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.
Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
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!
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?
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.
Yes!
Irises don't root too deeply, like a sapling would; use a hand trowel, go slow. Go around the edge of the entire clump, loosening inward and down, careful to not chop the rhizomes, and then lift as much of the clump from the ground at once as possible.
Irises- afterbloom
I found a funny oblong shaped, green bulbous thing on the top of the stem after the flower bloomed. I do not recall every seeing one of these before. Can you tell me what it could be?
Hi... Don't have much to
Hi... Don't have much to share, except that i read that the bulbous growth at the tip of some iris stems is a seed pod.
Seed pod?
I have the same green oblong shaped "thing" on many of my white bearded iris after they have bloomed. If they are indeed seed pods, does this mean they can be planted?
seed pod and seeds
you can plant the seeds - I'm planning on doing that this year just to see what I get. there are a number of suggested ways to plant them, some are simple, some are very involved. they do need a period of cold before they germinate. so, read up online and see what method you'd like to try. good luck.
Seed pod
Seed pod
Brown spots on leaves
I have small brown spots on my iris leaves. What causes this? Irises are supposed to be easy to grow, but I have not found this to be so, although I have a dark brown thumb. lol The first year all the tips turned brown and I was told I wan't watering them enough. This year I am watering them every other day, (high 80's - low 90's in TX and it's only mid May) they have brown spots and I can not keep the grass out of the beds. There now seems to be more grass than irises and I weed weekly, pulling every grass & weed out! If I can not mulch, what can I do? This is getting to be too much work.
brown spots on iris leaves
Iris leaf spot is very common; it’s a fungal infection caused by high humidity and lots of moisture. You need to cut off the infected portions of the leaves to prevent further infections, and apply a fungicide (ask your local garden center).
The fungus may over winter so you will need to destroy spotted or dead in the fall, so it does not happen in the spring. Also, plant iris in full sun (not shade) and space at least 8 inches apart for good air circulation.
Isn’t it orris root?
Isn’t it orris root?
Orris root
Orris root is rendered from the rhizomes of Iris germanica, Iris florentina, and Iris pallida, which are known as “bearded irises.” The iris will take 2 to 3 years to reach maturity, at which point it’s ready to be harvested. The grated or chopped rhizome will need to dry for 2 years before it’s ready for use in a potpourri or perfume.
Iris borers
How do we get rid of them? Have had for several years after ordering new ones.
Antique iris
I am so fortunate to have my great-grandmother's iris. I have varieties going back to 1898. Modern iris do not do well for us - I cannot get them to rebloom. I bought an Immortality, Before the Storm and After the Storm and none of them have not bloomed once in the four or five years I have had them, yet the antiques are blooming their hearts out right next to them. The older iris are never-failing. I have never noticed a colour change despite many hues being planted right next to each other. Again, perhaps this is because of a genetic gift of hardiness or a tendency to colour isolation within the older varieties. I don't bother buying any new iris, but keep on dividing Granny's. They suit us fine!
My grandmothers iris’s too
I have my grandmother’s iris too & I love them! They are so hardy pretty vivid colors.
Antique Iris
I have many Pioneer ancestors buried in a very old cemetery in Colorado. We have been visiting this cemetery yearly since I was a child, to place flowers on the graves of my people. I have always loved the Iris that grow wild there, amongst the weeds and cactus, and many years ago my sister and I pulled a few bulbs out and brought them home to Denver to replant. My bulbs ended up sitting in a box in the garage for several years, until I finally remembered them, and planted them in my yard some 7 years ago. They are thriving and gorgeous! We've always called them cemetery flowers, but they are joyfully alive and vibrant. They are purple almost every year, altho some summers they come up white. Soon I will be pulling a few out to give to my daughter, who also loves them. They really are stunning, despite my being no kind of green thumb gardener.
I also have my Gran’s iris’s!
During the sale of our family home I dug up my Gran’s iris’s by the back door. It took them a couple seasons to settle in. Twenty years later they have been divided and shared and are going strong. The lore of these iris’s is my Gran would tell me as a child they were one hundred years old, planted when the house was built. I loved hearing that story. That makes them one hundred forty years old now, and I’m just now searching out seeking to learn how to care for them properly. I’m so thankful for this website!
Irises
Lisa...do you know if older irises can be found anywhere...I bet they are beautiful!
IRISES WILL NOT REBLOOM ANY LONGER
Help. I had allowed them to become crowded ans thinned them out 3 years sho but iut of the 75 plants only 4 hsve rebloomed and they are white. Whst is wrong? I live in xone 9
Pages