Iris Questions

A few years ago after we purchased our home, I was eager to start flowerbeds. I'm not a gardening expert so I decided to purchase plants from a local person who was dividing her beautiful irises and lilies. I thought this would be the best option considering they were adapted to this part of the country and our climate. 

Every year, we welcome a beautiful assortment of day lilies in all different colors. I've blogged about them before and we absolutely love them, they are stunning when they are in bloom! As for the irises, I haven't had quite as much luck. Irises are in bloom in our area right now and I'm envious of those who have gardens full of beautiful purple and blue beauties. This will be our fourth year with our iris plants so I would assume they are well-established but the problem we are having, is that every year we only get one or two stalks that bloom. By the time they're in their full beauty, the weight of the bloom is so heavy they fall so I stake them. This year they were so heavy they broke at the top of the stake so I cut them and brought them inside for us to enjoy. I'm assuming this is just the type of particular variety (it is gorgeous), I just wish there were more of them.  I tossed back-and-forth the idea of dividing them but having never divided them, I worry I would actually kill the plant. So for now, we are enjoying these beauties inside, they really are spectacular!

If any expert gardeners out there want to give me any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.  Thanks for your help!

Comments

  1. Interesting! I have the giant irises, do you have the same? Mine were established at the house when we bought it, but I remember the first several years only having a few of the stems bloom, now we have a ton that bloom. I never stake mine either, if they start to fall forward, I pick them and put them in a tall wine bottle that I have as a vase. I think they are probably fine though, and maybe they will spread themselves. As you know, I am not a flower gardener, and I do absolutely nothing with my flowers, I don't mulch, I don't water, I don't divide. The only thing I do is rake them out each spring, and they keep coming back!

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  2. Hi,
    I was afraid the first time I dug my irises up. My dad wanted some of our yellow that came with our property. So I was brave and dug some up to share with him.
    I am happy to say, all went well and my dad's irises bloomed and so did ours. :-)
    Because of our basement project I needed to dig up some more, so I did and all are doing okay.

    Wishing you luck, I know the feeling. :-)
    Carla

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  3. My irises always fall over too. I got them from a neighbor and I'm happy that they bloom twice in the season. I am used to them falling over so I usually just cut them and put them in vases.

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  4. We actually did have Irises at our last house. They were so beautiful, but I do NOT have a green thumb. I was just lucky though and unfortunately I have no advice. :(

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  5. I typically have quite a few that fall over, so I stake them up. This year wasn't so bad on that for some reason.
    Do you have them planted in a sunny location? One place I lived, they were planted more in the shade, and I had healthy plants, but they never flowered.

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  6. Irises need a lot of sun and don't like to be crowded. Also check to make sure they are not planted too deep. The top part of the rhizome likes to sunbathe. Even if you have done everything right, it can take a long time for the too bloom. And then sometimes you just get lucky. My irises bloomed the spring after I transplanted them. That was quite pleasing. I hope you have a great weekend, friend!

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