Sorry in advance for the long post and many questions, but these iris are starting to drive me mad. I don't know how people do it...
I received some iris last year. They were planted during the summer... after sitting around for a few weeks (oops!), but did surprisingly well. One bloomed this year, and the rest bulked up quite a bit. However, several had to be moved this summer, and that's when problems and questions started to pop up.
Let's start from the beginning this year... Several iris had to be moved to make room for other plants. They were dug up, and I noticed that the base of the foliage was very plump yet the part of the rhizome that was under the dirt (and leaves/pine straw/etc.) hadn't grown at all. I decided to replant with some of the rhizome exposed. However, months later I noticed cavities forming on the rhizomes. No noticable discoloration on the leaves... at least no more than the few usual that shrivel up on the sides. I came to the conclusion that voles or some rodent was munching on them. A month ago I checked them again, and those cavities, which I initially thought were bite marks were huge hollow caverns - some large enough to cut the rhizome in half... and yet, the iris are still growing as if nothing ever happened.
Now, it's time to plant the fall flowers and whatnot. While browsing around, deadheading a few mums that got pretty ugly from all the rain, I noticed an awful sad looking iris. I pulled out some bad leaves, and sure enough a perfectly green one came out. Needless to say, that iris is rotting (and with a terrible smell too). I decided to dig all of them up and relocate. They grew a little too large for that spot anyway... poor daffodils wouldn't be visible behind them, and I couldn't dig those up due to all the tough azalea roots. Anyway, these iris were originally planted mostly under the dirt and had mulch over them. And, surprise surprise, they have giant cavities in them too... all except one. One even broke in half because the center was completely hollow. It's a shame the best of them (a single rhizome had 6+ babies sprouting off it) were the ones to both be eaten and rotted.
So... all that brings me to these questions:
1. Are any of these iris salvageable? If so, what do I need to do? A soak in bleach? A bit of surgical precision with the rotting ones? How do I keep water from collecting in the iris with pot holes in them? Will they eventually fill in?
2. What is causing these odd holes? I'm sure it's not animals now. I did notice chewed spots on the sides of leaves, so I'm thinking iris borers. However, they're bubbles in the rhizome... no tunneling from the foliage part. I was under the impression that borers burrowed down through the foliage and into the rhizome. Oddly enough, the holes are only in the sections of the rhizome that were exposed above the ground. I did notice vast amounts of "rolly pollies" in and around these holes. Could they be eating my iris? Ugh, those things creep me out!
3. Is it true what I've read about iris blooming the next year if they have 5-6 leaves? I was, to say the least, a bit put off this year when only one iris bloomed. I was hoping to find out what varieties I received... one was said to possibly be a blue and smells of grapes.
4. How should they be planted? Somewhat exposed? Slightly covered? On top of the soil?
5. Should the damage be iris borer damage, are there any systemic poisons available that would do the trick?
I love iris, but I'm almost to the point of tossing every last one out to make room for something more... newbie friendly and low maintenance. Any help would be great! Please!
iris_gal
cecily
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