If they are in light, part shade they should do OK, If they are in a lot of shade Probably not. At lest 6 hours of full sun. IMHO!

have had several varieties of tall bearded irises for about 10 years.
each year have trouble getting them to bloom. this year
only 6 buds out of 40 plants.

have fertilized lightly in spring when they are just
leafing up. past year fertilized after small quantity
bloomed. did not fertilize in spring.

some say no fertilizer, some say fertilize -- some say
water them, some say keep dry. some say good quality
loamy soil, some say worst soil quality possible.

help!! which way to turn.

Here, the western sun is a killer during the summer;
bearded irises often appreciate a little light shade.

forgot to say that I see "garden" after "garden" every spring in which somebody plopped some of their grandmother's iris under a tree 60 years ago & forgot about them.

Now there's a huge ring of irises surrounding the tree.

They all bloom.

There's a huge difference between old, old iris and newer hybrids. Some of the conflicting advice reflects the differences between them. Old iris, along with vigorous recent intros, can perform in poor soil. If you're having trouble with beardeds performing look for "vigor" used in the description.

Here in the land of unrelenting sun our "shade" is even bright. But I have not had TBs bloom in a northern exposure (no sun at all). I have seen them bloom in filtered sun.

Feeding - there's a hot topic. The sandier your soil the more likely you will need to feed. The longer an iris clump has been in place, the more the nutrients have been depleted. In a perfect garden we'd all have lovely friable soil. I've got adobe clay and our rain comes all at once --- compacted all over again. Groan. Compacted soil (little oxygen) not good for any plant.

I have several iris that are in some shade, but the tree is deciduous, so there is little shade until they leaf out. The iris do well there.

I don't know about full shade, since I have never grown any in full shade.
kay

Light shade, I get some bloom. Full shade, no bloom. Full sun, lots of bloom, but if they are late blooming irises they get burned up here in the heat of summer.

Curios- your iris probably need to be divided. They should be dug up and divided about once every three years or so.
Renee

Thank you. What is the definition of old iris? Before what date?

Will I Germanica (sp) be ok in the shade?

Thank you!

Vettin, hybridizing really took off in the 1960's and increasing since. So when I think of an old iris I think of 50's or before. Wider falls and not as droopy seemed to become the new goal. The 'domed' standard also began disappearing. New colors appeared, like peachy pinks! As to a precise date, can't pin that down. A good place to see old iris is the HIPS site.

No bearded iris will do well in ALL shade (see above answers). That includes germanica.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.hips-roots.com/

I tried many things over the years to get big glorious iris blooms, but the ONE SINGLE THING that works for me is: 100% sunlight.

It's not good deep rich soil, it's not water, it's not fertilizer, it is just sun.

Now that I've figured that out I am confidently going forward to buy lots of new iris. 90% of them will bloom each year, I'll bet. But the sun! They've gotta have it.

That's here in St. Louis, anyways.

I have several iris which were thrown into the woods after I thinned out my iris flower bed. These things will sprout roots into the soil anywhere you throw them lol. Anyhow, they live and they bloom. Full shade, deciduous trees so they do get full sun when the leaves are off the trees.

My experience is identical to Kprp sun, sun, sun........I have clay soil and many years of trying......sun, sun,sun.

Sherry

Since we are dealing with something that is mostly an early spring bloomer, during the time they are sucking up a lot of sun is when there are no leaves on deciduous trees. They will grow best with lots of sun, and they may bloom well in fairly shady areas under trees, etc., but in my experience they will not thrive. If you want them to expand, stay healthy, bloom vigorously, etc., best if it is an area that gets regular sun, even if not for a full day.