General Iris questions

Iris noobee here!

I am slowly converting a large bed into a bed that will have the majority of plants being Iris. I had a friend who shared many many Iris divisions which are now gorgeous and filling out incredibly as well as rescuing many old, forlorn ones from shady spots on my property. My Iris 101 questions are:

Does anyone have a favorite companion plant for Iris that will stand up to hot, dry sandy soil in zone 6? Drought tolerant is a must. Do you allow companion plants to grow through the Iris in the summer or keep them away?

Second, some of the Iris are done blooming, others are still going. Is it ok to transplant and divide the ones that have finished blooming or should I wait? I read somewhere that July was the best time to divide but I think I would wilt (nevermind the plants) trying to work in that hot bed in the middle of July.

The soil is dry and sandy and the bed is in full sun. I've been lucky in that the plants in this bed have been the healthiest Iris I grow. Other beds have bugs and spots but not this one.

Thanks for the help.

Sue

I love the annual moss rose under the iris. It doesn't shade the rhizome is drought tolerent and blooms most of the summer

Sue, all the pros will tell you to wait until late summer or fall to move them...In emergency situations when I was trying to get them before a bull dozer did, I have even moved them in bloom..........sounds like your soil is like mine..... sandy..I like to mix in some bulb boosting bone meal when I make a new bed. the times best for me to move is about a month after they bloom, but it's already hot then. I personally think you can move them anytime except for winter....sometimes it may set the bloom period back a year, but most of the time not

Hi Sue,

Dwarf Marigolds have done well for me... Not sure that they fall in the drought tolerant conditions you need. But they will take our hot afternoon Texas sun. And it is capable of "melting" some pretty tough plants. The water they need have only helped the iris.

I'll go along with jackieshar on when to move them. They are very resilient, just be sure they are planted and well rooted before the first freeze. That comes much sooner for you that us. I've planted all all times... in fact I'm moving some this afternoon, but will do most of my dividing/planting in September. I've planted iris that were pulled up and given to me in full bloom. Planted right away, they bloomed the next spring.

If you are not familiar with the American Iris Society, I'm sure this link will be enjoyable to you. http://www.irises.org/

Hope you enjoy your irises.... Dan

Of course MA is north of NJ, but be sure and let them get their roots stable before fall . I have had iris come in late Sept. but will put a rock on the rhizome to prevent heaving. Bricks work that way also. We use compost & alfalfa pellets or meal to enrich the poorer soil. AIS does have a booklet titled 'Bearded Iris culture'. Companion plants should not shade the rhizomes.

Thanks everyone! Given your sage advice that I just might be able to move them at any time and be safe, I worked on rescuing a hugely overgrown clump last night and wound up transplanting about a dozen or more divisions of an early blooming shorter type (sorry don't know any of the names).

Since I realized when I went to dig it out it had reached the limits of its existing bed, I'm thinking sooner was better than later and it will have plenty of time to settle in before winter, that's for sure. The plants that I moved were probably the ones in the worst shape in the garden most likely because they were so overgrown and thick with leaf litter and plant debris accumulating on the rhizomes every time I turned around.

And I love the portulaca that you have above! One of my favorites here but it never occurred to me to use it with the Iris. Thanks all!

Sue

actually moss rose is a bit different than portulaca...leaves are more slender and needle like.....but it does, and i guess either would..... .do great here in my hot summer sands...

Moss Rose is a portulacaceae member and it's one of my favorites but the common names are probably regionally influenced. Moss Rose is portulaca grandiflora whereas common purslane is portulaca oleracea. I grew up with grandiflora being referred to as "portulaca" and oleracea referred to as "purslane" so pardon the confusion :-)

Sue

That's right . Thank u for pointing that out