Interpanting Lilies and Bearded Iris?

As many of you might know, I have my lilies interplanted in my roses beds and many in my daylily beds. Just thinking of having more bloom for the square inch, I am wondering if myone has tried lily bulbs in amoung bearded iris.

Currently, I do not have any beared iris but that will change soon as I put in two nice sized orders in for shipping in July. I don't even have the bed sections done that the iris will go into. But I wondered if bearded iris would do well with lilies or not.

Yes, you can ~ I have all of those things planted together. Make sure that the iris rhizomes are mounded up a bit above the surrounding soil level.

I grow them together too. They make good companions since they both require excellent drainage and both like sun and compost.

I am very surprised that the lilies are are not suffering with the bearded iris. Knowing the root structure and tenacity of BI's, I would have thought them the winning competitor with lilies - water and fertilizer being robbed from the lilies. Certainly do as Moby suggests: plant the iris on a mound, with lilies at surface grade. BI's can take a lot more dry than lilies can, and you will have less disease problems too.

Oh yes, I grow them side by side, not really intermingled. Although I did find a Lily sprouting through a clump of bearded iris this spring, somewhat of a surprise! The soil was disturbed by some backhoe work last fall in that area and some of the things growing there have been shifted around, and the Iris have multiplied really fast. The Lily was a single bulb that now has 1 stem outside the clump of Iris and 1 inside the clump. That will be interesting to watch this spring, but the Iris will be moved this summer.

I am not sure if I am going to or want to do this. It is just an idea as of now and I wondered if others had tried it. I am not that good at growing bearded iris. I killed the ones I had afew years ago by mulching them to death :-(( Now I am ready to try again and already ordered for July shipping.

Oh yeah, mulch on irises is a baaaad thing. Those rhizomes like lots of air, sunshine and good drainage.

That's right. Another reason why they might not make good companions: optimal cultural requirements are different. Lilies love mulch, bearded iris hate mulch. Lilies like sun, but not hot burning sun. Bearded iris like hot sun. Moby's trick of planting BI's on mounds helps ameliorate the contrasts.

Now lilies with beardless iris (not the water loving ones), that's a better match.

I am begining to think it was not such a great idea. I actually do have my lilies heavily mulched as they are interplanted with my roses and daylilies. Also, this spring I already planted 28 new Siberian Iris and have 7 more shipping this week.

Just plant your bearded Iris on mounds of about six inches above the grade and just mulch up to the mound and you'll be fine. I have bearded Iris, Siberian Iris, Lilies and Peonys, and all sorts of other stuff planted together and they are fine.

I never thought of the mounds idea. Then mulching up to it. What do you do when the iris move around as they do from increase?

Dig and divide and have an Iris sale. :)

I have bearded irises mixed with everything sun or shade. I will say that the irises in the most sun are happiest, as are the lilies with the most shade!
Also, in one area, I got the irises mixed too closely among the lilies....and I don't like the result. Lilies are somewhat prone to "moving" and sprouting up a few inches away from the original location. Irises are even worse about moving around as they divide over the months. Then, when the lilies came up the irises had moved and crowded into the lilies area and some of the lilies had to grow sideways just to get sprouted. The bearded irises are definitely greedy for space and they are in the way now that they have finished blooming.

I will be moving the irises after the lilies are finished....to a new spot where they can multiply and move themselves without choking anything else. They make a nice "wall" to keep other plants in bounds too....they're just too greedy for the lily beds.