The tall, beautiful iris, named after the Greek goddess who rode rainbows, comes in many magical colors. Here’s how to grow irises in your garden!
Every gardener wants this perennial. Despite its divine origins, it is hardy, reliable, and easy to grow. Irises also attract butterflies and hummingbirds and make lovely cut flowers.
There are some 300 species in the genus Iris. The most familiar irises are the tall (at least 28 inches) bearded irises (Iris germanica).
The distinctive flowers have three large outer petals called “falls” and three inner upright petals called “standards.” The falls may have beards or crests. Bearded iris are so-called because they have soft hairs along the center of the falls. In crested iris, the hairs form a comb or ridge.
Most irises flower in early summer. Some, mostly bearded hybrids, are remontant, flowering again later in the summer.
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question about pruning iris
I live in South Carolina and my iris have tall green leaves all year round -- few seldom get brown or die back -- is there ever a time that these leaves should be pruned?
Storing iris
We are moving, it is late fall here. I would like to take some iris with me but don’t know how long it will be before we take possession. Can I take them up, clean off the roots and keep them for any amount of time? By the time we actually get in it might be frozen here.
How to store CO Irises this fall to plant in E. Texasnext Spring
I live in Littleton, CO which is southwest of Denver. I have many friends/family in East Texas that I would like to share my irises with after I divide them in early October. How do I store them until I can get them to East Texas next Spring? Is spring a good time to plant them in East Texas? Thank you.
Digging up Irises
I have a small garden of iris and gladiolas which are not doing well at all even though the iris were divided and they are fed with Bulb Tone each fall and get plenty of sun. There are also lots and lots of weeds in the bed. I am thinking of digging the iris and glads up now and overwintering them so that I can use an herbicide of some sort (?Round Up?) to get rid of the weeds once and for all. Is this a good idea? And if so, please advise on how to successfully overwinter these plants. Thanks!
I have a similar MESS from previous owner.
Like 'Sally in VA, I hv a similar mess, left by the previous homeowner. Since it is at the bottom of a slope, I plan to dig up the entire mess and replace, instead with a hybrid "blood iris"-more tolerant of clayish soils, more tolerant of an occasional dry spell. I'd not thpught about those weeds coming back! (I'd not use toxic Round Up on anything except, maybe rampant English ivy.)
No Round Up
Please don’t use Round-Up. It’s a poison and studies are finding more and more serious health impacts for humans with Round-Up use. It’s just plain dangerous to babies.
Moving irises
We are moving this month but won’t be in new home until December. Will my irises be successful in pots over the winter? How should I plant them in pots? Where should I store them while we are in transition? Should I use most of the original soil?
Irises: how long does it take for them to bloom again
After digging and dividing. Some I replanted last fall only had green leaves. Do you think they will bloom next spring?
Blooming Irises
As long as they are kept in good conditions, they should bloom next year! Try giving them a boost with some balanced fertilizer as soon as the ground unfreezes next spring.
Tall iris from bulb
I was given some iris bulbs over 30 years ago. They are stunning with huge flowers and leaves shaped like green onions and the bulbs are covered in a rich shiny mahogany colour and they grow 24-28” tall. I think she said that they are Siberian. Does anyone know what they could be. I’d appreciate any information. They are very prolific and need dividing every few years. Anything you can share is much appreciated. Thanks.
Old Siberian Irises
I forgot to add that the colours are exquisite with the deepest most intense indigo purple and the yellow is magnificent so deep and brilliant. Thanks. Sharon
Tips to help Irises establish after being dormant for over year
We have had our iris bulbs out of the ground for over a year due to building new house. It's time to get them back in ground so they can grow and bloom. Any tips or ideas to help them grow / get establishe better?
Planting Irises
You’ll want to make sure that the planting site is in a sunny spot with well-draining soil, as irises don’t like to stay wet. Break up the soil before planting so that the irises’ roots can spread more easily. Mix in compost before planting, in a ratio of about 2 parts soil to 1 part compost. You may also want to add a small amount of slow-release balanced fertilizer at planting, which will give the irises something to feed from later on. Since they’ve been out of the ground for so long, they may not all come back in the spring with the vigor they would normally have, but in the future, they should do great!
Rhizomes ready to pant
I bought new rhizomes Aug. 8, can't plant til Sept. 4. How do I keep them healthy until then?
Rhizomes Ready to Plant
I wouldn't worry. Irises are very hardy. Someone gave me a box of iris rhizomes about five years ago. I didn't have time to plant them and just put the box of them underneath our crabapple tree where they got some moisture and a little bit of light. The second spring they were blossoming through what was left of the box. Even ones at the bottom sent out stalks. It was the funniest sight.
