Its getting hot!

20 years ago

We are going to have temps around 100 degrees here today and tomorrow. I am a little concerned with how the iris will handle it.

Does anyone do anything special for their iris in very high temperatures?

I thought of putting some shade over them, but I reconsidered. If I put a little newspaper 'hat' over the iris, maybe it would help cook rather than protect them. If I put an umbrella or a tall houseplant over the special ones, there is a good possibility some animal like a cat would knock it over, perhaps causing more damage to the iris underneath than its worth. So I decided just to dribble a little water on the roots this morning, and basically do nothing.

How do you iris growers from the Southern states manage?

Thanks,

Laetitia

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Comments (3)

thurston
20 years ago
For once you're hotter than we are. Only upper 90's here this week.

Here in TN, the established iris are on their own. I never water them.I never shield them. We've just had a dry month with upper 90 degrees every day. They're just sittng there enduring until the Fall. The new ones I've planted in July do get watered once or twice a week in the evening so they have the moisture overnight. When they start showing growth I stop watering them.

I think you'll be fine just giving them some moisture if you haven't had rain in awhile.

Neil
wmoores
20 years ago
My established ones are on their own. To water them would cause rot. The newer ones that are coming in are being potted and hidden in the shrubbery to keep the sun off of them. I don't unpot until October. A lot of my established ones have fans bleached white. Some have almost striped foilage because a neighboring iris has partially shaded them from the sun during the peak of the heat.

The most successful procedure for me during the intense heat of 1980o (anybody remember that year?) was to wrap the iris fans in newspapers secured with clothes pins. It looks awful but it works. Not very many people are looking at gardens during a heat wave in August anyway, so whatever you come up with is ok.

Walter Moores
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rblegend
20 years ago
What advice does anyone have about tranplanting rhizomes in this heatwave? My iris orders are starting to come in! I had my Cooley's order sit in a corner for a few weeks in the excelsior, soaked them overnite, put them in ground with alot of water. The rhizomes look fine. But should I water or wait?
The rhizomes I put into the ground about a month ago, do not show much increase, but they are not showing signs of rejection either. I was told to water when transplanted then again when you saw signs of increase.
This weather has thrown everything off. I know iris from the west coast are used to more watering than usual.
But whats the best advice to transplanting them in this heat? I have kept them dry and in newspaper for over a month, but they have to go into ground soon!
My iris also are not in full day sun either which helps!