Re: New iris grower...what do I do after they bloom?

Hi Darm,

>  Your explanation raised one more question regarding
> the mother rhizome . If I understood correctly once
> she sends out new rhizomes she no longer grows fans .

Generally, but the mother does not always send out her increases all at the
same time.  She could send up new increases all year long and longer
sometimes.  She may continue to send out increases until she is totally
spent.

> If so , how often should a person be digging up their
> Irises to remove the mother rhizome , and what happens
> if she isn`t removed ?

At the end of last summer, when I dug and divided PALM READER, MESMERIZER,
NOREEN'S DELIGHT, NAPLES, and a few others, I noticed there were still small
increases left on the old mother rhizome.  The rhizome was still firm and
looked good, and after a couple days of drying it, I replanted it, and sure
enough those increases came up, and one of them on Naples actually bloomed.
Since spring, there have been one or two more increases.  Generally, though,
people just throw out the old mother.  They want mature rhizomes that have a
better chance to bloom in spring.

The old mother truly NEVER has to be removed.  When she is spent and dies,
she becomes subject to organic breakdown and ends up replenishing the soil
with trace minerals when she decomposes. This of course is what happens in
the wild  HOWEVER, if she becomes subject to the Edwina virus, it can spread
to the increases.

I just went out and looked at PALM READER.  It has so many increases with
increases around it you can't see what used to be exposed above the soil any
more.  Naples looks like the mother rhizome is diminished, but there is a
six inch increase growing off of it.probably on its own power by now.

I dig and divide yearly, but others wait for 3-5 years before digging and
dividing.  This fall I am going to attempt leaving them in the ground for
another year.  The reason people dig and divide is because the clump of iris
rhizomes become crowded.  Irises area also heavy feeders, so there is a lot
of competition for nutrients when there are a lot of rhizomes.  After they
get crowded, and have sucked the ground of the majority of nutrients, the
bloom is not as spectacular as in prior years, the foliage is not as nice,
and it becomes more susceptible to diseases.

See also Arnold's email.

Good luck and have fun!

Patrick Orr
Phoenix, Zone 9
USA







----- Original Message -----
From: "crook" <zone1_5@yahoo.com>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 6:59 AM
Subject: Re: [iris] New iris grower...what do I do after they bloom?


>   Hi Patrick ;
>  I have printed your Iris dividing instructions off
> for future reference .Being an Iris green horn I still
> found your explanation easy to understand and follow
> .Very informative .

>
>
> =====
> Darm S. Crook
> Zone 1 maybe 1.5
> Hay River NWT.
> Canada
>
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