Dividing Irises--FINALLY took the plunge

[ducks4you]

Ok--I've read all the articles in books, mags and online about how you HAVE to subdivide your irises or they'll get a fungus and die on you. NONE of them told me exactly HOW to do it, ssoooo....I started to cut them in between each (Rizome?!?) or, each tube structure--sorry, NOT a plant expert!!!

Is this right? I've found spots in the yard to move them to. I have two colors of bearded iris: Medium purple/white striped and (nearly) black. They were planted side by side, so it's going to be a roll of the dice as to which comes up in the new location. Usually I get beautful blooms from them. Any thoughts to share?

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

This is a good time to divide. Often when Iris are moved they skip a year of blooming while they reset themselves, but I find that if you do this in the latter part of the Summer to early Fall they manage to set new roots and then bloom again come Spring.

I use a garden fork and pull up the mass of tubers. Then I break apart the sections. I usually do not try to keep any tubers that do not have an actual 'eye' on them, where you can see growth; I find these to be the oldest part of the tubers anyways. Then I cut the roots short to about 1 inch from the tuber and then cut the leaves in an inverted 'V' so it looks like a /\ on the top. This takes the leaves down to about 3-4 inches tall. This keeps them tidy and prevents that ugly look. Then the tuber can concentrate on new roots and then you will notice the new leaf pushing up nicely without any ugliness.

I will be getting to mine here shortly. Perhaps I will do one this morning and take a picture. brb

Ron

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Irises are very hard to kill. I mean, I had some live on a TARP in the yard for MONTHS. No dirt. Just laying on a tarp. Who know how long they would have survived if I hadn't finally gotten the chance to plant them...

To divide them when you dig a clump up try to break them in between one set of fans and another. When you go to replant them remember NOT to plant them very deep. the tuber itself should just barely be below the soil surface. And have fun! I think when we have the next nuclear holocaust the only things to survive will be roaches, guinea eggs, and irises!

 

[Greensage45]

Hi again,

This clump was really not ready to divide, but I promised them to someone and was going to pull them anyways.

Here is a part of my clump, pulled up with a garden fork.

Then I cut the inverted 'V' like this /\

Then I cut the roots short

This next part really did not need to be done to mine, but I did this anyways to show that I broke off the older part of the tuber.

The reason I would normally leave this older section inplace is when there are 'eyes' showing. This is where a new portion is going to grow from. I will replant these, but if they did not have an 'eye' I would have likely tossed them in the mulch bin.

Here you can see the eye of the tuber forming; no harm done, I will just put this part back in the ground and it will grow from there, this part will not bloom until a full year's worth of growth.

Well, I guess that is it, nothing to it. There is one other step I take if I am dividing to give to friends. I will soak the tubers in some water to get off all of my soil, then I will dip them in a 10% solution of bleach to make sure I am not transferring any bad bugs or bacteria. It is a good thing to do and will not harm the plants at all. So 10% means 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Just dip them is all and then let them dry. Then box them up for shipping or delivery.

It is wise to not let the Iris tuber sit out and dry over several weeks. The tuber will go soft and the plant will die. I typically will ship them with some moist sawdust or some fresh 'out-of-the-bag' peat moss. This will keep them until they can be planted, but do not procrastinate because Iris tubers hate being out of the ground and will not make it unless you are careful with the moisture retention.

Wishing you as much ease!

Ron

The only thing I can think of that I missed has to do with replanting. I have always been one to plant Iris above the soil-line. So that the top portion of the tuber is exposed to the sun. I do this because it was taught to me as a young gardener. I am not sure if this is strictly a 'South West' technique, or if this is common across the country. I notice sometimes folks plant the tuber completely underground. I know that soil builds up around them after a year or two and they get covered anyways regardless, but when I plant fresh starts I always try to expose the top surface of my tubers and have had great results.

 

[ducks4you]

WOW! Great advice and terrific pics, Ron! THANKS!!
I already took some out of the ground, and I have them in a big pot in moist soil. Honestly, I went from 4 tubers (total) to I think, 32. They are ALL growing above the soil. Since you mentioned it, I'll replant the divided ones that way. BTW, is it true that they will die if they multiply and are NOT divided?

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

The only thing I have heard of about them dying from not being divided is if they get too crowded. As you have found out for yourself, they are very prolific plants and will become overgrown. My mom had irises all of my life that I can remember. She called it "thinning" so the roots could get air otherwise they would just get too thick...

RON, fabulous pics!! Now I know how I should treat any should I send them to you

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

I think what happens when they get so crowded is that they choke each other and then they get bugs like pill bugs (rollie pollies) that eat on them. I also heard that if they get all bound up on one another they can stop blooming. So usually when someone says they have iris that is not blooming and have been there a while I usually suggest that they break them up and divide them.

I have also heard that if the tuber gets too buried over time that it will fail, which could account for why I was taught to put them at the soil line when planting them.

Ron

Another thing I heard is that someone says they had one color iris and after several years they started throwing the dark purple and they lost their original colors. I have never seen this and have only heard this. I cannot imagine why they would lose their genetics and go wild. I know that some grafted plants will do this like a rose, but I have never seen a bulb do this. Yet I have heard this story from several folks.

Has anyone else heard this before?

 

[ducks4you]

I read this change of color happens on Lillies--mind you, I only read this one one site, so the "evidence" wouldn't hold up in court!!

An online article said that hybred lillies will revert back to their original non-hybred color after about 3 years.

If my irises do this, I guess I'll just find it charming...but that's just me.

 

[orloff]

Anybody have iris bulbs that they want to sell or give away? I have been trying to get some for a low cost online but I have never had any luck with this...

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Hi,

I think what happens when they get so crowded is that they choke each other and then they get bugs like pill bugs (rollie pollies) that eat on them. I also heard that if they get all bound up on one another they can stop blooming. So usually when someone says they have iris that is not blooming and have been there a while I usually suggest that they break them up and divide them.

I have also heard that if the tuber gets too buried over time that it will fail, which could account for why I was taught to put them at the soil line when planting them.

Ron

Another thing I heard is that someone says they had one color iris and after several years they started throwing the dark purple and they lost their original colors. I have never seen this and have only heard this. I cannot imagine why they would lose their genetics and go wild. I know that some grafted plants will do this like a rose, but I have never seen a bulb do this. Yet I have heard this story from several folks.

Has anyone else heard this before?

Actually, I have a batch that for the first few years only bloomed a very elegant deep purple. They are in my original pics thread. This year, they bloomed white! I was like double-take HUH?