Help Put the "RE" back into my ReBloomers . .

I have several different reblooming irises
- and they rebloomed for the first summer.

Last summer I was bed-ridden and now I'm glad these babies are alive!

- but what can I do to give them some extra TLC for them to WANT to RE-bloom
- as they did that first year.

They do like extra water in the summer. Water along the ground, not through the foliage.

THANX!

Hi Glee,
I have found that if I fertilize my rebloomers after they have finished their first bloom, I am much more likely to get good reblooms. I picture NC as getting lots of rain, so you might need to be cautious about wet rhyzomes. My rebloomers are all in drought tolerant gardens, so they probably get considerably less water than yours. I have to give all of my plants some extra water in the Fall, since everything gets really hot and dry here in September/October. Good luck with your reblooms. Marty

NC is a droughty state at best. But this year we do seem to be getting some much needed rain. We have been in a severe drought for the past 3 years.

I haven't had any luck with rebloom.
I don't fertilize mine however, might try that.
The ones that do put up a stalk, it is later in the fall and they get froze :(
I never pay extra money for one that is 'supposed' to rebloom.

don't know what you mean by "droughty" - any place can have a drought. we've had several dry years of late. but we've had two "wet" ones. especially for irises.

50glee, I have rebloomers. which ones do you have? bearded or beardless?

most rebloomers are limited to a few zones, usually less than four of them. you're north of Charlotte, right? what elevation, what zone are you?

I think the critical thing is to first make sure that your rebloomers are RELIABLE rebloomers in YOUR zone. There are several places on the web where you can find charts that will help you find this out. If you see a particular iris is a rebloomer to zone 7 and you are in zone 5, your iris probably won't ever rebloom before frost.

Next would be just plain good growing habits. Are your rhizomes planted correctly - slighly above ground and not covered with mulch or dirt. We always mulch our beds but do not leave any covering the rhizomes. Rebloomers rebloom on NEW growth so they need more water and food than spring blooming iris. It's not a bad idea to feed them after they bloom, and definitely water during dry spells in the summer. It may take a couple of years before a young plant gets established and gets on a regular bloom and rebloom schedule.

Other than that, I don't do anything fancy and almost always get rebloom on my rebloomers - NOID SDB purple with blue beard, Victoria Falls, Sugar Blues, Baby Blessed, Baby Boom, Immortality, Rosalie Figge,Clarence, Low Ho Silver, Plum Wine, NOID TB Peach, and Fast Forward.

Linda

This message was edited May 22, 2009 4:09 PM

since 50glee mentions these irises rebloomed the first summer, I think my question is when were they planted? I'd like more information about the way they were planted, too, and how long they've been where they are without division.

Thanks for your comments about "droughty", Bonjon. Where I live has an annual average rainfall in the 9-10'' range and basically no rain from May through October. San Diego is near deser. 50glee, since you weren't able to do much for your irises last year, I think they probably need a good dose of 5-10-10 fertilizer, if the rhyzomes are ok. If they are not... Recently, an experienced re-blooming iris grower, here in San Diego, finally, told me that he uses a 6-24-24 along with the stuff that he uses for micronutrients. The bad news is one has to have a use for a 50 pound bag. Since all of the plants and bulbs in my drought tolerant jungle flower at least once a year and do not like a lot of nitrogen, I am going to have fun trying it out this summer. Both my iris and my lilies don't do well with very much nitorgen.

Too much nitrogen & plants produce leaves.

50glee hasn't been on here in a month. guess I'm not going to be able to get enough info to help.

My Iris have just about finished blooming. I don't know if they are re-blooming or not. I have always trimmed them down in the fall. Is that the right thing to do with Iris? If they are re-blooming, I wouldn't want to spoil that so I will fertilized again now but I am confused now. I know I am rambling but would love some info on taking the best care of them. I do love them.
Thanks loads for any help that you can offer. Shleigh

Be sure & cut this spring's stalks when finished. You can feel along the leaves in the fall & see if any stalks are forming. Rebloomers like extra water during the summer. Not necessary to trim back leaves on bearded irises unless they are turning brown or have disease problems.

