mulching irises?

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
woodspirit1 Lake Toxaway, NC(Zone 7a) Mar 24, 2001

I know irises like to be planted pretty shallowly, but at the historic house where i garden, there isn't as much time for care as I would like to have. The irises were overgrown, and full of grasses and other weeds. I dug up some and replanted them after trimming them up. I know this is not the best time of year, but I had no choice. I also kept quite a few to ship to some of the traders that I promised about 3 weeks ago.
Can I mulch the iris to keep the weeds out? Will this stop them from blooming?

Post #2782
Quote
Mar 24, 2001

I wouldn't muclh iris. I redo my beds every 3-5 years, thin and get rid of grasses, enrich the soil (NO NITROGEN) and such. I live in very hot and dry TX and do not pamper them. They seem to like it here. One of my best patches was the bunch I threw at the end of the propane tank while I was thinning. I didn't get back to them, and they florished. They weren't even planted in the ground, just thrown in a pile. Amazed me and taught me a lot about them.

Post #61709
Quote
poppysue Westbrook, ME(Zone 5a) Mar 24, 2001

Mulching iris rhizomes is not recommended. TB iris are prone to rotting and insect damage so they should be planted with the tops of the rhizomes exposed to the sun. To control weeds I've read that a preemergent is best. Something like Preen (not Preen & Green which contains fertilizer). This will keep the weed seeds from germinating but won't harm any plants that are growing. If you have perennial weeds that sprout from bits of roots you'll have to pull them by hand.

Post #61742
Quote
woodspirit1 Lake Toxaway, NC(Zone 7a) Mar 25, 2001

wow, I have 3 little patches of iris in my rock garden and they haven't bloomed. Do you mean to tell me that because I top-dressed the garden in Black Kow, that I have over-fertilized the irises? The iris reticulatas bloomed beautifully but there are 2 other groups, one I think is a bearded iris, and the other are tiny things sent to me from New Jersy and I don't know what they are, that have never bloomed in 2 years. What DO you fertilize them with? I threw some bone meal on them about a week ago.....

Post #61820
Quote
poppysue Westbrook, ME(Zone 5a) Mar 25, 2001

I've never had great success with iris but I've been reading a lot about them lately and plan to try some new ones this year. I wouldn't say you've over fertilized them. Generally high nitrogen fertilizers promote rotting and excessive leaf growth - resulting in less flowers. It depends on the iris species. Tall bearded iris do not need excessive fertilizing. Bone meal and super phosphate are good but high nitrogen is not. Some species of iris just take a while to get established. Check out this link http://www.muohio.edu/~wilsonjh/irisfaq.html#nobloom Maybe it will help answer some questions.

Post #61848
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More General Discussion & Chat Threads

Go to all General Discussion & Chat threads
BACK TO TOP