flowerbrackob Molly Price, and others, have recommended division as soon as bloom is finished. This advice seems to have been lost. I have always waited a couple of months in the past and had little to none bloom the following year. I have friends in the area with better soil and they've had the same results. Excepting some very vigorous cultivars. After division a soaking is required. I mean thorough. Overnight if needed. Then no water until the top 6 inches of soil dries. Bearded rhizomes cannot be compared to other plants. I don't know why Melle's turned to mush after 10 days. Something was going on. I do know that hardiness is not an issue for tall beardeds in Sunset zone 14. No fresh manure, good drainage, full sun, deep irrigation - these are mandatory for good health.

I'd be careful about soaking, in my experience there is a period when a rhizome is very susceptible to rot just before it starts active growth. It may be a good idea to do a brief soak (10 minutes) in a mild bleach solution (1 part household liquid bleach to 10 parts water), which will kill some of the disease bacteria. Then pot them in 4" pots on sterile potting mix. Water sparingly until the first growth is evident. They can be planted out as soon as the roots have reached the bottom of the pot. This method is how I treat any 'challenged' rhizomes - for example starting a leafless mother from a potential bloom out. When I got Iris from Australia I did this also to help with the seasonal crossover. Chad

Instead of "spraying," consider applying nematodes that will attack the borers, applied right around the time temperatures range at or above 50 degrees F. The cost really isn't all that different than the chemical alternatives. The most common thing recommended for iris borers is Merit, a systemmic pesticide whick gets into the plant tissue. It is the systemmics that are causing the biggest problems for bees from what I understand. Iris are a flowering plant, and bees will be visiting the flowers - can't help themselves. I like the idea of using something that targets specifically the culprit - and nematodes do that. In my research for dealing with my borer problem, another thing to ensure is to remove all iris leaves and debris from the yard, and trim all the flags down to 4 to 6 inches right around this time of year. Apparently, borer eggs are laid on the tips of the flags in late summer, so trimming them and removing them from your yard should help reduce or eliminate nexts year's invasion. It's what I'm hoping anyway. Here's info sources: A summary of the study on the effectiveness of parasitic nematodes appeared in the Bulletin of the American Iris Society, series number 309, (April 1998), pages 35 to 37. Another version of the article can be found on the internet at www.agnr.umd.edu/users/ipmnet/98-2nmn2.htm A definitive article on parasitic nematodes by Randy Gaugler, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, complete with color photos and a source list can be found on the internet at www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/nematodes.html Dr. Parwinder Grewal, an entomologist at The Ohio State University, produced nematode reference center on the internet at www2.oardc.ohio-state.edu/nematodes/default.htm Parasitic nematodes are microscopic roundworms that feed on insects and have used successfully control insect pests. In a study reported in the April 1998, Bulletin of the American Iris Society, parasitic nematodes were shown to equal or more effective than Cygon 2-E or Merit. Cygon and imidacloprid (Marathon) both showed an reduction in borers of 87% while nematode Steinernema carpocapsae had a 100% reduction and nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora gave an 87% reduction. I hope this helps!

i bought some bearded iris tubers. they arrived safely today , though they have traveled for more then a week. then are neatly packed into pouches with holes with some peat material , i think its coco peat covering it . the coco peat was moist , so i took them out and placed them underneath a fan to dry out. later i came to know that bearded iris tubers need to be little moist . i am a little confused about saving them . i am going to another city on business and i would be back in four days then i would plant them . suggest me how should i keep them alive till then. should i keep them moist ? in which material i keep them ?etc etc please help . i am in sort of zone 10 and zone 11 . nowadays is spring and the temps are 26 c in the day and 15 c in night . soon to increase ....this is our spring is very short , summer would be here in days.........