Go for it. If you can dig out the iris without disturbing the roots even better for the plants.

I wonder if you would soak the area first and then the soil would be heavier and stay around the roots for you.

What colors are they, do you remember?

You can always move the clump in one piece(s) now and then in spring, once in your yard, separate and divide them. I think that would work better and be easier on the irises than to divide them now.

Besides, they are free plants. So, if you lose a few, what have you really lost...a little time and energy?

Brenda

In Calgary, zone 3 (currently bordering on 4, LOL), gardeners still divide irises at the beginning of September. Since you're in a slightly colder zone, I'd agree with moving the whole clump, if possible. If the clump is too large, you could break it into 2 or 3 smaller ones.

I'd wait to lift and divide the clump until late July or early August of next year, however, because you might just get some blooms out of them in the spring.

Oh good, I'm glad you guys agree. You're right, Brenda - they are free and little to be lost but I would have hated to do something wrong and lose them due to my error. They're purple and yellow - they bloom very nice and I've admired them for a long time.

So Doris, you're saying if I lift and divide the clump in spring next year (which was my intent) that I'd forfeit blooms for the year? I wonder if they'd bloom later in the season?

I just got back from the farmer's market and it's time to put up my feet for a bit. I think I'll go get them tomorrow morning (plus look around to see what else might be of interest - there's a huge patch of clustered bellflower that I might also adopt).

Pudge, I can only go by my own experience; I've only received iris tubers once in the spring, and they didn't bloom for me until the following year.

It is my understanding that irises only bloom once per set of leaves. Then, the tuber grows new sets of leaves (one or more on each side of the old growth) which will bloom the following year. Most of the leaves in the clump you'll be getting would have bloomed, supposedly, and the new growths are now forming. If you leave the clump intact in the spring, the new growths should get nutrients from the old part of the tuber and they should bloom for you.

If you divide the clump, the plant's energy will go into making new roots rather than flowers, especially since you should be throwing away the older parts of the tuber when you replant. Even tubers that are divided at the right time (late summer), might spend most of the first season establishing themselves before they put on a good show of blossoms.

It's my understanding that the so-called repeat bloomers are vigorous plants whose new growth is able to mature fast enough to allow for a late-season repeat flowering. Otherwise, I don't think iris particularly like hot weather. I noticed that the blooms didn't last as long on my plants, this year, because temperatures here were higher in early summer than last year.

I'm not an iris expert; I'm just sharing what I've learned and seen in my own garden. And what I experience in my garden might be different than what happens in your yard. If the clump is large enough, and you're able (or forced) to break it in two, why not experiment and divide one clump in spring and one in late summer and see which method works best for you?

If you like clustered bellflower, keep your eyes open for the white version. I love the purple one (especially planted near early blooming orange Asiatic lilies, and especially since they came from my mother's garden), but I absolutely adore the white ones!!

I dug irises out of a ditch in the fall and planted them in the garden. I read that you are not to bury the rhizome, just get the roots in. They grew the next season but did not bloom until this spring, oh my, they were outstanding, huge leaves and awesome blooms. Worth the wait of one season for the blooms. Mine were a purple/yellow variety and a smaller yellow variety.

Another job done. Anyone looking out early this morning would have seen me pulling my trusty wagon down the back lane, big shovel and fork in hand. I thought it would be a tough job - NOT! The iris were planted in soil that was likepowder - bone dry and not a hint of clumping. Even watered I don't believe the soil would have held onto the rhizomes. Anyway, as I lifted the clumps, the soil fell away leaving just the rhizomes/roots. Good thing was, nothing broke away - all the roots untangled from each other with no effort. Bad thing - I had no choice in the matter and had no clumps with soil attached.

So, they're all divided and planted, sort of trenched, into a holding bed. I did not take all that was there, and still landed up with over 100 tubers, some doubles that I didn't break apart, each with a healthy fan of leaves which I cut back by half to two-thirds. The clumps were severely overcrowded, and once I got in there I realized that even though I saw blooms, for the amount of foliage there should have been a great deal more bloom.

I was confused a bit at first - for some reason I expected the rhizomes to be big and fat, resembling an elongated potato perhaps the size of my fist. That which I dug today didn't look like that at all - more like a black knot diseased branch on a cherry tree. I thought I was mistaken and they weren't bearded iris but the flowers sure looked like bearded. I googled images for Iris germanica rhizome and found exact images of what I planted today.

