I have a black thumb with iris . Damian the spawn of satan tree rat has dug up these dwarf iris 3 times. Iris 1 & 2 from right to left have roots Iris 3 & 4 don't. I need roots by the middle of august in my zone or I will lose them. Should I take them out and soak them? fertlize? any advice is appreciated. Thanksmuchly
dahlianut, I had the same problem last fall. The dang pests pulled mine right out of the pots while I was in the process of preparing a new place for them. After I planted the irises in the ground I made baskets out of chicken wire and placed over them. I secured the chicken wire to the ground with homemade ground staples made of heavy gauge wire. This kept the irises secure until I removed the chicken wire in the early spring.
figaro52 seems to have a foolproof idea, however, squirrels do not like cayenne pepper. Liberally sprinkle powdered cayenne pepper (from the grocery store) around and on the rhizome and chances are they will leave it alone until the next rain washes it away. Seems these little pests single out a rhizome and go back to it time and again. They will also nibble on the rhizome.
If you feed wild birds, you will notice that some bird seeds suppliers use cayenne pepper on the seeds to keep the squirrels away.
Good Luck, Dan
Sorry I didn't answer your main question... No, don't take them out and soak them. Leave planted and keep moist, but not wet, and they should begin to grow new roots shortly.
Dan
I learned two new things to try today!
If you're not having a lot of wet weather, you can also put bricks or rocks on top of them for a week or so until the squirrels lose interest. This works for me.
When I had a problem with squirrels eating my dwarf iris tubers (and a few other choice perennials), I got hold of some used (and ripe) cat litter and sprinkled it around those plants, and haven't had that problem since. (knock on wood).
hmmm, all good ideas!!! I have squirrel problems too. I've even seen one squirrel friskily throwing the rhizome up in the air like a cat with a toy!!!
I'm putting in a new iris bed this fall, so I will hope to try several of these tactics!!!
I think I'm going to try the used cat litter method since I've got some potted rhizomes to put into a new bed.
I'm a fan of the cayenne pepper method. It works very well for me for minimal expense (though perhaps cayenne is more expensive outside of Louisiana?). If you look at the commercial squirrel chasing powders and sprays, you will notice cayenne is frequently a featured ingredient. The only caution I have to mention is that some of the more fleshy plants can be a bit sensitive to the cayenne, so be careful not to sprinkle the cayenne directly on plants such as elephant ears, impatiens, begonias, or anything else with a very fleshy stem. It's alright to put the cayenne around the plant base, just not directly on the plant itself. Good luck! :)
Blood meal. I've had excellent results with this. Critters have an excellent sense of smell, so it doesn't take much. I think it must smell like a predator has been making kills in your yard. It's funny to watch one of the little buggers come down off a tree trunk, then just about turn inside out going back up again. It's also a great fertilizer for everything so I sprinkle a little pretty much everywhere, but paying special attention to their favorite plants. They used to eat the buds off of ALL of my roses, tulips and asiatic lilies.They'd eat the lily bulbs like corn on the cob, but the tulips just got moved around a lot- mostly to neighbors' yards. Just like cayenne, you have to redo it after a good rain but there's no prep. Just open the bag and start sprinkling. Works for bunnies too!
Funny about the tulips, as I'm one of those neighbors. I have three really lovely tulips put smack dab against the foundation by an industrious squirrel.
And trim the blades shorter so more energy will go into making roots instead of the green blades.
Hi Wanda, how short is short? I have mine about 4 inches.
After seeing your beds this spring, I'm putting in a new iris and lily bed this weekend!! I have a bunch of historic iris from a DG trade (more like a GIFT to me). I'm sure the squirrels are going to have a heyday with the rhizomes. Somewhere I have video of a squirrel tossing a rhizome in the air and catching it like it was a cat with a mouse! Anyway, I was thinking of making some little chicken wire covers for some of the rhizomes.
Sounds like our German Short Hair Retriever when he was a puppy. Thank goodness iris are tough--some got planted & re-planted before I could get NO thru his head.
yah, but he's a cutie!!!!
P.S. I thought I lost my Moonlit Sea you gave me. But it is hanging in there!
This message was edited Aug 6, 2008 3:12 PM
Give it a year. My clump of Moonlit Sea held a bit of moisture this year, but is recovering.
I was sure glad to see new growth!
