Re: moving iris question

Sharon A. Ruck wrote:
>   We plan to move to NE Washington
> next april or may, and wonder, how do we move the irises?  When to dig them
> up to transport?  How to store them during the 2 weeks or maybe more when
> they will be out of the ground?  Do amarylis transplant well?  (I know that
> is not an iris, but I know that you folks are not that narrow minded, either)
> 

Sharon -- I can tell you what worked for me. When I moved my irises from
Indiana to Virginia, it was in August. The adult plants I could
transport dry-root. But most of my plants were first-year seedlings
planted in the ground, and I was warned that I would lose their first
bloom the following spring if I let them dry out. So, I packed them in
shallow boxes with their roots set in wet sand, and they sat like that
in a shady place for two weeks while I feverishly worked to pulverize a
rotted tree stump and work in gypsum to enrich the yellow clay that
occupied the only sunny spot in the yard. I lost none of them, and I got
good bloom the next spring. I relate this because you'll be moving yours
in the spring, just about at bloom time -- the worst situation I can
imagine. You will, of course, lose your bloom, but the wet sand
treatment might keep your actively growing plants from too much harm. I
don't know where you're moving FROM, but if you have the chance to wait
and dig the plants AFTER they have bloomed, that would be the thing to
do. If you have to move them before they bloom, then the best thing
would be  -- if you don't have too many -- to dig them up in intact
balls of dirt, put the balls in plastic bags, and replant the ball of
dirt at your destination. I have moved both irises and peonies this way
in the springtime with good results. 

Griff Crump, near Mount Vernon, VA, thankful for the cool weather that
may keep my garden from bloomimg out before the shows. 
jgcrump@erols.com
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