These puppys love to do one thing .. eat and expand. We make the beds around 12-15" deep ( we prefer raised beds .. being lazy we find it easier to haul in dirt instead of digging down 15"). We use screened topsoil that is mixed with compost. We then put down 10-10-10 fertilizer and till it all together. We then pour 2" of "PermaTill" over the bed and till that into the top 6 inches or so. (this keeps the soil from compacting and gives excellant drainage).

this is really mined slate .. but it is gardening "magic" .. we now use it in 100% of our plantings

Iris are really easy to plant. Trim the leaves back to around 6-9" (forms a "fan") ... dig a hole as deep as the roots are on the rhizone mix in a handful of Super Phosphate ... cover the roots and the bottom part of the rhizone. The base of the green leaves should be just sticking out of the ground. Water thoroughly. We then mulch the open spaces .. leaving around 2-3" clear around the plant so that moisture isn't trapped at the rhizone.

yep we even "try" to insure that we mark each one so that when we dig them up later we can keep them straight

We space similar varieties around 8-12" apart. We increase the spacing to around 24-36" when a different variety is planted. Iris seem to be kind of "bullies" in that a strong growing variety can smother out a lesser one.

Oh that all plants were like these ... they thrive on being kept a bit "thisty". A good deep watering every 3 weeks or so ( assuming you've had no rain) is all that's needed in the blooming season. Here in Zone 7 (Raleigh, NC), if we don't get much winter rain, we also water bi-weekly in Dec/Jan/Feb since this is when they start to break out of dormancy and begin setting new growth. In march (again depending on rainfall) we go to a weekly watering cycle and then stop this as soon as the first blooms appear. Once they are blooming, Iris seem to enjoy being a bit "thirsty".

Note: for new plantings, we water weekly until we see some new growth starting and then we back off to bi-weekly.

When watering, it is best to water deeply, less often than more often with just surface watering.

One of the great joys of Iris is that you get back more than you started with !! You can spread them around your property or trade them with friends. We guarantee that the words "would you like some Iris" will bring a smile to anyone's face.

We wait until the plants are around 3-4 years old before dividing. Here in NC .. we find the hot muggy days of late August are the best time to divide. Yes .. we have to water some when we transplant them, but we can usually count on good rains in September to help. We use a spade fork to lift up the clumps. We then shake off most of the dirt and then lay the clump on the ground and use the hose to spray off the rest.

You're going to see many different rhizones. We simply go by the rule ... "if it ain't got any leaves .. throw it away" ... thus only keeping the the ones that have healthy leaves. We trim the leaves to around 6-8" and use a black magic marker to write the name/color right on the leaf.

We've found that they will keep healthy in a cool, dark space for around 7-10 days. If it's going to be longer than that, we simply "hill" them into a holding area until we know where we want to put them.