Iris issues

patricia hilbert · Wed May 20, 2009 11:49 am

My mother in law gave us a lot of plants from her gardens the year she passed away(2001). After the trip back from New York in very hot weather I plunked them into our garden areas and watered so we wouldn't lose them. They all did really well until 2008, when the Irises -planted out front became crowded by vinca and shaded by maple trees. Trimmed back the maples and cleared out the vinca now there is a bud on the Iris!! All of that to ask this: Did those things make a difference or are these iris being cranky? Its only been a week!! Also, the beareded iris out back are in bloom. They are the color of lightly toasted marshmallows. Can anyone identify the type for me?

Patricia

Kisal · Wed May 20, 2009 12:09 pm

I love iris. Used to have them everywhere around here, and hopefully, I will again.

I can't help with an ID on your iris without a picture of the flower in question. Can you post one?

It has been 8 years since you planted those iris. Have you dug them up and replanted them at all in that time? They might need that, especially the one that just now budded. You'll want to do it this fall, of course. It's possible that bud would have come out anyway, but was late because of the lack of sunlight. I can't say for sure.

patricia hilbert · Wed May 20, 2009 4:23 pm

Kisal

Thankyou for the info. I'll enjoy what I get this spring/summer and transplant in the Fall.

Patricia

Decado · Thu May 21, 2009 2:56 am

If you don't keep Irises thinned out to about 2-3 plants per clump they become rootbound and don't flower. Spread your Irises out and you'll likely get flowers, even in shade.

patricia hilbert · Thu May 21, 2009 10:48 am

decato

Thanks for the tip!! We had no idea iris would grow in the shade. Only see them in sun. I will keep them in same garden, but spread them out more.

Patricia

Green Creek · Thu May 21, 2009 1:44 pm

You may know this but if you separate iris to replant, the ones with three fans will bloom the next year, two fans will take another year and the one fan plants take yet another year.

Sarah

patricia hilbert · Fri May 22, 2009 8:15 am

Sarah

Thanks for the info!! Never realized there was a numerical system involve. Math isn't my strong point, unless its knit 2 purl2, but I'm pretty sure I can get to three!!Thanks again.

Patricia

James282 · Sun May 31, 2009 11:30 pm

So some relatives of mine sent me some iris bulbs from their gardens...is it safe to stick them in the ground now or do I need to wait until the fall?

Figured this wouldnt be a bad piggy-back

James

Kisal · Mon Jun 01, 2009 12:31 am

I would put them in the ground now. Otherwise, you risk them drying out during the summer. I've planted iris at this time of year, and even in the middle of the summer. You won't get blooms until next year, of course, but they'll have plenty of time between now and then to develop good roots.

rainbowgardener · Mon Jun 01, 2009 7:21 am

A family member gave us some iris and I threw them down in a shady spot to wait til I had time to figure out where to put them and plant them. Of course that time never showed up and I sort of forgot about them. So the iris just sitting on top of (very bad) soil in the shade just rooted themselves in and started growing!. They haven't bloomed, but I don't have the heart to move them now, because their survival is so amazing.

For me iris do not bloom very well in shade. Maybe the occasional little flower here and there, but nothing like what they would have done in sun. But they do survive and grow leaves just fine.

James282 · Mon Jun 01, 2009 11:00 am

Great! They are going in today, even if it will be a little confusing for them

James

Kisal · Mon Jun 01, 2009 12:45 pm

rainbowgardener wrote:A family member gave us some iris and I threw them down in a shady spot to wait til I had time to figure out where to put them and plant them. Of course that time never showed up and I sort of forgot about them. So the iris just sitting on top of (very bad) soil in the shade just rooted themselves in and started growing!. They haven't bloomed, but I don't have the heart to move them now, because their survival is so amazing.

A coworker gave me a plastic yard bag full of iris from his garden one year, and I forgot about it. It sat in the trunk of my car for at least a month! I planted them anyway, and they bloomed beautifully the following year.

For me iris do not bloom very well in shade. Maybe the occasional little flower here and there, but nothing like what they would have done in sun. But they do survive and grow leaves just fine.

I've never had them bloom well in shade, either. I was rather surprised to read that they would. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]

mheiderscheit · Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:13 pm

I am in the midst of clearing a shady spot in our yard. Lots of brush and weeds. I found some beautiful big white iris in there. One plant was blooming the others weren't. I'm thinking I should move them to a sunny spot. Do you suppose squirrels put the bulbs there? Should I move them this fall, or wait until spring.

Also, a lady dug some lilies for me the other day. My sunny beds aren't quite ready to plant yet, but should I just stick them in the ground for now and move them later?

rainbowgardener · Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:55 am

fall is a better time than spring to move your iris...

Yes and yes re putting your lilies in the ground. Although I have some oriental lilies in nearly full shade under a tree and they do quite well there. They are covered with blooms as we "speak". They were supposed to white, but for some reason are cream colored. (I don't think that's a shade effect, I think the catalog company just gave me the wrong variety). Nonetheless they glow beautifully in their gloomy shady spot.