Is it too late to plate Iris in the North?`

13 years ago

Hi,

A friend gave us some Iris that they divided. I live in Northern IL near Chicago and was wondering if I can still plant the iris in the ground, or should I stick them in a pot indoor until spring? Right now, the temperature hovers around 40F's, but may go down to the 20's at night.

I don't even know what species of Iris it is, but it's the sort that grows well in the Northern IL climate.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

Paul

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Comments (7)

iris_gal
13 years ago
Potting for sure. I guess our northern gowers are taking a break from garden stuff but the search engine may pull up some old posts on this topic. ("late", "storage", "winter")
oleg9grower
13 years ago
Yes, you can still plant your iris in the ground and to mulching, hide it with a thick layer of dry leaves.
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aggiegrad
13 years ago
yep, I live in michigan & it's not too late to get your iris in the ground. as long as the ground isn't frozen you can still plant in it. I've even been known to plant iris during a january thaw. the iris need the cold to bloom so potting them up & keeping them inside won't give them the cold that they need. so, get them in the ground as soon as possible, just remember that the roots go in the ground & the rhyzome stays above the ground. easy as that.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
the primary issue in the great white north is HEAVE ....

as the frozen surface soil comes in and out of freeze ... a dark soil.. on a zero degree day.. with blistering sun.. can get surprisingly warm ... only to refreeze that evening ....

if total snow cover .. there is no problem until it melts..

bizarre warm spells in mid winter can cause heave by removing the insulating snow ... the warming of the soil is the primary concern ...

if you have rocks magically appearing in your soil in spring.. you can understand how a late planted plant will also work its way out of the soil .... and if that happens in feb.. and you dont find it until april.. you just might have a dead plant ....

this is caused because late transplant have no 'hold' without root growth ...

it is up to you to do something to help maintain the frozen soil ... and as noted above.. that would be a good cover of mulch, compost.. anything that buffers the wild fluctuations of surface soil movement ...

just dont forget to remove it all in late march as the soil starts to thaw.. as we never want an iris to end up planted too deeply ...

ken

ps: this has to be one of the most disjointed responses i ever did .. but i dont have time to do a redo ... lol .. hope it makes sense ....
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
13 years ago
In my opinion, planting them now, in your zone is sure death for them...ask me how I know...been there, done that. They will heave and then rot, or just plain rot if covered up too much to avoid heaving out.

I had better luck one year, just leaving the rhizomes in a box on the carport over the winter...I didn't really mean to do, that. It just happened. They shriveled up a good bit, but were still OK in the spring for planting and survived. They didn't bloom the first year, but the main thing was that they survived and didn't totally dry up or rot.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Sue
daylilyluver
13 years ago
I'm in RI in Zone 6(b). I'm in a metro area that until the last 2 nights had not had a hard freeze.

My 2 cents: I would not attempt to plant the iris. I've found that I need to plant in July and August for best results (they need a good 6-8 weeks to take root). I planted some in late September 2 years ago and had minimal loss but we had an unusally warm October and November.

I'd consider storing them until the spring and plant them then.
madeyna
13 years ago
When I plant iris in the late fall I use a U shaped landscape fabric staple to hold the iris down, it gives the plant stability until the following fall when I remove it . It keeps it from toppling over when a young plant produces a extra tall big flower as well.

Is it too late to plate Iris in the North?`

Comments (7)

iris_gal

oleg9grower

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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