Did I kill them?

14 years ago

A friend generously gave me lots of bearded irises last year. I planted them in the fall, they came up beautifully this spring, some of them bloomed, and they are now starting to get brown, whither and die back. Is this normal? I was afraid of planting them too deeply, but they've got about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of soil over the rhizomes. Is that too much? They are also in a partial shade area (the spot where I want to put them is going to have a lot of work done to it and I want to just wait till that's done before I put them there. They're in the partial shade spot just to keep them alive till next spring). So did I kill them? Are they just going dormant for the summer? Should I dig a few up that lost all their leaves and see if they're rotted?

Thanks for any help, I've never grown irises before.

Comments (3)

chere
14 years ago
Iris should not be covered with soil. They should be exposed to the sun. You might want to check for rot. Cut the rotten part off and wash it antibacterial soap and let dry for 2 days and replant.
iris_gal
14 years ago
Beardeds don't look so hot this time of year! Outer leaves of the fan dying and sometimes the remaining ones looking 1/2 wilted.

Allow the soil to dry between soaks. One inch of soil sounds like too much. I have read of a light covering of soil in extremely hot, sunny climates.

Scrape off the soil and they'll be fine for relocation next spring if no prolonged flooding occurs!

Drainage is the name of the game!
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Nancy
14 years ago
Agree, too much soil probably. I don't even bury my iris, I leave as much as half the rhizome on top of the soil & they do fine. I've noticed that iris that are covered over much at all grow all right in my yard, but take longer to bloom.