New Irises

Hey, a neighbor just gave me three walmart bags full of Irises he had dug from his yard. They needed to be thinned as they had been in the beds for at least 6 years with no thinning out. This year they hardly bloomed and had bugged him for most of the summer to let me dig them up and thin out some. Today he did it while I was at work and gave me three bags full.
I was wondering since I am in zone 6 if there was any special care that I neede to do to get them thru the winter. I am hoping it is not too late to plant. Maybe someone can help me out with info..
Thanks
Tim

Hello Tim,
I don’t think you’ll have any problem planting now.
The biggest problem I have with planting late is heave. I am in 5B, still planting, and I set the tuber an inch below ground level with a number of the back ends of the tubers at the same place - sort of a semi circle. Then I put a couple of bricks on the back-ends to help keep them down, and give them one good watering. Because it is a little colder here (and about to get colder this week), I may put them under clear plastic for a week or two making sure they’re vented during the day - I may hold the plastic right to the ground at night to keep the soil heat up for some root growth. Once the ground hardens up, I put pine branches over them - an excess Christmas Tree or debris of an errant wind storm seems to get me more than I need. If I get singular plants in the garden heaving (often on the edges) I throw a shovel of dirt on them, and a moderate step on that sets them back down.
Hope we both have a nice weekend for planting!
Hespiris

Hespiris, Thanks I hope we both have good weekends to plant also. I guess autumn is here. I just hope we have a long indian summer. I have some Clematis I have to get in the ground and winter also. Will definitly be busy this fall.

Tim

Your iris will probably do great!! The only ones that have to be babied are the ones we pay $50.00 for!!LOL As a whole they are pretty tough!!

I have a rebloomer getting ready to open up, you'll laugh at me, but I am always out checking the iris, everyday, yesterday I bent down to pull a weed and looked up and there was a stalk with a bud and I jumped, it scared me. I thought to myself where did that come from, LOLOL

ditto here too

I guess the iris genie appears over night too, LOLOL

I had the same experience a few days ago. I had been watching my irises that arrived 7 months ago from Australia, because I knew bloom was likely. But I went out to work on weeding my raised iris beds and almost dropped my teeth when I saw Double Your Fun blooming happily. I had the same feeling you did. Where did you come from?
I have Sugar Blues getting ready to rebloom also. This is pretty exciting here in New Mexico where very few iris rebloom.

I thought I'd lost Sunny Disposition to rot in a back bed I'm having rot troubles with - darn thing has put out 3 stalks and is about to pop.

I'm still planting too, but I've promised myself I'll be done soon.

Famous Last Words, LOLOL

I had one rot, I guess it was earlier in the season, and I just threw it behind me assuming it went into the brush, well I was out there today blowing leaves and there it was right along the pathway with 2 increases on it, root side up. Go Figure, now I have to wait to see the bloom before I know for sure what it is.

LOL cat, I've been weeding a bed where the weeds got away from me and are thicker and taller than the irises - found one with only 1 root in the ground - I'd forgotten the deer had upset it once before, and it flopped over. it's been laying on it's side for eight months apparently, hidden in the weeds. growing, of course.

You know, I do not understand it. You can be a ruff on them as you want to be and they love you for it. If you are nice to them, they die? Kind of like Men. LOLOLO

Now that is an interesting bit of wisdom, 1913cat. I guess you can kill them both with kindness.

I have 3 blooming now, Juicy fruit, Mariposa skies, Pinkness, coming soon, Mil Byers, it is almost in bloom year round:)

Irises love abuse. One of the prettiest beds I ever had was one where my brothers parked thier bicycles & lawn mowers all summer. Made me angry, but the bed was always gorgeous every spring!