disneyhorse
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They really don't need much care once they're established. Pretty hardy.
Irises
- Thread starter Marsha Cassada
- Start date
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Reignmaker Miniatures
Well-Known Member
Oh they do definitely grow here. Almost any of them, I just don't know enough about them to know if they would thrive out of a cultivated/cared for spot. I can do clay...oh my yes ...sand is out of the question unless I have it trucked in lol. We have clay with big rocks and an occasional patch of gravel, but the hillside in question is clay, mostly without rocks. It always makes me wonder what the heck was going on geologically to create this piece of land.
Here on my farm
It is all clay. My iris HATE clay as its to heavy and wet which rots the rhizones. When I put my rows in, I had sand/dirt mix brought in. That way the rows was higher then the land around them so the can drain rain off easily. After I planted the iris, I put a layer of 4 yr old horse poo to help fertilize but not to much to burn the flowers. Because iris rhizones grow on top of the ground, ya have to be careful not to harm them or they will die. Also iris hate wet low lands and will rot off and die. They need to be in a well drained area and nowhere where they are in standing water. A hillside is a great place for them no matter what type of soil as a hill drains easily. Also best part about them is ya barley have to plant them as they take root even tossed on top of the ground.
Weeds do grow in them and since I cant afford the weed killer, after they bloom I just mow them. But with that said, mowing them could also kill them too. After a leaf is cut, it opens them up as they are hollow and cand trap rain water which also can rot the rhizone also. The rule is to cut the stem off, not the leaves. But I hate weeds so thats how I do it. Also pending where ya live... there is also a grub that lives in the rhizone called a iris bore. They too kill the rhizone by eatting and reproducing in it. They also will spread like wild fire to each plant causing devastation throughout all the iris's.
Hope this helps with some info for ya
It is all clay. My iris HATE clay as its to heavy and wet which rots the rhizones. When I put my rows in, I had sand/dirt mix brought in. That way the rows was higher then the land around them so the can drain rain off easily. After I planted the iris, I put a layer of 4 yr old horse poo to help fertilize but not to much to burn the flowers. Because iris rhizones grow on top of the ground, ya have to be careful not to harm them or they will die. Also iris hate wet low lands and will rot off and die. They need to be in a well drained area and nowhere where they are in standing water. A hillside is a great place for them no matter what type of soil as a hill drains easily. Also best part about them is ya barley have to plant them as they take root even tossed on top of the ground.
Weeds do grow in them and since I cant afford the weed killer, after they bloom I just mow them. But with that said, mowing them could also kill them too. After a leaf is cut, it opens them up as they are hollow and cand trap rain water which also can rot the rhizone also. The rule is to cut the stem off, not the leaves. But I hate weeds so thats how I do it. Also pending where ya live... there is also a grub that lives in the rhizone called a iris bore. They too kill the rhizone by eatting and reproducing in it. They also will spread like wild fire to each plant causing devastation throughout all the iris's.
Hope this helps with some info for ya
