First stab at Irises - keeping them alive

13 years ago

Hi,

I am a new gardener who's been trying to grow different plants around the house. Previously I have managed to killed most of the plants that I own even weeds like lucky bamboo, but after a lot of trial and errors, I have gotten a bit better at this.

My wife's friend gave us some irises late last year but we apparently forgot about them until I found them in the garage a month ago. Thinking they were probably dead, I decided to plant them in a pot outside with a covering of peat moss (to reduce water loss). To our surprise, something is growing.

Actually, I have no idea what kind of Irises I even have. I recall the friend said they were white. Obviously it's a type that should be able to stand Chicago weather.

My question is how do I keep them alive? I should transplant them from the pot to the ground. I was wondering if I should plant them in the sun or in the shade?

I also read about Iris Borer, so I was worry that the plant may have come with some. How can I tell if the plant is infected, the plant started out with brown leaves, now it's green with brown leave tips.

Thanks.

Paul

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
make it live.. before you start worrying about borers ...

they are made .. to basically lay on top of the ground.. with the roots in the soil ... they should not be covered ...

they should have been planted last fall.. so they could grow roots for this years flower show ...

in fact.. they should have been planted when they were handed to you ... often older clumps need to be lifted and divided .. and that is why your friend had the extra handy ...

if it were me .... i would stick them in the ground ASAP ... i am due east of you just below ann arbor... they have just barely begun to grow ... because it has been so cold this spring ... just like i have heard chi-town has been ..

i would opt this way .... simply because sooner or later i would forget about the pot .... [and based on your record of forgetting them in the garage.. might i suggest that you might be no better off than me... lol]

you may or may not get flowers this year ... since they are a bit out of phase ...

once firmly attached to mother earth .... they are pretty much bullet proof ... once established.. i do not water them.. i do not feed them ... on my sand ... though they have good mulch nearby but not on top of them ...

and with one plant.. i wouldnt worry too much about borers ... someday you might have to bone up on that .... but we can worry about that much later ...

good luck

ken
littlebit_gw
13 years ago
One thing Ken left out is FULL SUN...Plant them where they can get at least 6 hours of full sun a day.
Irises are hardy hardy plants and very easy to grow. Good Luck!
Related Professionals
Ballenger Creek Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Eden Prairie Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Ferndale Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bergenfield Landscape Contractors · Gaithersburg Landscape Contractors · Inglewood Landscape Contractors · Mount Kisco Landscape Contractors · Santa Ana Landscape Contractors · Tacoma Landscape Contractors · Tinton Falls Landscape Contractors · Washington Landscape Contractors · Wickliffe Landscape Contractors · Woodland Landscape Contractors · Lauderdale Lakes Landscape Contractors · Agoura Hills Stone, Pavers & Concrete
paulsiu
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi,

The irises have been growing in the pot for a month until I figured out where to put them. Despite the unusually cold weather in Northern IL, the irises seemed to have grown pretty well. I actually used them as a sun cover for the columbines.

Under Ken and littlebit's advice (a belated thank you by the way), I planted in the full sun. The fact that they all survived is a testimony to their hardiness.

A soil test indicate that the soil has a PH of 7.5 and is very low on phosphorous. It does have a lot of organic matter, since digging out resulted in tons of earthworms that I had to put back. I sprinkled a ring of bone meal 3 inches from the plant and cover it with compost and worked it in. Let's hope irises doesn't mind the somewhat alkaline soil, but since it comes from a local area, it's probably used to it.

Paul
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
super ... you will win ...

i actually have them growing on the compost pile.. from where i unceremoniously threw some remnants last year ...

that is one of the definitions of bullet proof ....

the only exception.. is if you paid $100 bucks for it.. then it would die on the way home.. lol...

let us know if you get some flowers

ken
organic_kitten
12 years ago
amen to that ken...the more it costs, the less iron-clad it is!
kay
llover
12 years ago
I can sure second that! Ken and Kay are so right!
ellen
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
you ought to try it with hosta ...

you can actually hear them laughing manically in the back as they die ....

mocking me ...

ken
paulsiu
Original Author
12 years ago
Holy cow, it's only 9 days after I planted them in the ground. One of the irises already spouted a flowering stalk complete with a few flower buds. The flowers haven't opened yet. I was expecting no flowers this year.

Do animals eat irises? I have been having some issue with something eating the flowers. I haven't figure out who yet. My money is on the bunnies. It could be the squirrels, they like to dig up th turlips, so I bury the bulbs with a layer of cayenne pepper on top for a nasty surprise. I was wondering if I need to spray it with some repellent.

Paul
Calamity_J
12 years ago
Keep the pics coming plz!!!
freki
12 years ago
Do you have groundhogs? (woodchucks). They like to treat gardens as salad bars. They don't like the pepper, though.

The only thing that eats my irises are slugs, and they seem to take a few nibbles and move on to yummier stuff.
paulsiu
Original Author
12 years ago
Nope, don't have groundhogs. Back when I lived out east, they were everywhere. I haven't seen one ever since I lived in the Midwest.

so Day 9 one of the iris cluster spouted a single stalk. Soon, others followed. I was under impression that they were white iris, I was wrong. The following pictures are from day 16 after planting.

Impressive plants! They're really tough!

Paul
sc_gardener
12 years ago
Yes, they are very tough, esp. those heirloom varieties. I have some that were dug up from our old house 20 years ago, moved to our current home and I have not done much to them they are still going strong.
An unknown purple and honorabile, a bi-color yellow.
I have had daylilies and hosta which have gotten the treatment as well, dug up, laid on top of the ground all winter, and still bloomed and were just fine.
Probably the reason I have so many daylilies, hosta and iris!
paulsiu
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, I am such a terrible gardner that I think if I didn't have day lillies, my garden would be bare. I am glad that at least I have Iris to count on, too.

One odd bit. What type of Iris do I have. I thought they were white, but then the bud turned purple and spouted lavender flowers. Now the flowers are turning pink? I am confused.

Paul