I put together these iris care tips for the average homeowner because I’ve found that so many people love iris. Tall, bearded iris, Dutch iris, you name it…we can all learn some iris care tips so that these gorgeous plants flourish for many years to come!
Iris Care Tips
I wasn’t much into German bearded iris until I moved to Virginia. In fact, the only iris I knew were the ones in my father-in-law’s garden. I was enchanted by the flowers, which smelled like grape soda pop, but I didn’t know anyone else on Long Island who grew bearded iris.
When I moved to Virginia, all that changed. Here in the Piedmont area of Virginia, iris grow like weeds! You can drive down any country lane in the county and see great big patches of iris waving their sword-like foliage and gorgeous flowers along the ditches and farm embankments, or planted alongside a barn or the foundation of a house. No home, no matter how humble, seem to be without these garden kings.
Iris care is fairly simple once you get the hang of them. Caring for iris differs from caring for other flowers right from the planting. Unlike other flowers, bulbs or rhizomes, iris need their rhizomes (the fleshy root-like part that you plant) exposed near the soil surface. Bury them too deep, and they’ll either rot or sulk on you.
The first step when planting German bearded iris as shown in these pictures is to choose good varieties. There are about as many colors among iris as there are in the rainbow. The name “iris” actually comes from the goddess of the rainbow in Greek mythology, and it’s an appropriate name for these flowers.
Older varieties, I have found, are hardier, less expensive, and spread more easily. The best iris are those you get from a friend; the purple on in the photo on the right is descended from my friend Cynthia’s garden. Walking around my own garden, I can point to plants from Patty’s garden, Cynthia’s garden, Joan’s garden, Pat’s garden and Jack’s garden. I’ve only purchased two out of my extensive collection of iris, and some day, I hope to share some rhizomes with friends who have so graciously gifted me with iris.
Iris Care: Site Selection
Choose a bright, sunny spot with well-drained soil. Iris need full sunlight, or six or more hours of direct sunshine each day.
They really hate having their rhizomes stay wet all the time, so soil that dries out is just fine for your iris. I put a thin layer of mulch over mine, but most books (and experts) say not to mulch iris. If you add mulch, make sure it’s not a thick layer over your iris plants.
Planting Iris
Once you have chosen the site for your iris, dig a shallow trench and lay the rhizome down into the trench. Cover it with a fine layer of soil. You should still see the “skin” of the rhizome peeking through the soil crust.
Your First Year with a New Iris
After planting your iris, the first year may be a bit of a disappointment. The foliage emerges and you may or may not get a flower the first year. Be patient. It may take a year or two for your iris to become established in the garden.
The picture below shows my iris collection in one part of my garden. The iris in this patch were planted just about three years ago. Some were moved there last year from other parts of the garden where iris needed to be divided. You can see how the plants grow quickly once they establish their roots.
My Iris Collection
Iris Care: Fall Tips
When your iris plants finish blooming, the foliage remains green until the frost in the fall. Some foliage may die during the summer, especially if you live in a very hot climate. Leaves will turn brown and crispy, like twine, and shrivel up. These can be GENTLY picked off or left until fall garden clean up.
During the fall, rake up all the dead iris leaves and discard them. This prevent the iris root borer and other insects from finding a comfortable, convenient place to hide during the winter months.
When to Divide Iris
If your iris become too crowded over time, they may stop blooming. You can safely transplant and move them before they bloom and well after, but not during bloom time. The best time is summer through fall, but around here, friends think nothing of bringing a bucket and a spade into the garden to dig up a few iris for a lucky gardening friend who drops by.
When dividing iris, make sure that each rhizome (root part) has a fan of leaves with at least four to five leaves. Cut the leaves down straight across to about three-four inches. This is essential when replanting iris. Use the newer, younger rhizomes you can find from your parent plants.
More Iris Care Tips
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Happy gardening! Keep growing!
You can help your iris bloom by FEEDING them about 6 weeks before spring bloom, and again about 6 weeks before your average first frost. In North Texas, it’s easy to remember — I feed on Valentine’s Day and Halloween. 🙂 (Reblooming iris should get an extra feeding around Labor Day). 🙂 This WILL help your iris bloom more reliably.
Thanks Sue for sharing your experience. I’ll just add to choose a low NITROGEN fertilizer (low first number on the bag). High nitrogen fertilizers can cause rotting or too-fast growth on iris without flower set. Happy gardening!
Iris is one of my absolute favorites. They smell so wonderful! My mom has always had the most beautiful iris garden and gave me some rhizomes to start my own at our home, now if only I could keep the cats out of the garden beds (any tips?).
Hi Lara! You can place small sticks vertically in the ground throughout the iris bed. It can keep the cats from digging up plants. The only way to keep cats out of the bed entirely is to get rid of the cats, unfortunately. The sticks, or a mesh screen placed over newly planted areas, can keep them from digging but I don’t know any way to keep them entirely out of the garden. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you, I will definitely have to give that a try. The kitties are experts at keeping the rodents and rabbits away from the veggie gardens and all of the critter feed, but boy do they make me mad when they decide that all of the garden beds are their personal litter boxes. Yuck!
Great tips!! I’ll have to try the dividing and see if I can get them to cover more of our yard! 🙂
Great tips – I love iris too, I just wished they bloomed longer!
Great tips as always, Jeanne.Iris looks colorful and lovely.
I love iris so much but have been afraid to plant them because I thought they were hard to care for. Your posts always encourage me! Thanks for sharing #HomeMattersParty
I agree with Michelle! Your posts are so encouraging! #HomeMattersParty
I don’t know anything about growing flowers. I want to grow them though so all the tips I can get is helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
These flowers are beautiful! I am so bad at taking care of plants. Your tips and ideas will help me so much! #HomeMattersParty
What Beautiful Flowers!! #HomeMattersParty
Your irises are gorgeous! What fantastic tips to growing them. Thanks for sharing and being a wonderful co-host of the #HomeMattersParty – we love having you on the team! 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
The iris flowers grow like weeds here in the mountains of AZ, too – I love them!! Thank you for the tips to keep them beautiful! #HomeMattersParty
Great tips as always, Jeanne. Whenever I come to your blog I feel fresh as if I am standing in a garden. #HomeMattersParty
Your iris’ are gorgeous! I would love to see your beautiful gardens in person. They look stunning! #HomeMattersParty
I LOVE iris and have a patch that I got from my aunt’s house years ago. Great tips, pinning. #HomeMattersParty
Your Iris are gorgeous – I love having friends who share with me from their gardens! #HomeMattersParty