Irises Will Bloom Almost Anywhere
It is always exciting to welcome new entrepreneurs to our garden industry. Jim and Janet Leifer have recently purchased the 35-year-old Iris Test Garden in College Place, Wash., from renowned horticulturist Austin Morgan. During Morgan’s illustrious career he introduced more than 200 new iris varieties from his field of more than 4,000 varieties.
For two years, the Leifers have been transporting these exquisite beauties to their growing fields in St. John, Wash. Working hand-andhand with the 83-year-old Morgan, Jim and Janet hope to provide us with hardy specimens that are not easily available elsewhere.
For many of us, iris conjure up pictures of grandma’s garden - fistsized flowers with floppy side petals showcased above stiff upright, pointed leaves. Grandma called them flags. They seemed to bloom just about everywhere - from cultivated beds to the forgotten grassy knoll behind the pump house. They didn’t seem too particular about their surroundings or soil.
But these lovely old flowers are a far cry from the iris of today. Through the art of hybridizing, the bearded iris boasts more colors and combinations of colors than any other flower. It gets its name, “bearded,” from a long caterpillarlike growth of little hairs on the bottom petals. When the beard’s color is in contrast to the rest of the flower, it is striking.
Iris aren’t particular about soil, as long as it’s well-drained. They do best in sandy loam amended with rotted leaves. They will grow in heavy clay, but beware: Most iris rhizomes will rot if they sit in water for any length of time. Unamended clay (clay without added peat moss or other organic material) has a tendency to hold water. If you are dealing with this type of soil, you might try raising the soil about six inches and adding copious amounts of leaf mold or peat moss. Adding manure to the soil can be beneficial, but it may also cause the rhizomes to rot.
Iris are not heavy eaters. One tablespoon of fertilizer per clump as the leaves begin to grow is all that is necessary. Even this isn’t necessary if the plants are grown in rich organic soil.
The best time to plant iris is in July and August. This gives the roots an opportunity to establish themselves before winter. They may take on a depleted look after a mid-summer transplant, but they’ll perk up come fall. To plant, dig a hole one foot deep. Enrich it with rotting leaves or peat moss. Create a long, narrow ridge of soil in the middle of the planting hole. The ridge should be nearly as high as the top of the hole. Lay the thick rhizome on top of the ridge, letting the stringy roots cascade down both sides and the fan sticking up in the air. (The fan is the leaf portion appearing on one end of the rhizome looking somewhat like a hand fan). Fill in the hole, covering the rhizome itself with only about a half-inch of soil. That’s all there is to it.
An interesting point from Jim Leifer: Iris will only bloom once from the same rhizome (the elongated tuber). New flowers are produced on the off-spring of the mother rhizome and from its offspring and so on. If your iris didn’t bloom this year, perhaps the rhizome is old and there are no offspring.
Iris are tough, hardy fellows. This I can attest to. Last fall I threw an armful of fans and rhizomes into the back of my pickup. They rested there all winter with no cover and only the soil that was still clinging to their roots. Low and behold, this spring I was driving a truck garden of flourishing iris. Obviously if you’re looking for hardy stock for the garden, you can’t beat these beauties.
The Iris Test Garden catalog is packed with hundreds of gorgeous-sounding bearded iris. There is one set that I can’t resist - the Morgan set. It is six iris originally hybridized by Austin Morgan.
If you would like a copy of the catalog, please write to: Iris Test Garden, Rt.1, Box 4, St. John, WA 99171-9702; or call (509) 648-3873 or 648-3858.
On another note: The WSU Master Gardeners will be hosting a free tour of the conifers at the Arboretum Sunday at 2 p.m. Learn which evergreen trees grow best in our area. Meet in the parking lot.
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review