my first thought was that you were fertilizing ... are you??? tell us about how

i grow mine in mineral sand.. properly mulched.. and in 10 years ... never fertilized ...

they grow to standard ... and do not flop.. but for the worst of wind storms ...

ken

I stake them. I buy those green wire things that have a curve at the top & use it to hold up the flower stalk. The great thing about these (besides no tying & untying) is I can move them from irises to glads to hollyhocks to Oriental lilies to anything else that is getting ready to flop.

They are also good for marking where you are thinking of extending the deck.

I don't mind staking irises. I figure it's the least I can do in return for their blooming for me in more shade than they'd like, or for enduring heavy rains and overhead watering.

From my observation here in Texas, it's more the variety and/or the weather conditions that determine a flopper. But in general, it does seem to me that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. :-)

Usually a heavy rain and wind will make it necessary for me to stake a few. I use bamboo that is about 48 inches and attach the stem with the velcro green tape. It is reusable, so I remove it when the bloom is spent and use it again.

As others have already said, only a few of mine need staking.
kay