Re: Culture: digging irises up
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Culture: digging irises up
- From: D* S* <d*@roanoke.infi.net>
- Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 19:16:59 -0600 (MDT)
John I Jones wrote:
>
> As has been said before, especially on this list, there are no
> absolutes..... I have some second year clumps that are about to take over.......
I have another 2 year about which I say "Where did it go???".......
>
> So the first rule is: Do what suits you, your growing environment and
> the particular cultivar...........
John gives very good advice here. Let me add that medians are almost a bi-yearly or sometimes
yearly transplant for me. Some reasons are....the amount of rhizomes you put back.....How close
together they are.....if you use the Alfalfa/Miracle-Grow treatment......your soil...the year's
weather.....how green your thumb is!
When to dig depends on your location and weather conditions. If you grow a number of rebloomers
you do not want them to go dormant. I find mine do much better if they do not go dormant at
all...esp. the 'oncers'. A slight amount of water on a regular basis keep this from happening.
After digging.....replanting as soon as possible will get the plants going faster. Bearded
irises are hard to kill if left out of the ground...but the bloom for the next season will be
stunted. Again plenty of water...alfalfa and a 1/2 dilution of Miracle-Grow will help these
beauties preform well.
A project Region 4 is undertaking will be to put together a booklet of Culture for our Regional
area which new members will be able to use to help them get started. This will include Bearded
and Beardles Irises...Species...Rebloomers...Seedlings....Pesticides...Herbicides...and so on.
Something along this line might be done by the various active regions......Can't hurt!
Dennis Stoneburner
Roanoke, VA Editor - NEWSCAST Region 4
zone6-7 sorta
