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                                                        Growing Bearded Iris

Planting Instructions: Plant your iris as soon as you receive them. Be sure that they get a well drained location with plenty of sunshine. Shade produces nice foliage but little or no bloom. Don’t plant too deep (this is the mistake that many make). Just barely cover the rhizome and firm the soil so they stand up nicely. Newly set plants need moisture. Be sure that you water regularly when first planted. Most gardeners know their garden soil. If it is sandy you will need to water more than if you have clay soil.   Do not over water!! This and over fertilizing will help to cause rot.

Fertilizer: Newly planted plants generally do not need fertilizer. Fertilizing should come about a month before and after bloom time. A light application of superphosphate and 6-10-10 will do nicely.   Too much nitrogen encourages rot in many cases so be very careful.

Problems: Bacterial soft rot as mention before is caused be excessive water, fertilizer or poor drainage. I check my iris each spring very early for signs of rot. If caught early they can sometimes be saved.   Scrape the rotted portion out and allow the air and sun to heal. You can also dust with powdered sulphur or powdered bleach, like Chlorox/Comet.

  Leaf spot can occur with soggy weather. Fortunately we do not have that problem here in Moab. Spray regularly with a fungicide such as used on roses.

  Slugs and Iris borers can be dealt with by using slug bait or Cygon for iris borers.

Digging and Dividing: Many people do not understand why their iris are no longer blooming. They do not realize that they become overcrowded in 3 to 4 years and need a new face lift. Dig your clump up and discard the old “mother” rhizomes. Trim your fans to about 6-10 inches and plant the newer rhizomes as if you were starting over. You will be surprised at your nice new large flower blossoms next spring!

                         Good Luck and with God’s Care – How can you lose!