highest temps, can they survive stress of it?

17 years ago

Everything was going so perfect. Received iris orders from Schreiners and Snowpeak. Great looking rhizomes, lots of bonuses and then immediately planted over 50 plants. After planting it rained on them,looked like perfect timing. Next thing I know temps are in the 100's and plants are palest and stressed!!!!!!! Leaves are all going white/yellow and brown. What can I do to maximize their survival? More plants on the way...!!!!

What delivery time period should I choose for in the future?

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Comments (8)

wmoores
17 years ago
The new plants I would pot and put in the shade and not unpot until fall.

I would pull up those I planted and pot them, too. It will not kill them but the extended heat and drought could cause rot and death.

Some other things I have done over the years during prolonged heat and dry spells. I have used sawhorses and laid plywood on top of them, anchored by bricks or cinder blocks in case the wind blows too hard. Some people have used bedsheets or old quilts, anything to make shade.

I have also wrapped plants with newspapers and clipped the paper to the fans using clothes pins. This has stopped the bleaching of the fan.

I have also gotten wooden shingles and made teepees over the irises to keep the hot sun off of them.

Some of these suggestions if followed through will tacky up your garden, but it's only for a short time and you don't want to lose your investment. Who cares what the neighbors think or care? Save your plants! No overhead watering. Water will collect at the base of the fan and steam the iris in the heat.

Walter Moores
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rootedinreadyville
17 years ago
Irises are very hardy. The paling leaves is normal for newly planted irises. I don't baby mine, though I would give them a drink a couple times a week for the first few weeks since it is so hot. Mine look pitiful for about a month after planting before the new growth appears, but they do recover from the transplant shock.

I've been planting irises during this hot season every year for about ten years - temps are in the high 90's where I live, mine survive the hot temps planted in full sun. If it were me, I would leave them planted and let them establish their roots - the existing leaves will pale and turn brown, but they should send up new growth in a few weeks.
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irisawe
Original Author
17 years ago
Oh boy, that is an assortment of ideas. Of course, I have already watered this A.M. So the overhead watering damage is a possibility. I also used the vitamin product called Superthrive that is not a fertilizer but a nutrient. It is wonderful for helping other types of plants through stress at transplant time. I know iris are quite different but it seemed like a reasonable thing to do.

Thank you so much for your help. I will do a later follow up to tell the results.
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rootedinreadyville
17 years ago
I overhead water mine on the rare occasion that I do water them. With watering in the morning - the sun comes out and dries the foliage pretty quickly.
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thurston
17 years ago
I think it depends on how intense your sun is and the humidity levels. If you're as far South as Walter, you can't just plop them in the ground this time of year. Here in TN (98 degrees today...) I always plant them directly in the ground and water once a week until I see new growth. Then, they're on their own. I've never lost one that way yet.

Neil
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sylviatexas1
17 years ago
In north central Texas, with our brutal heat & blistering sun, I *always* use sun-shields at first for anything I put out in full sun, even irises.

& I often pot up irises & keep them under an obliging tree the first year.

The sun is just too intense, & an error in estimating the likelihood of damage can mean that you lose your iris.

better safe than sorry.
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Sparaxis
17 years ago
Like Walter, I covered a large area with shadecloth stretched and tied to steel posts, about 3ft above my potted irises when i was moving house. They were in black plastic pots in the open, and I didn't want to water them and cause rot, so I left them under the shadecloth, and only watered lightly once a week through a very hot summer. They all survived. I'm talking close to 1000 pots of bearded iris.
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wmoores
17 years ago
Sylvia, I used to live in Fort Worth and would never plant an iris out in the open sun in July without some sort of protection. I dug a trench around those under teepees and let the water soak the roots but not the rhizomes.

Also, had a big tree where most pots stayed until October or November, or whenever it cooled off and started to rain again.

Mississippi heat conditions are about the same, usually with more humidity, and I pot every incoming iris. Most of the iris fans are bleached because of extreme heat and drought. It was 104o on my front porch yesterday and 102o in the garage at 6 p.m. Both garage doors were open as well as a window. My house faces west so it absorbs heat from the hottest part of the day.

Walter Moores
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highest temps, can they survive stress of it?

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highest temps, can they survive stress of it?

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wmoores

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