Irises

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Now, I know pretty much nothing when it comes to gardening and Lynda is still learning about northern hemisphere plants, so please bear with me.

Bought an iris a couple of years ago. Planted it, it flowered, fantastic. The next year it didn't flower. But bought another one and planted it already flowered.

This year, the original one has doubled in size (as it should do) but still hasn't flowered. The other one hasn't flowered either.

Why not? They look healthy enough, getting plenty of water and occasional sun, but my irises seem to be the only irises in France that haven't flowered. I'm sad. I don't like flowers very much, except for irises and at the moment am thinking about going off them too.

Any ideas?

[cassis]

Can you tell us what type of irises they are?  It's a big family of plants with hugely varying cultivation methods.

I'll take a chance that they are bearded irises, with big fat rhizomes and spear shaped leaves.

The most important thing for these is that the rhizomes should sit on the surface of the soil - they need to be baked by the sun.  If you bury the rhizome they will be very unhappy, and they will not flower.  Might this be the problem?

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Many thanks for the reply.

Oh boy. One flower is black (when it flowered), the other is yellow is all I can tell you (told you I'm bad). The leaves do look spear shaped though. I've had a look at them and it looks like at the ground you can see the rhizomes (I'm guessing this is the bulb?) around the surface, part of it is in the soil though.

We haven't had a great deal of sun (mostly rain, what happened to global warming?), but then all the other irises have had the same rain.

Should I try and rake some soil from around the base?

[cassis]

As long as the rhizomes are exposed, they should be okay.  So it doesn't sound like that's the problem.

What's the soil like?  They prefer it light rather than heavy.

Have a look here:

http://www.bearded-iris.co.uk/Planting-and-Gardening-Guide-UK.html

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Many thanks, will have a closer look at that.

I laughed at the first sentence though... "Irises are among the easiest

of perennials to grow...." That sums up me with gardening, if it's easy, I'll find a way to make it hard![:)]

[cassis]

[quote user="LyndaandRichard"]

I laughed at the first sentence though... "Irises are among the easiest

of perennials to grow...." That sums up me with gardening, if it's easy, I'll find a way to make it hard![:)]

[/quote]

[:D] [:D] [:D]

[Russethouse]

I know its tempting to throw the plant label away, or ignore the latin name, but they really do help.  I try to keep them, even though I like gardening and have been doing it for a while, if there is a problem it helps to refer to it so I can look up the plant and try and work out where I've gone wrong.

Cassis is right,there are lots of different iris types. I've got 4 different sorts of iris in the garden here are two. I should have divided them after flowering last year but I didn't, even experienced gardeners get things wrong................

[IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/russethouse/24.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/russethouse/86e1a330-1.jpg[/IMG]

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Woohoo!!! I've just seen flower stems coming up. By the end of the week, I reckon they'll be out! Must be the hot weather we've been having. The bulbs look exposed, but have moved a bit more dirt from around them to be sure.

Russethouse, I can't remember if mine look like yours in your piccies, but I'll be able to tell soon I hope!

[andyh4]

You also mentioned well watered.  Bearded Irises will thrive with very little water.  Flag Irises on the other hand are marginal plants and must be kept very moist/wet.

[Cat]

We've loads of irises, some started flowering well over a month ago, others (that looked as if they were never going to amount to anything more than a few green spears) have suddenly sprung into life, with flowers popping out all over the place.  They must have been waiting for the sunshine.

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="Cat"]

We've loads of irises, some started flowering well over a month ago, others (that looked as if they were never going to amount to anything more than a few green spears) have suddenly sprung into life, with flowers popping out all over the place.  They must have been waiting for the sunshine.

 

[/quote]

I think so. Didn't have much sun last year either thinking about it.

[chrisb]

Probably the leading iris experts in France are to be found at Cayeux Iris.

They're predicting that the dwarf and intermediate types will be at their best from this week until about the 16th and that the tall bearded types will be in full bloom from around the 20th.

You can go and see them - their nursery is in the Loire - we'll be back in UK by then but are planning to make the visit next year. They also exhibit at Chelsea.

Their website is at www.iris-cayeux.com.

If the corms are showing at ground level don't cover them in soil - they like to 'bake' in the sun and this is needed if you want flowers next year.

[mona]

Please, can anyone tell me if there is a particular name for the common iris that you see by the roadside etc, is mauve/purple and has a very delicate scent?

[suzy]

My father used to cut his back to about 6 inches from the ground after flowering, this seems to help to produce plenty of flowers for the next year.

