Re: Dividing Iris

KaIiedra@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 97-07-07 23:57:59 EDT, you write:
> 
> >
> >  It would be okay but in our zone 5 this year, the bloom was very late and
> >  we will be waiting about 2 weeks before digging so the rhizomes will
> fatten
> >  up more.
> Fatten them up more?  never paid  much attention to the rhizome size.  Most
> of these plants got dug up late in spring '96 in an attempt to save them form
> being bulldozed so since they didn't flower they've grown like wild.  There
> are a couple that have 5 fans on them.  Another ?  Is it necessary to cut the
> fan back?  They are in a sheltered area where the wind won't bother them too
> much and I'd like to leave the fans on just because I hate the look of them
> all hacked up (mother did it with a weed eater last fall I could have killed
> her).
> 
> Kali~
Hi Kali;
Yes, the rhizomes do size up after blooming, and then there is plenty of
time for them to be dug. Once you dig them, it is best to trim the fans,
although you don't want to take them down to the ground. Leave them
about six to eight inches long. This is not to keep them from blowing
away after replanting, although in windy areas it certainly can help, it
is to prevent excess loss of moisture, which happens after transplanting
if you don't trim those fans down. If you were not digging and dividing,
the fans are best left alone, except for the removal of dead or diseased
fans. When you trim the fans, they sometimes look a little more
attractive if you cut them so they come to a gradual point in the
middle. Just a little more pleasing to the eye, than straight across.
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Not an artist, but hope you get the gist of what I am trying to say.
Good luck, Kali, your iris will thank you for this, especially if you
amend the soil before you plant back. If you saw Rosalie Figge's note on
alpha bits, then follow suit. She has been growing irises longer than I
have been alive, I am sure, and knows whereof she speaks. (Hi Rosalie,
good to see you on the list!!) 
Nancy Silverberg, Molalla, OR where the clouds tell me it is going to
rain, so I had better go and help David cut out the rest of the tansy
before it goes to seed!!!
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