Show Caption. By Orange County Register. The top should be exposed. They need full sun, at least seven hours each day. Irises like good drainage. Go easy on the water. Over- watering kills more irises than disease or pests.
As blooms fade, break them off. A bit of the top surface of the rhizome should be just visible at the soil surface.
Space the plants 12 to 18 inches apart closer for dwarf varieties, farther apart for the largest. For the best display, plant the rhizomes so the fan of leaves face the same direction.
Water well when planting bearded iris rhizomes, but don't continue to water unless the weather becomes dry. Iris flowers have three primary structures, and usually, variety names are inspired by unique characteristics of one of the parts. For example, the 'Fringe of Gold' flower has drooping "falls" that are white-edged or picoteed in yellow. The upright "standards" are solid yellow.
And the tiny fuzzy "beard" in the middle is white and yellow. If you've only got a description, you can use the names of these structures to envision how a specific variety might look. As a longtime lover of bearded iris, Winton has many favorite varieties, including 'Fringe of Gold'. These varieties are also some of her favorites.
This variety is a dwarf tall bearded iris with yellow blooms. The petals have a white and deep purple-veined pattern that makes for a bold contrast on each flower.
White petals fade into light purple on the tips on this softer bearded iris variety. This mid-height selection also looks beautiful indoors in a vase where you can get a closer look at its multicolor petals. It's a tall variety, and it looks especially stunning planted alongside a few paler purple irises.
If you love purple , 'Ozark Dream' is the bearded iris for you. The top petals of the bloom are a light purple, while the falls are dark violet. This tall bearded iris variety has a stark contrast between the top petals which are white and the falls in a brick red hue.
The red falls petals have a hint of magenta near the center, and the inside of the white petals has a light pink hue. The scarlet blooms of this bearded iris variety make it stand out in the garden.
The petals fade into orange and gold tones toward the center of the bloom. The outer edges of the petals become such a dark red that they almost look chocolate brown in places. Save Pin FB More. Credit: Robert Cardillo. Plant them in a sunny spot in late summer. The plants need well-drained soil and at least six hours of sunlight per day. A full day of sun is even better to keep the rhizomes dry. The rhizomes are the fleshy rootlike structures at the base of the plant.
Prepare their beds. Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer and apply it twice a year: In early spring and just after bloom when the rhizomes are forming the next year's flowers. Only water only if it's extremely dry or after transplanting. Give them room to breathe. Bearded iris need good air circulation. Plant them a minimum of 16 to 18 inches apart less space for dwarf irises and more for tall bearded iris varieties. As you can tell by the names, beardless irises occur worldwide.
They also require certain growing conditions. But that is not a requirement. Certain Japanese Irises , Louisiana Irises , and many of the Wild Irises love moisture, but none of them must be planted actually in the water. If you have a pond or steam, they'll love that location, but most people don't. And all these plants are perfectly happy in a well-watered perennial garden.
Just give them locations where they'll get plenty of moisture throughout the season. The one big exception in the group are the Siberians. They like moisture too, but are perfectly happy with normal perennial conditions, and don't resent drying out from time to time. Mulching is important with this group. Since most of them enjoy the same moist, partially-shaded conditions as hostas , ferns , astilbes and impatiens, mulch their roots to help them retain moisture during warm dry periods.
Bark chips, peat, or any good moisture-retaining mulch will be a big help. Full sun is ok, too, but no irises should be in blazing hot dry areas. They need no more than the usual feeding, like most flowering perennials.
For feeding perennial gardens, my favorite perennial expert, Frederick McGourty, recommends familiarizing yourself with standard perennial flower fertilizers, which are always labeled with three numbers in a sequence, such as or , or These numbers on the bag refer to percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, in that order. McGourty explains that the most important element here for flowering plants is the middle number, Phosphorus, so he recommends choosing a fertilizer with the middle number no lower than the other two.
If your garden is new, try to rake in your fertilizer a week or two before planting. And in later years, one feeding in spring remove the mulch, and rake it in should do. If you use dry granular fertilizer, remember to scatter it when the soil is wet and the foliage of your plants is dry.
Dry fertilizer sticking to stems and leaves can burn the plants. If you're new to the neighborhood, it's always good to give your local county extension agent a call, and discuss soils and feeding with him or her. That's what they're there for. It's great local advice, and it's free. These irises have a variable root structure, but all are quite obvious when it comes to dividing. Of course, you may never choose to divide yours.
If you're like me, you love large expanding clumps of Siberian Iris , for example. I've never seen the size of the clump interfere with the bloom. And the incredible photo of that purple Japanese Iris at the top of this page proves that an older, larger clump of that iris blooms just beautifully. But you may choose to divide.
If you do, just after bloom is a good time, since then your divides will have the season to regrow and prepare for next summer's flowering. As with all dividing, try to keep your clumps large; don't reduce your plant to little bits that will take years to grow back to blooming size. If your iris root is a mass of rhizomes like Blue Flag will be , simply cut them with a sharp knife, leaving several rhizomes per clump. But most of this group will have a mass of fleshy roots, similar to daylilies.
A sharp spade will do the trick, and to disturb the growing plant as little as possible, you may do what I do. For a Siberian for example, don't dig it up. Just sink the spade directly down in the middle of the clump and cut straight through the roots.
Then pry up one of the halfs, take it out of the ground, and then fill in the hole. Your undisturbed half will then be very little affected by the whole operation.
Then take your removed half, chop it into large pieces and plant them. Water before and after all this, and you should have no problems. It's really easy. If your clumps are large, though, it can be heavy work. One of the names says it all: Siberian Irises are as hardy as oaks, and really need no winter cover or care. Blue and Yellow Flags are the same. Japanese Irises are much the same, too but some hybrid varieties may need some winter protection.
Louisiana Irises are the ones to watch when it comes to winter hardiness.
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