Sue

[water rat]

Please don't cut them. The half cut leaves look terrible and do the plant no good. Just enjoy the spears after the flowers have finished. They still add a different texture to the garden and are a good background for later flowers. If you have room in front of them ,just bung in some marigold or cosmos seeds. Today is the day to do it with the new moon..

Bon Courage

irisluvva

[Russethouse]

 As soon as the Iris have finished flowering you should divide the clumps not cut them....

[Scooby]

Ours flowered a few weeks ago.  You can leave the green leaves but cut off the flower heads so the plant doesn't waste energy making seeds.

[suzy]

I like the idea of Cosmos, so this year I shall risk thunderbolts from heaven and not cut them back (sorry Dad !)

Sue

[phylisbide]

If they are bearded iris, the rhizomes should be in the sun to thrive - they like a good dry summer. Folklore also says that they should point South - the opposite end from where the leaf comes. I have a border full of them, planted quite randomly rather than as per the folklore,  and they get no attention at all through the summer in 24, but every year they come up trumps - or is that trumpets - of big, blowsy flowers.

Phylis Bide

(a rose)

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

The flowers are on the brink of coming out now. Looks like there'll be around 12 flowers, 8 black and 4 yellow. Very chuffed.

By the way, is the term 'flags' used on irises? I remember my mum calling something in her garden flags, and I think they might have been irises, but am not sure. Impossible to ask her now too, so if anyone has heard of that term, be nice to put that puzzle together. Ta.

R.

[Russethouse]

Yep - 'flags' are iris.

I have a pretty buff colored iris that is in bloom, but the plant has the fault of always having a kink in the stem which rather detracts from its attractiveness, apart from that the tall slender iris I have have are just started blooming, the dark blue/purply ones first, the light blue is following, in the pond we have a nice clear yellow, with a lighter yellow behind it on the edge, then a new purple and yellow bi color. Just planted a variegated iris in the pond too

As you can tell, I like them !![:)][:)]

[cassis]

Only two irises are truly called 'flag' irises.   Most garden irises actually aren't flags.  The two main flag irises are I. Versicolor and I. Pseudacorus.  The first one is the Blue Flag from North America, a beardless iris, and the second is the Yellow Flag, the common European water iris.

These 'flag' irises were originally so-called because of their long thin leaves, "flagge" meaning reed.  Their leaves are thin and reed-like, but more likely it's because they grow in boggy ground (like reeds).

[mossie]

I am also a big (but learner) iris fan.  I am hoping to get to the Cayeux nurseries in the next couple of weeks for a real fix. However this is clashing slightly with the Festival du Jardin at the Chateau of Le Lude in the Loire Valley (I only have transport at the weekends when hubbie is home).  This is a big weekend event with talks and tours etc.  Lovely, lovely kitchen garden but best of all loads of stalls selling plants, offering many varieties which are not usually available at the garden centres.  For now I am having to make do with the large clump of the yellow flag irises at the side of the pond which are nice but yellow is not really my colour.  I am hoping in the fullness of time to plant great drifts of blue irises.  Nice to see other people are such fans too!

[Russethouse]

Mossie, If you get to Cayeux could you ask about feeding the plants please ? I can't be sure but I suspect that although I have more flowers this year, they are a little smaller. 

[mossie]

If I get there, I will certainly ask about feeding the plants.  However I can't promise to get there.  I reckon it is at least a two hour drive (probably more) and I am still trying to persuade hubbie that he wants to drive all that way.  If we go, it won't be until the weekend after next (definitely Le Lude this coming weekend as I have a huge garden to plant up and the plant sales there are just lovely).  We will enquire for the weekend after that.  From what I gather from their website (very good site also in English) there are best days to visit to see their 55 acres in flower, so we will phone before!  It also of course depends on the weather - they don't tend to look so good after a downpour.  However if the weather is good, I definitely want to go.

On another tack, could I please pick gardeners' brains?  I have a truly magnificent clump of white arum lillies in the border (just about the only nice plant left by the previous lot!).  However it was very windy yesterday and I woke to find half of the clump lying on the floor (up to 15 lillies looking very sad).  At first the dog was the culprit but no paw prints so I am pretty sure it was the wind.  My question is, what is the best thing to do?  Should I stake it all back up or cut off those flowers which have fallen over and leave it to sort itself out.  At first I was hoping it might just right itself, but no sign of that yet.  Help much appreciated.