Dig up irises now & store for planting later?

10 years ago

The subject line says it all. We'd like to divide a bed of bearded irises. We know the best time to plant is in the fall but, for various reasons, we'd like to dig them up now, store the rhizomes, and then plant in the fall. Is this do-able or a really bad idea?

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sweetamrita

5 years ago

I have been growing iris my whole life, taught me by my Nana. Iris are extremely hardy. That rhizome isn't called a storage organ for nothing. The rhizome holds all the stored energy of the plant. It can sustain the plant for a very long time without soil, or water. You can dig up anytime after they finish blooming, trim the leaves down into a fan and lay them in a box in a cool dry place. One year I put them out under a tree and forgot to bring them into the garage in the fall. The next spring the whole box sprouted (even piled on top of each other) and many bloomed right in the box. I don't worry about them anymore. The main thing is to do a good inspection and care when you dig them. Make sure there are no soft spots or holes in the rhizomes or holes in the leaves (that's where the borers enter the plant), those are what will kill your iris. I'm about to dig hundreds that I planted four years ago too close to my roses. I have widened the bed by two feet and they will be planted much farther away from the roses so everybody wins.

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Comments (9)

Gretchen W.
10 years ago
I recently dug up mine as well. I keep them in a plastic container with a lid just so moisture stays out. I have dug most anytime and planted later and have had no problems. I live in Texas.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
10 years ago
Planting time here is *now*. If we wait much longer, the rhizomes aren't established enough to get through winter. Since the biggest winter problem is water management, not cold, I'd expect proper planting time in NC to be very soon.

This isn't to say you can't store them, just the sooner they get in the ground, the better.
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Signet, remember you are also a zone 6 which means that you get frost a lot later than we do in zone 2 or 3. So, being that replanting the iris needs to be with enough time to get the iris re-established before freeze up here in zone 2 - 3, that means that replanting should be done no later than the end of August. A friend of mine has hundreds and hundreds of iris here in the Brandon area and that is the advice that she gives. There is a problem though when buying irises in the fall here on the prairies because the Ontario and BC growers will not send out the irises to the nurseries and box stores until about the middle of September and then it is usually only the tall German irises and the occasional SDB that are sent. They do not ideally have time to get established before our freezeups. So, now, when buying some of these, I have grown them over in the house for the winter and planted them out into the garden in the spring. Personally, so far, I have never had a problem here with irises heaving out of the ground. I rather think that I would be unable to stomp them back into the ground because once my ground is frozen, it is frozen. A friend of mine lives in Dartmouth and she does have perennials heave out of the ground in the winter. I know that she is rather frustrated sometimes when it happens. Do you feel the same way Signet? I have had problems with deer coming and pulling/nibbling on the iris just before freezeup and thus leaving the iris on the top of the soil for the winter, but that is a different story. Brenda
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You may want to do a search on this. Dig, dry, keep in a cool, dark place until planting.
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At some point in writing the following I came to think I should just erase this, because no one wants to hear my ridiculous rant, but it occurred to me that I must have felt it needed to be said. So, I apologize if I offend anyone, but I'm going to post this after all: I think the biggest issue is that people don't understand it is a rhizome and not a bulb. For some reason every plant that has a swollen base is a bulb. I used to try to find irises locally and they would almost always answer "Oh, they'll come in with the other bulbs-say the end of September." After years of disappointment after disappointment with nursery after nursery, 99% of my purchases are now made with iris specialists. More of my acquisitions are things I've worked for (most often a dig for a local club) than by purchases. Those dried up barely viable tortured things you find at the end of the season (if not plainly out of season) usually do recover by some horrible miracle of nature. It's always bothered me that the fact that irises can endure so much makes people think it's alright if they do... over and over-every year. Doesn't anyone promoting irises realize the detriment of consistently disappointing the general public and negatively affecting their experience with irises? Why not do an infinitesimal amount of research and care for your product properly? As long as we fall for the "yearly rescue" and purchase things just to save them, they'll assume their methods are acceptable. It is my opinion that it is most responsible to make your purchases from a reputable grower and (personally) I won't make significant (more than 2 or 3 variety) purchases with anyone that doesn't advertise with the American Iris Society. Supporting the AIS means a great deal to me and advertising in the AIS Bulletin makes me feel secure that the grower will be held accountable for their actions. It brings a sense of responsibility and consequence to a grower that simply listing their varieties on their site wouldn't imply. I'm sure things aren't so cut and dry (well maybe the mistreated irises are), but this is the way I happen to feel today. :)
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flower_frenzy
10 years ago
Actually, unlike most perennials, iris goes dormant in summer. The perfect time to dig and divide them for most parts of the country is early July to the end of August. Remove any dried up parts of the rhizome, cut the leaf fans back to about 6 inches and plant them with the top of the rhizome visible at the soil line and they'll do just fine. The current leaves may brown or die back a bit, but they should start putting on new growth before fall hits. Even if they don't, they'll be good come spring.

