Moving- Have some iris coming up!

9 years ago

My neighbor has a fabulous Iris garden!

A couple of years ago, while cleaning up his garden, he gave me a bunch of his favorites! I forgot about them, then found them and stuck them in whatever pots I could find!

Now we are moving and the iris are starting to come up in their pots!

I would love to plant them in the new yard, but since they are already coming up, is it too late to plant them? Will it stall them for a year? Kill them?

I also don't really know how to feed them.

I guess I can find out from the gardeners we're supposed to hire for the next couple of months while we are leasing! Nancy

Featured Answer

posierosie_zone7a

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Did you plant bulbs like tulips or pieces of root that resembles ginger? Given the right info, Irisgal has a wealth of knowledge. Her name says it all. :)

I'm going to give you a general answer - if you transplant from pot to ground, loosen the roots a bit if they are tightly circled around the pot, but try to keep the roots and soil mostly intact. Dig a wider hole than you need, but try to have it exactly as deep as to have the soil level in the pot level with the ground. Then, place the unpotted earth/ plant in the hole, fill back in with native dirt. Press strongly around the hole to firm up contact of the roots,with soil and to fill in around the hole. Add extra dirt around if needed. Give a good watering.

Those are general planting guidelines and should work fine except in one case - if you have dormant bulbs (it flowered but then all the leaves died), you can skip the watering part. In general, if you don't disturb the rootball too much and the planting conditions are, eh, kinda close to the pot conditions, most plants barely skip a beat.

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Comments (6)

User
9 years ago
My bearded iris have some foliage year round so I never think of them as "coming up". Dutch iris bulbs do come up. So not sure what kind of iris you have. There are also other kinds. Do you know what kind you have? Can you take a picture of the foliage?
nancyjane_gardener
Original Author
9 years ago
I really have no clue! The new growth is about 3-8" high. I'm not really good about posting pictures. Nancy
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nancyjane_gardener
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Posie, that's pretty much what I needed to know. I'd like to get them in the ground at the new place ASAP. I'm OK with them not blooming this year, but don't want to loose them! Nancy
nancyjane_gardener
Original Author
9 years ago
I've transplanted the largest ones and they seem to be doing OK. I still have plenty that are just a few inches tall that I have to find places for!

We're moving from an acre to a small yard! Much is already landscaped! Nancy
ladyheirloom
9 years ago
Hi,

I'm in WA state, zone 8, my iris are growing too. Green shoots.

Lots of rain here this time of year, especially this year.

I've grown bearded iris for years, they are tough plants, you're fine transplanting them into the ground from pots at this time. The iris like more room than a pot for the fast plant growth you'll experience this year, forward.

Just be sure not o plant too deep, no more than 1/2 inch for rhizome, spreading out roots, if possible. Don't fertilize, unless a small amount of bulb/bone meal worked into ground before planting bulbs.

Iris don't like too much water, so good drainage and moderate watering, especially after summer blooming, if you have any flowers this year. Next year should bring more blooms.

Love to see pics, when blooms arrive.

Happy gardening,

Suz