Thank you irisMa,
I am going to work on them tomorrow. I am afraid I haven't given my Iris' much though in past years. They have always been pretty for the spring blooming period and then I have pretty much just went on taking care of my other flowers. I didn't know there was a possibility of re-blooming. I will now water a lot and feed them more.
Happy gardening. shleigh

The other thing in addition to care--you have to have a plant which is genetically set up to rebloom. do you know if any of yours have to have that trait? Immortality is the most active one.

I checked my list of Iris and I have 7 which are re-blooming. I don't have Immortality but I do have Mother Earth, Ocean Pacific, Total Recall, Beverly Sills, Bountiful Harvest, Invitation. and LoHo. I will certainly pay attention and give them better care and see what happens. I do so appreciate your info!

!risMA, I may have missed it in the above threads, but what would you suggest that we use for TBI up here in the mountains as fertilizer to rebloom? We do get a Monsoon. I will need something we can buy at HD or WM. Three seasons ago, DH watered the iris beds in the middle of winter, and that spring we had everything blooming. And wouldn't you know it, our camera went on the fritz. So, I didn't get any photos at that time.

Donna

Don't know about climate. We use 5-10-10, must be low on nitrogen or you get leaves. Alfalfa pellets are liked by many people--those do have weed seeds.

Thanks! We don't need weeds, have plenty of them. ^_^

Our soil is low in phosphates here in the mountains so I add it. But it is cool at our altitude and very hard to get stuff to rebloom. I've only had 3 rebloom but don't rremember which 3 except Immortality.
My iris are blooming very well now but the rain storms have bedraggled them. I moved last year to more sun.

Rain is needed, but can be a real pain at times. We are in for two days of it, so all the best plants will open. (Iris gardener's law).

Bonjon, You asked what I meant by saying that North Carolina has been "droughty". For the first time in 3 1/2 years most parts of NC are now OUT of drought conditions, but , for the past 3 1/2 years most of the state has been in some stage of drought , as defined by the U S Govt NOAA agency. See this site to view (you can view all states, too):
http://drought.unl.edu/dm/DM_state.htm?NC,SE
I went back in time , on this site, and looked at NC for the past few years and saw that drought in some form was present in many counties, not all.

sorry folks, ive been away.

Sister , in NY, had cancer surgery, daughter moved to Italy, Ive had several spine n hip injections to git the ole'girl a'moving and
we're Just getting the car out of the shop!
(having to wait for some part from who-knows-where CAN be a bummer!)

so it has been a - well what else can go wrong time!

Have lost tags for some but I know i have a lot of Beverly Sills, there is a gorgeous blue one and a very dramatic purple/black iris
all bearded re-bloomers. and numerous others that do not re-bloom

I can feed and give additional water but these probably do need to be separated.
Had planned to do it early spring but the above personal issues took over.
Couldnt do separating last fall due to spine surgery.

so here we are!

I will give the extra water and fertilizer.
Which type of fertilizer do these prefer??

I just read a horror story about Miracle Grow and their products
- so Im REALLY in the dark as to how/what to feed all my plants.

Which fertilizers do you suggest??

btw ~ Bonjon, im in zone 7b. not sure the elevation.
and most of my irises are in Direct Full Sun,
i have been thinking they may do better with less scorching sun and possibly dappled or filtered sun.

which is best??

This message was edited Jun 4, 2009 3:53 PM

Just curious - what's the scoop on Miracle Gro? I'm not currently using it but have in the past -- but not on irises.

Welcome back, Glee. Sorry for all that you have been going through. I just use a generic 5-10-10 or Colorburst 15-30-15(which I get a Lowe's and I think Home Depot carries it). The only fertilizers that I will spend a premium on are the organic ones. Otherwise I have found out that Cheap is good Value. I use these in addition to the organics. I don't see the reason to pay for Mircle Grow's name and frankly, I have have not been impressed the few times that I have used any of their products.
I too would love to find out what you found out about them. Hey, aren't we all about dirt?
LOL Marty

I think that full sun is best for irises. As long as your plants have good soil to grow in and you water when you don't have adquate rainfall, full sun gives you the best growth and number of blooms.

