Re: Dividing Every Year?
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Re: Dividing Every Year?
- From: t*@lanl.gov (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 11:39:14 -0600
Mary Forte writes
:My mother-in-law heard that commercial growers divide their irises every year
:because the first year rhizomes are the biggest. Is this true? Isn't the
:bloom better if you leave the rhizomes in the ground for a couple of years at
:least? Or does it depend on the variety? or the zone?
Yes, it is true. The best rhizomes come from annual division, but the
best blooms are generally on two-year old clumps. Commercial growers
make some sacrifice in their own bloom for the sake of getting bigger
rhizomes (which is, after all, the product they are selling).
It certainly does depend on the variety, to some extent. Many arilbreds
are naturally vigorous and the clumps can become too crowded if not
divided annually...so for them even the bloom is better the first year.
But in my experience, second-year bloom is the best in quality, for nearly
all bearded irises.
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Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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