planting dutch iris - questions

I recently bought 18 dutch iris on ebay, but no instructions came with them. How deep do I plant the bulbs? Anyone have any experience with these? I live in southeast Texas - Houston area. Any advice is welcome!

Plant them so that some of the rhizome is visible. There's lots of good advice in the Irises forum. You can look at this link:

http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/shadowood/irisculture.html

OOops, DUTCH iris, you say...ignore my advice, except I think they're planted 6" deep, and check the Iris forum

Outdoor Beds

1. Find a location where the soil drains well. If there are still water puddles 5-6 hours after a hard rain, scout out another site. Or amend the soil with the addition of organic material to raise the level 2 - 3 inches to improve the drainage. Peat moss, compost, ground bark or decomposed manure all work well and are widely available.



2. Site your Dutch iris where they will get full day sun.



3. Dig holes and plant the iris bulbs 4" deep and 4" apart. The bulbs look like small pointed onions; plant with the point facing up.



4. After planting, water well, thoroughly soaking the area. In warmer climates foliage will form in the autumn, winter will bring taller growth and flowers will develop in the spring. In colder regions foliage and flowers will wait until winter's cold has passed and will develop in the spring.



5. When in bloom, feel free to cut iris flowers for bouquets. This will not hurt your plants, so snip away.



6. After blooming has finished for the season leave the foliage in place; don't cut it off. The leaves will gather sunlight and provide nourishment for next year's show. Water as needed during active growth periods. Dutch iris actually prefer not to be watered while dormant.



7. At the end of the summer the leaves will yellow and die back as the plant slips into dormancy. Foliage many be removed at this point. Your iris will rest for a few months before beginning the next growing cycle.

carolvan

claypa - a great site for bearded iris - that's something I need to know also. I "inherited" a small start of my uncle's beautiful blue bearded iris and I don't want to make a mistake and kill them either! Thanks!

Thanks also carolvan - that's exactly what I needed to know. I'm out the door to put them in right now. Hope they make it in our hot, humid area. The picture of them was such a beautiful brilliant blue....
Nancy