fertilizer for Louisiana iris

I think my La iris are just the wild yellow ones I got out of a nearby pond. My husband didn't think he'd like them because the blooms were so small but then they kept blooming, right out of the original bloom. Do they need any kind of fertilizer? What do you use and how often?

I took a Garden Judging class from Hooker Nichols last year at the AIS Convention. He grows LA's and recommends feeding them once a month with spray on Miracle Grow during the growing months. He says they love nitrogen.

I am surprised as there is no nitrogen in bogs, where the LA iris grow wild. Perhaps the cultivated ones are different. I added super phosphates today as our soil is really low in phosphates.

I can't see how phosphates would hurt. Miracle grow has some phosphate, but agree it is more nitrogen. Can't justify it, but it was a clear statement by a guy who hybridizes them. You could probably email him. I am not sure what his nursery is called - or if the has one, but I think he does. Just google him.

I have mine growing at the top of my Koi pond waterfall in a hallowed area. I just planted them. I placed the netted bulb just into the water. Does it have to be in a pot with pond dirt? I know this sounds stupid but this is my first attempt.

There are no questions on the iris forum that are stupid. That's how we all learn.

The netted bulb on a Louisiana Iris is called a rhizome, and it should be in some dirt. Can you dig down into the mud to get it solidly planted? If not, put it into a pot with some pond dirt. It should be covered by at least two inches of dirt.

Thanks so much for the info. I will have to use pond dirt from the nursery. My KOI pond is made like an in ground swimming pool. I will load photos if I have any luck.

Would love to see pictures!

Maybe you could come to LAS VEGAS for a visit. We have a wonderful guest room, free except for gardening help. Then you could see the results first hand. The state budget is way off balance and we need the money. I understand air fares are really cheap.
We have two major casinos just 20 minutes down the hill. LOL. Live on a Golf course but it is very expensive.

mine are in a little stone-built area just below the overflow from my pond. They one have about a foot of the plant showing above the stone retaining wall of the pond but that where all the blooms are so it is happy. I may try a little nitrogen this year and see what happens.

Are you sure yours are Louisianas and not iris pseudacorous. You wouldn't want to feed iris pseudacorus because it spreads like crazy. Very invasive, especially in warm climates like yours. See:

http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/node/205

So make sure yours is an actual Louisiana before feeding. They spread pretty fast, too, but are controllable.

Woo hoo. I'm going to Louisiana and then to Las Vegas. Maybe I can vacation free all over the country. I don't like casinos or golfing, though, but eating my way through Louisiana sounds great. Of course they have good food in Vegas, too.....hmmmm....


Seriously, thanks for the invite, and I am good garden help, but with a business to run, I probably won't be going anywhere. Dang it.

Awe Polly ask for a rain check and go when the business is slow. LOL After all you will probably deserve a vacation by then.

Actually Southern Mississippi and New Orleans are nice in the winter. Camellias are in bloom. Sweet olive. Lots of other stuff. Not much fall color, but the flowers bloom year round. So come visit us when the lake effect snow hits 6 feet!

pajaritomt. Yes, that is exactly what I have. They are in a rock pocket attached to the pond wall and get water from the overflow. They are not likely to spread. I did'n't fertilize them, yet. Now I won't. Except for the occaisional super phosphates because of low phosphates in our soil. Thanks for catching the error. I assumed Louisiana iris were hybridized from these.

Woodspirit, pseudacorus are very invasive. But they invade by seeds, and little tiny pieces that break away from the mother plant. Are you near to any body of water? Creek, stream, lake? If so, I would get rid of it. If not and you keep it, be sure to cut off every spent flower, so that it does not go to seed.

I know people in New Mexico who grow them -- people who really know their iris, but water is so hard to come by here, I don't think we have to worry about invasion of pseudacorus. You could get some actual Louisiana iris which are beautiful and not invasive -- well, not invasive enough to be outlawed, as iris pseudacorus is.

Polly, on another subject, I just got my Wildwood Garden Catalog. They have quite a few nice species iris, some bearded. But I don't see them on their website. Maybe you should write for a catalog. I ordered some daylilies from their website last year and as a result they sent me a catalog this year.

I do have that one already. Thanks Betty. I did find some nice species bearded at Arrowhead Alpines that I ordered.

Woodspirit,

Here is an excerpt from the Louisiana iris Society Website on fertilizing:

"Fertilization
If you have not grown Louisiana irises previously, you might be surprised at what heavy feeders they are! To produce at their full potential, these irises should be fed on a regular schedule (and, of course, watered and mulched nicely).

Most growers feed their Louisianas twice each year, a heavy application of a balanced fertilizer (such as a 13-13-13 blend) in the early spring, with a lighter booster feeding in the autumn--which should include more phosphorus and less nitrogen (such as a 5-20-10, or a 10-20-10 ratio). You can also use water-soluble fertilizers to give a little “boost” if needed.

Use an acidifying fertilizer, such as those marketed for azaleas and camellias, if you are gardening on alkaline soils. These granular fertilizers should be applied a few inches from the iris rhizomes, and then lightly tilled-in. Newly planted rhizomes should not be fed until new growth has begun.

Of course, Louisiana irises respond very well to “organic” fertilizers as well as those made synthetically. A natural acidifying fertilizer for Louisiana irises might contain cottonseed meal, alfalfa pellets, or rotted pine needles. Organic fertilizers sometimes require digging into the soil to be effective.

Applying fertilizer to Louisiana irises, which are growing in a pond, requires a bit more advice. If you have fish in your pond, the fertilizer should be applied as “stakes” that are pushed below the soil line."

To read the whole page on "The Culture of Louisiana Irises" go to:
http://www.louisianas.org/cultivars/culture_book.html

Thanks, Margie. Not unlike what Hooker Nichols told us in Austin.

Well, my iris are in a tiny confined rock planter attached to the outside of the rock retaining wall of my pond. There is no stream and the pond is strickly fed with well water with a recycling pump. Since they have not shown signs of spreading down the hill or anywhere else, I will leave them be for now but keep an eye out for them.
As for other iris, I am trying to specialize in reblooming German irises. As my climate is a bit cool here in the summers, few will rebloom so it is a constant experiment. Those that don't work for me here, I give to my daughter who is 1,000 feet lower in altitude so has a much warmer climate.
Wow, what a coincidence. She just called. Seems an old school buddy of her daughter's was killed in a car wreck and 3 people in the other car were killed too. My granddaughter, Diamond, is a mess. The guy was her first boyfriend. Diamond went to a small school so everyone grew up together and were friends. Some of them did not good home lives, single parent households, so they came over to my daughter's all the time. It seemed like her house had a revolving door and the kids called her "Mom." This boy, Casey, was one of them.

How very sad. My prayers are with your daughter and granddaughter. What a tragedy. It seems like we hear of something similar every year around this time. So horrible when young lives like that are lost.

Thanks, Polly. The friends with my graddaughter went to see the Dad. We have no idea where the mom is, not for a long time.