You can just keep them in your garage or out of the sun until you are ready to plant. You don't even have to water them.
First Flowering
My iris are finished blooming , should I be cutting them back so that they will rebloom this season, or are the flowers finished for the year?
After flowers are finished.
My flowers have finished blooming for a few weeks and I am left with hard, green, bud-like bulbs left on the flower stalk. What are they and should I cut them off?
iris buds
Those might be seed pods. Remove the seed pods as they develop after flowering or, after the iris is done blooming, just follow the stalk back to its base and simply cut it off. This will keep the plant looking neat and tidy, too.
Moving Iris
Today (Wednesday) I lifted all of my bearded iris in order to divide and replant them. However, I may not remain in this home for another year. Is it possible or even advisable to plant them in pots? I could then move them wherever I go and plant them in my new home. If anyone has had success (or failure) doing this I'd appreciate you letting me know. I don't intend to replant them until Saturday. Thanks!
Planting Iris in pots
I have had success lifting Iris and planting them in pots. You need to plant in at least an 8" pot, it doesn't need to be too deep. When my vegetable garden in cleaned up in the fall I dig a hole and set the pot into the ground and pack the soil up tight around the pot. In the spring, take the pot out of the soil and water, it will grow well. I live in Northern Wi. where the winter is pretty harsh. I have not had trouble with them freezing out. Good luck!
Planting Iris in pots
Thank you for these great tips! If you can do it in WI I guess it will work for me in So. Indiana. :)
Moving Irisis
When my husband and I moved to Stanwood, Washington, my father in law brought us Iris rhizomes from my husbands childhood home in Edmonds. The Iris plants my father in law grew originated from rhizomes which were a wedding gift to his mother and father, their home was in Stanwood. However, soon after my father in law was born the family moved to Chelhalis and they took with them the Iris plants. So, the Irises in my yard traveled from Stanwood to Chehalis to Edmonds and back to Stanwood, over a period of 85 years! They still bloom and are deep purple and pure white with a bit of yellow in the center. I really hope your Irises do well and bring you lots of pleasure!
Iris out of soil
My Mother, sometime prior to her death in 2006, dug about 35 yellow ire’s bulbs! She put them in a double Walmart bag and hung them in my sisters storage building, in March 2015; I was there and my sister was going to discard them as she was cleaning out the room! I said”let’s see if they will produce any flowers”! Was amazed at the number of new flower stems and big leaves they had on them! I had people stop by our office to look at them! 3 years later, they were so thick I had to dig them up, those 30 bulbs produced 3 -5 gallon buckets of bulbs( root and all) l will replant 20 bulbs back in that bed in the next few days, and will plant 3 new beds, give many (20-30 bulbs) to several friends!!! They had grown so dense they were growing on top of each other!! I am in zone 7b! Yes, you can keep them out of the soil for long periods of time, replant in early spring after freeze time, and have pretty flowers in August, plant them in fall and have flowers in April and May!!!
transplanting
I want to take some of my Iris to my daughter in Boston in August. From the time I dig them up until I get them to her (we are going in car) how to I care for them?
Irises
I have a cluster of the blue ?Van Gogh iris that have flowered and spread over several years. This year (now Australian winter) many new growing leaves seem to be growing in pleated folds.
Do you know why this might be happening and is there anything I can do to stop it?
Iris bulbs
Is it possible to grow irises in pots?
Reply RE: Can Iris grow in pots
I live in zone 5 and I have 2 pots approximately 18in tall and 12-16in across and one very large pot 25in tall and 30in across. I’ve had Irises in those for the past 2 years and they are doing great. I’m going to have to thin them out actually.
Planting Irises
I have a question regarding the latest I can plant bearded irises (new rhizomes) in zone 7b. I suspect late June is too late but thought I'd check wit someone who knows better. And if late June is too late, can I plant them in pots and then transplant in September? Alternatively, can I store them in the crisper drawer of the fridge but for how long? I suspect 3-4 months is too long. Thank you for your advice.
when to plant bearded iris
Mid- to late summer is the best time to plant bearded iris. They need to establish roots before winter. That said, some sources suggest that the more time you can give them (to set roots) before the end of growing season, the better. Give them 6 to 8 hours of daylight but make sure they get some shade in the hottest part/days of summer. Do not bury them completely; the tops should be visible, and spread out the roots.
irises around gas meter
We moved into a house a few years ago that has lots of irises around the gas meter. The city said they are going to be replacing the gas meters sometime soon. My question is can I dig up the irises without any danger of hitting the gas line? I would hate to do that. I would love to keep the irises somewhere else in the yard.
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