Get That Order Planted

 

by Jeff Bennett

Irises planted in one-gallon pots

At this time of year, everyone seems to be receiving orders of irises they found online and just had to have. After reading posts in Iris Lovers last spring, I’m going to write about what I do when my orders arrive. For those of you that have your iris beds ready in advance of your orders arriving, this article is not for you. For the other 94.5% of us that planned to order only a few irises or none at all, but then kept adding another to your shopping cart and now have an order of 32 new (to you) irises coming, and are not sure where you will plant them right away, this article is FOR YOU.  And, that is just an order from one seller. The other seven orders you didn't plan to make are also on their way.

There seems to be an explosion of people ordering more and more irises in the last few years. Is this because people had to stay home during the pandemic? Was it spurred by immediate access to pictures in online iris groups? I’m not completely sure, but my guess is that it is the latter. Most iris societies are not getting bigger, but iris sales sure are. It would be great if more iris purchasers had also joined their local iris society or became members of The American Iris Society. If you are in the United States or Canada, use this link to find iris clubs near you. Okay, I'll get off my iris society soapbox now.

So your box of irises has arrived. You open it up to see what they look like, compare your invoice to what’s in the box, look at the size of the rhizomes, and check for any issues. Some plants are quite large, some average, and then there might be an occasional smaller one. I don’t see smaller rhizomes as a disappointment, but a challenge. Maybe this grower’s climate is just not right for this variety, but all the DNA is there and therefore there's a potential for a spectacular performance. If your purchase arrives terribly shriveled up, then you may want to check in with the seller for a replacement or a substitute.

Now that your first order has arrived, you realize that you haven’t gotten the iris beds ready by improving the soil and removing all the weeds that are visible. But the irises are here and two more boxes are coming later in the week and more the following week. Your iris society rhizome sale is happening soon and you want to snatch up some bargains there too. In the meantime, you probably SHOULD get these rhizomes planted right away. The sooner the rhizome hits soil, the sooner it will begin growing new roots and the little nubs on the side can start to expand into additional rhizomes. 

My priority has been to check each delivery, then get them potted and labeled up in the order they arrive. Next, I put them into my Excel spreadsheet with the columns for the iris name, hybridizer, year introduced, abbreviation for the type of iris (TB, IB, LA, SPU, AB, etc.), and who I purchased it from. In the last column I record the price I paid.

Bagged potting mix with fertilizer

As for potting, I plant newly arrived irises into one-gallon pots. I use a very good potting mix that also has a slow-release fertilizer. A 50-quart bag will fill 28 one-gallon pots full of soil. Priced at $18.00 per bag, that’s only 64 cents per pot. I think this is a reasonable investment for those $5, $10, or $50 irises. Don’t forget to put your iris labels in at planting time. You will not remember later. This method gets irises off to a great start while I get the beds ready when time is available. 

One-gallon pot and potting soil

I have found that I have almost zero losses compared to planting the shipped rhizomes directly in the ground. When irises are potted, I get to see them up close and more often so I am able to address issues quicker if they arise. In the ground, a rhizome may fall over or a squirrel may dig it up and expose it to the sun and heat before I find it. 

Potted irises with blue plastic labels

Place your pots where they will get at least six hours of direct sun, preferably morning to early afternoon sun. Water once to twice a week.  Within two weeks, I can already see the cut leaves growing taller and new green leaves coming up also. Because I’m in California and in a mild climate near San Francisco Bay, I can plant these potted irises into the ground at any time of the year without a hiccup. You know your climate best as to when your soil is workable. If your irises get a good start in the fall, they will really take off once warmth comes to their roots as spring approaches. This is true if they are in the ground or still in the pots. Just get them into soil right away and worry about where you will put them later.

Potted irises waiting for in-ground planting