If they live and bloom I'll post pics. Chances are I'll be moving them in the spring so may have to sacrifice blooms. Don't know where I'll put 100 iris, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Tough life, LOL.

I appreciate everyone's help here, and thanks for your last posting, Doris - I paid more attention to how they were formed because of your explanation, and threw away what appeared to be old and had no roots attached.

My fingers are crossed for your irises, Pudge. It sounds like you did everything right (including cutting back the leaves). It also sounds like the irises were planted in perfect conditions at their old house...with lots of drainage. Here's hoping for an extended fall, so that they have time to put down lots of new roots before winter. I'm really looking forward to photos in the spring, with or without flowers, just to see how well the irises did!

Did you get your campanula, as well?

No, I didn't get the Campanula - the area where it's planted is hard as rock and bone dry. I found another patch of it further away from the house which should survive and I'll go back in spring and get some then.

Hi Pudge,

Hope you dont mind a little bit of info about iris that I got from the people at the local Iris society when I bought some rhizomes there in August. Iris should be dug/divided in August at the earliest and replanted by end of september at the latest . Dig a hole and place the iris in it and throw dirt on top then work the iris up thru the soil till the rhizome is showing above ground ( about 1/2 of the thickness of the iris should be above ground. If you dont have a great deal of snow cover where you are place a rock on top to prevent heaving or barring that check your rhizomes periodically thru the winter( if not a lot of snow) and stomp them back into the ground if they have heaved. I did what they said last year ( we had terrible heaving from lack of snow and frost and thaw conditions ) and all my iris survived.

If you move them early in the spring , you may still get blooms just make sure that they are securely in the ground.

Signet

Signet, remember you are also a zone 6 which means that you get frost a lot later than we do in zone 2 or 3.

So, being that replanting the iris needs to be with enough time to get the iris re-established before freeze up here in zone 2 - 3, that means that replanting should be done no later than the end of August. A friend of mine has hundreds and hundreds of iris here in the Brandon area and that is the advice that she gives.

There is a problem though when buying irises in the fall here on the prairies because the Ontario and BC growers will not send out the irises to the nurseries and box stores until about the middle of September and then it is usually only the tall German irises and the occasional SDB that are sent. They do not ideally have time to get established before our freezeups. So, now, when buying some of these, I have grown them over in the house for the winter and planted them out into the garden in the spring.

Personally, so far, I have never had a problem here with irises heaving out of the ground. I rather think that I would be unable to stomp them back into the ground because once my ground is frozen, it is frozen. A friend of mine lives in Dartmouth and she does have perennials heave out of the ground in the winter. I know that she is rather frustrated sometimes when it happens. Do you feel the same way Signet? I have had problems with deer coming and pulling/nibbling on the iris just before freezeup and thus leaving the iris on the top of the soil for the winter, but that is a different story.

Brenda

Brenda,

When you pot up the iris for indoors...how much light do they need through out the winter? How much water do they need?

Sierra

Sierra, the irises are planted in whatever planter in the house that has a free spot. I have had them in my north window, my east facing windows and also one year they were on the landing between the upstairs and the downstairs and survived all winter with basically no light from any windows.

I do not let the foliage get tall so that it doesn't look funny. I water only sparingly (whenever the original plant in the planter gets water). Iris rhizomes do not like to be wet.

All I am doing in the house, is letting the iris establish roots and letting it bide its time in the warmth of the house instead of the winter weather outside. Once spring comes out they all go.

Some people grow them under grow lights in the house, but I figure why? There is always a spot here and there in the other planters and so that is what I have done.

Brenda

Thanks for the info Brenda! I am thinking of trying a bag of the tall bearded from Costco.......

So is it that the foliage doesn't grow over the winter or do you cut it back? Just wanting to make sure what to do, if I decide to try this.

Sierra

Oh, the foliage grows!! I just do not want 18" tall foliage in a 6" tall houseplant. So, I keep the foliage trimmed to around 5-6" tall.

Brenda

All good information. I got those out of the ground just in the nick (nic?) of time - a couple days later they were tearing up the foundation right where the irises were planted.

Those that I divided/transplanted are turning a little yellow - bad sign or normal? They're not too wet, nor too dry I don't think. We've had some rains but they're in a raised bed so it's well drained.

pudge, when you transplanted the irises did you cut the foliage back to about 4" high? If not, the irises are trying to keep up in keeping the foliage alive plus get their roots established.

Brenda