I will have to look around to see what's going on with Miracle Grow. I use Peter's water soluable for general feeding, as I like it better than Miracle Grow. For the last few years I make a mix used to feed my Daylilies called Hooker's Formula, and feed both the irises and daylilies with it. Both seem happy with this mixture.

Linda

Always use a low nitrogen ferilizer or else all the plants do is develop leaves. DH still has some 5-10-10 around but lately has been using our own compost which he has piled up.

My favorite high performing fertilizer is Algoflash with Micronutrients. I wouldn't be without it. You get results....they have one for flowering plants and a general fertilizer. It is a liquid feed and originates in Germany. Used extensively in the UK. You can order it from its website in the US in Florida.

I use Monty's Joy Juice -- it is made here and my entire garden loves it. There are several formulas (go to their website) but it is very concentrated (use 1/2 tblsp per gallon water), so it is very economical. I use it in the spring and again in the fall.

I haven't tried Monty's but I do prefer Peter's and Schultz to Miracle-gro. Be sure you have a soil test through your cooperative extension service ( probably listed under your county or state numbers).

sorry y'all - I've also been dealing with personal issues, and with renewing my RE license - I wasn't going to, then realized I HAD to, mom and dad are going into retirement home and I must list their home! and unearth it - they are hoarders. had to take all my coursework, though.

glad to have you back glee. The great news is, it's just about time to divide your irises! early spring not a good time to move bearded irises. most folks in USA do bearded iris division in July and August.

when I first started growing irises, I read where they don't need much in the way of soils, they are quite forgiving. That's true of the historics. But rebloomers and more modern ones really like good garden soil.

It's also true bearded irises do like less nitrogen, the first # in the fertilizers. more nitrogen does give more growth than bloom for spring bloomers and encourages rot. But, since rebloomers have to grow twice as much - remember, once a rhizome blooms, it never blooms again! - then they can be given richer amounts of nitrogen.

I don't fertilize them after division, for about a month. On replanting, I use bonemeal or superphosphate and keep them slightly damp at least, get those new roots going. after about a month, that's when I fertilize with either a light application of a balanced 10-10-10 type (inexpensive is ok, as long as it doesn't have a "weed and feed" feature) or with a low nitrogen and micronutrient combination. water a few more times, then let nature take over.

just about everyone will tell you irises need full sun. But full sun doesn't have to be more than 6 hours a day. it will depend on the iris, and often where it was hybridized, on the amount of shade it can handle. some like a touch of afternoon shade and will grow more robustly there. I personally find that the ones hybridized in CA have problems with any shade.

here in NC, with all our heavy tall tree cover, it's difficult for most folks to provide full sun!

This also helps rebloomers rebloom, destalk as soon as you can, fertilize just the rebloomers and they might rebloom for you.

D

marty13 - Thank you for the kind words.
- just taking one day at a time
- and keeping it together as best as possible

figaro52 - this is the MG link. interesting reading:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/441806/
me'thinks the title is:
"Real Gardeners Grow Without Miracles!"

After reading the article
- and with the illness in my family
- i am just determined to be more pro-active in finding better ways of accomplishing goals with fewer risks.

. . . the ramifications of Artificial Fertilizing.

and thanks to all for the info about GOOD Fertilizers.
gives me something - good - to look for . . .

ha ha ha - i may be a newbie to DG
- but an ole' pro at
clicking/snooping around the numerous forums! LOL

50glee, thanks for the link. Fortunately, I've not been doing much in the way of fertilizing this year. My plants are doing fine. I have tons and tons of earthworms in my soil. I think I'll try to keep it that way. :-)

I started using alfalfa pellets about 3 years ago when I transplant iris. I actually mix it in with the compost and peat moss. Or throw in a couple handfuls when I do individual iris. It was recommended by another iris person in town. My iris seem to be thriving on it. Alfalfa has lots of nutrients in it. (and roses love alfalfa, too) Make sure you get the alfalfa pellets with OUT the salt.

