We moved into the house we're in back in the fall last year, so I didn't have much of a chance to go through and do anything to the exsisting flowers.
Last night, I pruned back the 8 foot tall rose bush (seriously, the thing was touching our roof, then bending over and growing back down) to about 1 to 1.5 feet tall. I also raked all the dead leaves away from several bulb plants. I can't recall with certainty, but I believe they were irises. They only blooms on them last fall were dead.
Anyway, to my point.. It looked as though the bulbs hadn't been cared for in at least 2 sesaons, as the dead folige from last year AND the year before were still attached to the new growth.
The bulbs are also visable through the dirt, about a quarter of the bub is above the dirt on all the plants. The bulbs were also grown into massive lumps sprouting 4 to 5 plants each.
I know bulbs reproduce themselves, and every few years you need to dig them up, break them apart, and replant them.
However, is this something that I can do now, before they get much bigger or flower? Or should I wait and do this in the fall, when spring flowers should be planted?
Take the bulbs out and put them in a paper bag and somewhere dark until the fall. Is a bit too late for them this year, also depends on what they are...
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Gilly, if they are in fact irises, then the bulbs will always come toward the surface. If you are sure that new greenery is growing on them, then you should let them be until fall.
I'm in Ohio, and my iris flowers aren't in full bloom until the end of April.
You can dig them up now if they aren't growing and do what Skip says - put them in a paperbag somewhere dark and cool til fall.
or
If they are already starting, then you need to leave them alone til fall. I would, however, get some straw and place it around the bulbs that are exposed in order to protect them from sunburn.
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I'll take a picture tomorrow and post it, since I have a digi cam here right now. The bulbs are fairly protected, as they are under a foot wide over hang, with eastern exposure, and shrubs about a foot in front of them. They are fairly shaded all day.
Sure not an expert, but I always wait until AFTER the spring bloom. When they die back, dig them up and divide them, store them as noted above, THEN replant them when the leaves come down.
If they are irises and they are in the eastern exposure...they might do better in a sunnier spot. Morning sun is OK for some plants, but rhizomes (common beard and beardless bulb iris) most assuredly love the warm afternoon sun in the early spring.
Here's some info on Irises...
Irises grow from bulbs or, more commonly, from rhizomes (bearded and beardless irises). Bearded because of the "hairs" on the downturned petals - Beardless because they have no "hairs". We don't know what you have...so we have to wait for a bloom to be able to discern if it is a bulb or a rhizome.
They look prettiest in masses, and in cooler climates they should be divided once every 3 years or so...more often in warmer climates. Don't group different types together. In cooler climates, if the frost heaves the masses of rhizomes, DON'T push them back down. Pile a small mound of well draining soil or course sand around them. Be careful not to bury them. A low nitrogen fertilizer is good for them in early spring and late summer. To guarantee they will bloom again next year...make sure that the top part of them stays exposed to the sun. In late summer, cut the leaves back to about half their size in a fan shape. Don't knick the rhizome (elongated, bulb like, root) with a hoe or rack when weeding, but keep the garden as weed free as possible.
For division...
Divide ASAP after blooming...sometime between July and September. This gives the plant time to take root before winter. If you re-plant too late, you'll get fewer blooms. Iris rhizomes do not need to be taken up and stored over the winter. However, some rhizomes, like Canna (a more tropical rhizome) or bulbous Dutch and Spanish iris, do. To prevent the rotting that can happen to some rhizomes such as canna (the reason it has to be uprooted and stored), plant the rhizome on a mound of soil ammended with course sand to assure drainage. Dig a hole about 6" down...fluff the soil in the hole and ammend with course sand. Dig up existing clumps of irises and check for soft, foul smelling, rotting rhizomes. Discard those, as they are a sign of borer damage. Make clean cuts with a very sharp knife dipped in alcohol between cuts (to prevent the spread of disease). Keep only the healthier, outer parts of the clump...with new growth. Let the cut rhizomes dry in the sun for a few hours. Replant them 12 to 15 inches apart in the ammended holes.
Gilly...if you want/need to know now what you have (bulb or rhizome), you'll have to dig something up...unless you can already tell from my discription above. Otherwise, to assure their growth this season...make the ammendments to them now and wait for the growth and bloom. Before you dig them up and store them...let's find out what you have first...OK?
P.S. There are many different types of irises and each has a particular characteristic. Some are agressive in the soil and bind with it and heave the earth. Some can rot if not planted in well drained soil. Some are water plants (bog bloomers). Some are bulbs and some are tubers (rhizomes). To mistake a rhizome for a bulb is a common mistake. The treatment of each of these is different, as they are for all bulbous and tuber plants.
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Last edited by LixyChick : 04-09-2004 at 07:50 AM.
They are amazing Gilly! They look healthy to me...no rot, bugs or disease as far as I can see. The fact that they are so far above ground indicates that, beings you are in a climate similar to mine, they have had some frost heave. Don't transplant just yet...but instead, do like I said and cover the tubers (rhizomes...as I think they are bearded or beardless iris) with a few inches of soil/course sand mixture. Sprinkle them with a small amount of low nitrogen fertilizer now. Don't do it again till after they have bloomed and lost their flowers and you have let them "rest" (gorgeous flowering plants like that show off with blooms and then get so exhausted that they need a rest period) and divided them and put them in a sunnier location! If you follow what I said above (about dividing and a sunnier location), next year you will have double your pleasure!
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Yay! Sounds good to me. Our backyard is far sunnier than the front yard, and we have a small section that indents slightly, and would be perfect for flowers.
I also am planting Oriental lilies this year. I love orientals, so bright and pretty
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