bare root iris turning to mush

14 years ago

I have divided and transplanted 100's of old iris without any problems. The last 2 falls I ordered bare root iris thru the mail and planted as ususal, making a hole, mounding the soil and spreading roots, etc. I know not to cover rhizone with soil... however, come spring I find over half of them have turned to mush!!! Very frustrating. Any ideas?

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Comments (8)

aquawise
14 years ago
I had this happen to me this spring. Although it was only Iris I got from Breaks and Spring hill. Others I ordered were from Schrieners and Burgards I did not lose even one!!! They came much earlier in the fall the Br & SH. I believe they got a much better start before the cold set in on them.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
from what zone were they shipped to z4???

how late in the fall

did they have time to harden off.. or get accustomed to the new garden.. before a deep frost/freeze???

does you soil drain properly... if clay.. could they have been standing in too much water as per cold issues above???

ken
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treasureflower
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for your feed back. I believe they were from Spring Hill... They were planted in mid october (z4) I checked on them thru Novemeber, as we had a late start to winter, soil is well drained but we did receice alot of rain. When I dug them out this Spring, it appeared roots had started to establish. Will try another co. makes sense to get them established much earlier...
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
I believe they were from Spring Hill

==>>> case closed ..

ken

ps: order from a specialty nursery.. to get special iris ... mailed at the right time.. in the right shape ...
aquawise
14 years ago
Make them replace them or refund you money. I will never order from them again. I have made sure they know it to.
treasureflower
Original Author
14 years ago
For future reference, I got mixed up and thought these were irises bought from white flower farm... to back up a bit, I called original co. just prior to planting, to discuss my issue from year prior, apparently they were not from them, deep in their(wff)index they recommend covering w/ sand & evergreens? They were still offering to replace even though i didn't even purchase from them..
Nancy
14 years ago
I'm not sure where you are, but in my area, October is getting a bit late in the season to plant iris. Not that it is impossible, I have done it here, but I imagine certain areas of the country just isn't done. Certainly wouldn't cover them.
ashes_of_the_fire
14 years ago
it could be that given the winter that we had (very mild, many freeze-thaw cycles) your new irises got botrytis, which is a form of mould. I try and cover my irises every fall because we have so many warm spells in the winter that my plants have a tendency to get this rot. definitely cover them.

also, i know people tell you to plant only in full sun, but i have irises in full shade on the North side of the house that bloom and increase better than the others in full sun every year. It's incredibly annoying.