German Batik Iris

I would like some help getting my German batik iris to bloom again.  They've
had a hectic beginning.   I bought two a couple years ago because they were so
beautiful.  This are the first iris of my own.  The first year I planted them
in the ground.  The ground was almost pure clay (I'm not exaggerating) that I
mixed in sand, manure and compost.  They survived their first year okay.  I
had to dig them up that fall and I put them in potting soil in large plastic
pots.  They didn't flower the next year.  Their fans didn't get really big,
but they stayed green almost all summer and they grew more fans.  I also
planted a groundcover in with them.  It's a long story about that, but I
wanted to see how it grew.

I know there may be different reasons why my iris didn't bloom.  It could have
been because they were repotted.  They're staying in their pots.  It could
have been because they weren't fertilized.  I think I read this fall that iris
need fertilizing.  They got bone meal last  fall.  I also read that iris like
to have their tubers/roots exposed to the sunshine.  I already plan to take
out the groundcover.  Would it take long for the iris to fill up all the room
in the pot?  I was wondering in the meantime if I could put in another flower
that didn't have a mounding habit.  I don't recall my mother's iris spreading
much, but we had stony soil without much nutrition in it.

Thanks very much for your help.

Debbie

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