I'm an Iris newbie and my Iris are blooming, now what?

Hello,
I always enjoy everyone's lovely pics although I don't post here too often....
I have several Iris that are starting to bloom now! Is that normal for this time of year (I'm in zone10)?
Should I fertilize them to help with the blooms? Do nothing? Or...?
I appreciate any advice, thanks!
Roberta

You should take a picture of them and post them on this forum! I don't live in your area and don't know if that is normal, but I wouldn't be surprised. Makj in Santa Inez, California has been posting some that are blooming in her yard. Maybe she can tell you what they need right now.
I typically feed them -- and if needed, divide them, right after they bloom. But I recommend that you check with folks in your area. Perhaps there is a San Diego chapter of the AIS? They would know.

OK. Thanks!

Hi Roberta, had to laugh as pajaritomt spoke about my yard, we live in a mild so to speak area and I usually can garden most of the year, and I have several iris that are getting ready to open and some still in bloom, I think because of our climate we get "extra" blooms, I have divided and cleaned up the beds and now put down alfalfa pellets and basically could say they are put to bed, but I know I will have some blooms and I have to get them before the frost does, so far so good, I have a whole row of Kiss of Kisses ready to explode and Tink has several too, Juicy Fruit is a great re-bloomer and just about is in bloom all year..... take photos and enjoy.............

there was Juicy Fruit here is Tink and Kiss of Kisses

and Tink

Nice all three of them.

they are blooming fools, several more on the way, spent the day out in the field weeding etc.... muscle relaxants on the way, man will I feel it tomorrow:)

How pretty! So I think I'll fertilize too....is bone meal ok?

I generally use Alfalfa pellets, some chicken and duck waste, but mainly the pellets, it is easy, cheaper, and really seems to break down well after watering or raining, it is a good all around feed, the man I bought my stock from used them and his field (large that is was) was breathtaking.............

The deer enjoy the alfalfa also.

Lol grannymarsh! I like bone meal for my bulbs....but my dog loves it too!
Makj, can you buy alfafa pellets at nurseries, or would I need to buy it at a different type of store?

I buy mine at the feed store, 50lb bags, they run about $14.00 or so, I have a lot of iris to feed so this way it goes a long way, watch you dog eating the bone meal, mine did the same, can cause some intestinal issues, some can be poisonous, be careful....

I use alfalfa pellets and bone meal and haven't noticed any increase in deer or dogs digging in my garden. Or course, our soil is unusually poor. Just lucky, I guess, and my dog is too old to dig much.

Not sure if the deer eat any, if they are they are not smashing anything, nothing is disturbed.
I had soil brought in as the dirt, if you can call it that it is really in bad shape, have to add a lot of things so the poor iris are not using all their energy to get some nutrients....

How much Alfafa pellets do you use per sq. ft and how close to the plants would you put it. Have used bone meal but so many animals around I quit.

really all I do is throw them about, all around the plants, I guess pretty generously.... that is another reason because of the animals too, easy and if you had seen the iris field this man I got the plants from, you jaw would drop and your eyes would be bugging out, BEAUTIFUL plants..... blooms to die for......

The pellets (or as a meal) should not touch the rhizomes, but it is the roots which need the nutrition.

I think you can put a thin layer of alfalfa pellets around the plant. They are very slow to break down so they don't burn anything. I watched a lady put them on roses at Bellingrath Gardens in the Spring. She put about a cup or two per plant as far as I could see. The meal also works fine, but is more expensive as far as my shopping has gone. Alfalfa pellets are cheaper and a good soaking with the hose causes them to turn into meal on the ground.
As for animals and alfalfa pellets, my dog got into them once because they came in a bag that looked like a dog food bag. He apparently ate quite a few because that night he was so sick he was crying out in pain. I thought he had been poisoned until he saw what the real problem was. He sure learned his lesson about eating alfalfa pellets! He recovered in about 12 hours.
If you can't use bone meal, you can try superphosphate or bloom booster just when they are starting to set blooms in the early spring. They are eager eaters of phosphate. Another way to provide phosphate is ground rock phosphate, but it is expensive and slow to break down.