When to move rhubarb and bearded iris

gunnysax

18 years ago

Should I do it now or later?
Thanks, Judy

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Comments (3)

flwrpowr
18 years ago
Hi Judy,

To be on the safe side I would wait a couple more days until it warms up again overnight and then I think the irises will do fine.

Do you have a deadline or are you just anxious to be gardening? :) I'm not real familiar with transplanting rhubarb. What is the ground temperature? If you leave plenty of dirt on the roots I wouldn't think it would be too much of a shock.

If the weather gets cold again you could make a greenhouse over each plant _making sure there is good air circulation during the day and be careful not to overwater.

Anyone else?
gunnysax
Original Author
18 years ago
No deadline on the rhubard, it's not a real old plant. Just got the plant last year. It is in a raised bed and the dirt is not frozen. Thinking it might get to big for this small bed, I was wanting to move it into another bigger bed. As for the iris, it got so big that it is crowding another plant, a lily.
Thanks for the reply. Judy ~ Kenosha
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I have iris--they're not bearded, but maybe similar care applies? Anyway, they seem to be pretty sensitive to heat and have not transplanted well for me in the spring/summer. They seem to be happiest to be moved in the fall and winter. (Granted, I'm not the most careful of plant movers and tend to water somewhat erratically. But even when I have been fairly diligent they have just keeled over in the heat.)
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If the bed you wish to move them to has never been a garden plot before, spray it first with round-up,or do something to remove/kill all the grass roots. Till well, add fill/top soil to make it a bit higher than surrounding area. Irises like full sun and well drained soil. Lift all the rhizomes from their current spot, wash them well and examine them for rot, bug holes, or - iris borer - (borers eat the rhiz from the inside out, and will leave only the husk of the rhiz). Any that are rubbery, or soft should be discarded. Those that are hard and seem to be healthy should be retained. Plant them in the new bed 18" apart. Irises add increase to the front of the rhizome, and will 'walk' forward from where they are planted. Set them back from the edge of the new bed a few inches to allow them to make increase in the conventional circle. If you have buckets and buckets of iris left over, set them out by your driveway and hope your neighbors enjoy them. Don't try to crowd them all into your new bed. Preen (not Preen n green) should be applied to help hold down the weeds. In general, no fertilizer with nitrogen should be used. If you can find it, a tablespoon of superphosphate around each newly planted rhiz might help. s
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I agree with iris_gal. In addition I would say that you should only move them if you have to. A local woman sells them while in bloom. While it's great knowing it's what you want it does take it's toll on the plant. Years ago she instructed me to cut the flowers once I had labeled them, because they will just die. Since back then I was even shocked to hear of trimming back the leaves(to height of 6 or 8 inches in an inverted V shape ^ ) I didn't follow her advice. The flowers wilted and the leaves weighed down the plants (toppling several). Luckily I was able to save the remaining buds and enjoy them in a vase. I still buy from her each year, but I always expect them to be even more unsettled than the rhizomes sent at the proper time. I don't know siberians well enough to suggest a good yellow, but I do grow i. pseudacorus. It's considered invasive by many and is banned in some states. I grow mine along-side my TB's and it's never even started to crowd anything. Since I'm too inexperienced to execute a proper soil test(as anyone should) I use a generally accepted fertilizer. I buy mine at Walmart with the numbers 6-10-10. I can't say it's the best for everyone, but at least it hasn't harmed my plants. I realize that I ramble, but I hope I've helped somehow. Brock
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I've been replanting Iris since late July. The earliest ones are growing nicely and the later ones are peaking out of the ground. I'm expecting nice blooms next spring. Don't think it's too late to replant now because iris like/need freezing temps to grow.
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flwrpowr
18 years ago
It wouldn't hurt to dig up the iris, clean them up and let them set out for a few days _make sure not to let them freeze if the weather changes.

You can move iris almost any time but if you do it now they probably won't bloom this year _at least not much. On the other hand if you wait until fall the rhizomes will have gotten more nutrients. BUT that would probably still mean a poor flower show next spring. It takes a year for them to get established.

I like to do things when the spirit moves me so I would probably move them now. You can fill with annuals for this year and toss tall snapdragon seeds which will give you color in late summer _they will reseed and are a good mix for the iris next year after they are done blooming. I also like to grow flanders poppies and pansies amidst the iris.

I had frost again this morning. Everything is growing like crazy. Can't help but be anxious to get started.

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When to move rhubarb and bearded iris

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When to move rhubarb and bearded iris

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