If you need to wait until fall to plant them, they should do fine stored out in the open in an unheated garage. Iris are tough. One time I accidentally left some rhizomes outside over the winter and they actually froze to the driveway. Come spring, I planted them anyway just to see what happened. They grew and even bloomed that year.

Of course, I'm not recommending that you do this. I'm just highlighting how tough the plants are.

This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 13:37
jim_1 (Zone 5B)
10 years ago
I regularly dig my iris to divide them. Some I replant, some I give away and some I toss over the fence into the area of the detention pond (at least that is what it should be).

I am amazed every year when look on the other side of the fence and see those that were just tossed in the middle of summer have made it through the central Illinois winter and actually done well, blooming like I knew what I was doing.

Plant before the end of September to give the roots a chance to take hold. Water well when you get them in the ground and walk away. They are tough!

What to do between now and the end of September? I always experiment. Leave some at the base of a shady tree; leave some in your garage (my garage is way too hot for that); leave some on the porch; plant some now. See which ones work best. And, then report to us next year what the results were.

Jim
taurustendency
10 years ago
i was sort of wondering the same thing...but more of a long term situation. is it possible to dig them up some and store them over the winter? i have a massive bed that needs to not only be dug and divided...but is completely overgrown with weeds and tree saplings. the previous property owners planted a ton of iris and daffodils right along a fence row. couldnt get the mower in there during mowing season, and i assume they never weed-wacked it due to all the flowers they had in there. so after many years it is more weeds than anything. but its huge and has to have thousands of bulbs and rhizomes!

we are wanting to completely get rid of this bed and go back to a clean fence line. but we know that this will be a huge undertaking, as well as the many other projects we have going on right now. we can get them all dug up, but do not think we will be able to replant them all by the time the winter comes.

has anyone else had any experience with storing them long term like this? im guessing we should just hold off and continue looking at the eyesore until next year.
grassyfields
10 years ago
You can store Iris anywhere where they will not be too dry, nor too wet.
I often park them in a plastic pot with an inch or two of soil over the rhizomes & roots & water them once in a while.
So long as they stay covered with soil or even sawdust they should be alright.
Cut back foliage by half to save energy for later blooming.
Good luck.
Judy Herald
5 years ago
I have tubers that were grandmothers the flowers only get 4 or 5 inches high. If I dig them out and rest the tubers will the flowers regain their heighth
haileybub(7a)
3 years ago
It’s mid October here in zone 7a, still warm and haven’t seen rain in a couple of months. Winter is predicted to be mild (it usually is) Is it too late to dig and store my iris? Too late to replant? I’d like to send some to family in MO, too late to plant there or should I wait until next year? What’s the earliest to replant? Thanks!!!

Dig up irises now & store for planting later?

sweetamrita

Comments (9)

Gretchen W.

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

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