I found this information from Dave Silverberg of Abbey Gardens in California:

'I have found (for me) that the best application of alfalfa pellets is mixing it in the soil at transplanting time. The watering-in procedure after transplanting begins the release of the micro-nutrients and the triacontanol (growth stimulant). Early on in my use of alfalfa pellets I just sprinkled a handful over the clump. I found that the pellets disintegrated into a mush over the rhizome, became mouldy and had an umpleasant odor not to mention the unsightly mess. As Linda has mentioned do NOT use rabbit pellets. Besides the salt that is added there is cracked corn included and there is something (?) in the corn germ that is detrimental to the growth of the iris. There are those who prefer to use alfalfa tea as a foliar spray or as a drench but it seems to me to be a great deal more work than just mixing the pellet into the soil at planting time. '

Dave Silverberg

According to Schreiners, well-known for their Irises, re-blooming irises will only do so in warmer climates since they need a longer growing season than zone 4, possibly zone 5, can provide.

Where they can rebloom, they required doses of fertilizers low in nitrogen and regular moisture for them to set buds.

Rather than Shreiners generalizing, they should be more specific. There are reblooming irises that need more time to set rebloom buds than others. They should have made that clear. I have several Iris Rebloom Reliability Charts that I've collected through the years and there are reblooming irises listed that rebloom from zone 3 to zone 9. As an example, if you grow an iris that is a rebloomer in zone 8 or 9, and you live in zone 6, you will probably never see it rebloom and wonder if there are indeed reblooming irises or do they not exist.

If you live in one of the cooler zones, 3 or 4, here are some rebloomers that are said to rebloom in zone 3:
Bouniful Harvest
English Cottage
I Do
Northward Ho
Queen Dorothy
Rosalie Figge
Total Recall
Autumn Circus
Earl of Essex
Feed Back
Harvest Of Memories
Immortality
Misty Twilight

I'm in zone 6 but feel that I could be a 5. I see these iris in my garden twice a year ALMOST every year:
Immortality
Sugar Blues
Clarence
Fast Forward
Rosalie Figge
Lo Ho Silver
Plum Wine
Baby Blessed
Baby Boom
NOID peach that could be Jean Guymer

I have these but have not had them for a complete year as yet to see if they will be reliable here. I suspect they will:
Juris Prudence
English Cottage

Every summer is a little different and with the amount of rain we've had in our area, I expect a very good rebloom from my iris. Rebloomers bloom on NEW growth, hence they grow faster than spring only bloomers and require more water and food than the once yearly bloomers. If you purchase iries listed to rebloom in your zone, you can help rebloom along by watering if it's dry, dead heading promptly, and by feeding your rebloomers. Other then
that, you're at the mercy of Mother Nature! And even with perfect gardening practices, there is NO 100% guarantee that you will get rebloom every year. And I've seen that rebloom may occur earlier in some years than in others. It's hard to time it exactly.

Linda

Linda, this is great information. Thanks!

Wow! I didn't know Fast Forward is a possible rebloomer for me!

I've had Late Lilac rebloom nearly every other year. I see stalks on the following reliably for me (even without the special pampering that goes into rebloomers)

Cobra's Eye
Royal Maroon (mdb)
Plum Wine (sdb)
Lunar Whitewash
Late Lilac (every other year)
Clarence
What Again (sdb)
Gnuz Spread (mdb)
Autumn Circus
Harvest of Memories (when it was healthy)
Cayenne Capers
Faithful and True (once well established)
Feedback
Fall Festival (bb)
Cornhusker Autumn (sdb)
Immortality
Northward Ho
Baby Blessed (sdb)

Newer Rebloomers that bloomed first fall for me
Rosalie Loving (sdb)
Solar Max (mdb)

New ones I got two summers ago and am watching this fall
Earth and Sky (sdb - pictured)
Daughter of Stars -- hasn't bloomed spring or summer for me yet
Sky Willow (sdb)

Roni