all planted and your comment about planting what you found after the tilling just underscores the caladium guy's point of even chopping them up and planting them. He said they'd grow so I have no doubt with the storage facility irises have that they would, too.

Enjoy! It's bound to be a colorful spring - and please post a photo for the old bat to see!

iris are easy here but many others are a different story. i've only seen about three blooms because they were so crowded, purple and yellow, so i really don't have any idea what i have maybe just purple and yellow. I never thought about it until now, but that's gonna be a lot of purple and yellow. lol!
the ones i planted last fall grew so big, so i thought i would space the new ones out farther, but very quickly decided i would be running out of room, so i crowded again but hoped i mght lose a few so i don't have to divide every other year.

It's a huge job. One year I lifted, cleaned, divided and then replanted 681 irises and it took me into December before I finished - never again. I'd rather do 100 each year. I've since given away what I didn't need.

pirl...I wish I HAD room for 681 iris ! I hope you got them in the ground before the big freeze hit and stranded you for months on end !

I sure don't want to do it every year thats for sure. I think the neighbors must have also had that experience because nobody wanted them. lol! I had quite an assembly line going. I'd fill the wheelbarrow, cut the fans, put in a box and go plant over and over for a couple of days. Of course i couldn't trade them for anything because i don't know what i have.

Sometimes, at least in my case, there can be too much of a good thing.

What a memory you must have, pirl, to remember 681 as the number of iris you divided. Not bad for "an old bat" (NOT).

Some things stick, others don't.

Long ago I planted 1069 various bulbs down the side of the driveway and 144 daffodils in the back.

Then there are the 1364 daylilies.

Somehow I haven't counted the Japanese irises yet but I know it's not enough, regardless of the number.

I have the room, just not the get up and go to plant that MANY!

Pirl, I am starting to wonder if anyone could ever get enough J iris??? I got my bed started with the ones you traded with me and then Loretta traded some with me, I am still lusting over the Ensata book--lol
Sandra

Sandra,

Never, ever, enough Japanese iris. They are all at least subtly different, and for some reason they all seem to go together. I have never seen a JI that didn't blend well. And the fact you can get 6 weeks of bloom from having a few different cultivars.....I'm with you, I want more JIs.

I could be persuaded to stop pulling ivy and trimming hollies just to look at the online JI sites again but I will behave, no matter how difficult it is.

All the JI sites have something to offer - that's a problem right there!

Thanks to a generous gift from pollyk, I am now experimenting with growing Japanese Iris. All I can say right now is that they are alive, of course winter is coming on and everything is sort of dying back. Since polly sent me some starts, I have met someone in Denver who is growing them at the output of her downspout. So there is hope. I thought because of the dry nature of our climate and the not-very-acid nature of our soil that they wouldn't work, but I may be wrong. I hope so!

When I was new to JI, and that was long before so many of us had computers to look up information, I planted them in full hot dry sun with no extra water and never checked the PH of the soil: they did fine - excellent in fact.

Betty, I'm so glad to hear they are still alive. You have obviously given it your best try, and if they make it, they do, and if they don't, they don't. You don't have the best climate for JIs, in fact you have one of the few climates where JIs probably won't do their best, but they are pretty adaptable plants. I can't wait to see if they make it for you. This is fun for me.

Pirl, it seems JIs can perform under many adverse conditions. Of course they do better with more water and acidic soil, but don't you think they are pretty easy as garden plants go? I have a lot of mine right in my normal garden borders, and they get the same care as the rest of the plants there, and always seem to do well.

Yes, I do agree Polly and I put one next to tall bearded irises and they're both doing fine. The surprising part is the JI has expanded so well. I didn't expect that to happen since I'm not constantly flooding the area and I didn't amend the soil (on purpose) just to test it.

The JI's are simply so regal - they still amaze me with their beauty after 12 years of growing them.

I know the word regal is the right word to use for them. They have a grace about them that few flowers have.
Also a simple beauty that just adds to the character of the plant.
I am so surprised that there are not more farms that raise and sell them.
Why do you all think that is?
Sandra

In one way, I guess, it's good or I'd have to delete more daylilies. I don't know why they're not more popular but I'd guess they just don't get the exposure that other plants get. I did have a full six weeks of such beautiful blooms this year.

Ocean Mist amazes everyone that sees it fluttering in the light breeze. The size of the flower is unbelievable.

Stop that Pirl--another for my "want list" so pretty
Sandra

You'd really be tempted if you saw the flowers - 9 to 12" wide.

Again I say--stop teasing me--lol
Sandra

Little Bo Pink is cute! Can't wait until it develops into a big clump.

(I'll go out now and pull ivy for 8 hours so I won't tempt you until after dinner)

Pirl how can you be in zone 7A so far north? That is the same weather zone as me in North Texas

Oh dear, I am really starting to crave JI's and no longer have the defense that they absolutely won't grow here. I guess I am going to have to make a special JI patch where my downspout empties. I also am going to have to start sharing my coffee grounds with them. And I can easily mulch them with a whole lot of pine needles. That should help with the acidity and their love of mulch.

jackie i think pirl lives on long island and the ocean currents keep it from getting as cold as it does inland.

oooo that's neat!!!