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fertilizing irises

18 years ago

I bought a lot of lovely irises from Schreiners last year. The plants are just waking up for their spring growth. They stayed green all winter but they don't have much size to them.

most of the leaves are only 3-4 " long now. Should I be fertilizing them in the spring? Thank you for your help.

Donna in N. CA.

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Comments (3)

iris_gal
18 years ago
Did you dig in fertilizer at planting time?

If not scratch in some low-nitrogen bulb fertilizer now. I've read that Schreiner's fertilizes 8 weeks before expected bloom.
laurief_gw
18 years ago
IF your soil is deficient in essential nutrients, the ideal time to fertilize is 6 weeks before anticipated bloom. However, you can seriously damage both your plants and your soil by overfertilizing. It's best to have a soil test run so that you know exactly what, if anything, your soil requires in terms of fertilization.

Laurie
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caavonldy
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you, they have never been fertilized. I will try some low nitrogen fertilizer. Since I planted them last September at the same time I transplanted all my other Irises, I don't expect too much in the way of blooms this year. Iris are tough plants and they might surprise me.

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