The progress of the project has hit a snag, I need to work on this side of the flower bed but I don't want to get rid of these bearded iris so I'm gonna have to move them to another location temporarily.
This demonstration I'm about to show you is also applicable if your iris are overgrown and you need to divide them and propagate them in a new location. First, use a fork to dig the whole plant out including the rhizomes and the roots.
Don't worry too much about damaging the plants, they are very hardy and will take on whatever you throw at them. You're in for a shock what I'm gonna do to them later!
Use a secateur and cut off the old part of the rhizome but leave the young healthy plumb part. There may be a few off shoots coming out from a large rhizome, you can cut them up so you have more plants.
Cut off any damaged roots and trim the rest to a about 3 or 4 inches long. Again don't worry about killing them coz they're more resilient than you think. These are tough cookies!
Then cut the leaves leaving to about 6 to 8 inches long in a fan shape. This is so that the plant doesn't have to feed more to the leaves than is needed, plus the new growth will be much stronger and fresher.
Do the above procedures to all the plants that you can get from the clumps of rhizomes you dug up from the ground and you should be able to replant all these little plants anywhere you like.
I will be replanting them elsewhere in the garden after my project is finish but in the mean time, I'll just plant them in the pots for the time being. Don't plant them too deep and leave the rhizomes exposed, they like it like that. Water well and keep in the shade. Sorry I don't have a picture of the flowers that they bloom in Spring.
9 comments:
This look interesting. I miss my gardening too. Can show us when the flower come out mah...... I am not sure what flower is that also.
wow.. that's so nice..
can gimme one? tsk tsk
poor little iris..but where's the iris? and where's the beard?
WuChing, I can see u have a green thumb when it comes to gardenworks...i wish i can say the same of me. I have two pots of orchids given to me by a friend b4 she moved to QLD. Both pots look like they are gonna pow-cha soon cos the plants have grown. I was so ashamed of them that i had to actually hide the pots when my friend visited recently !!
BTW bearded iris sounds just as deliciously funny as Mother-in-law's tongues, which has similarly long leaves.
Good luck with yr gardening ventures....there are still a few cool autumn days left b4 winter sets in upon us!
EK
Wow, u really rajin !
erinalaw: check out the next post for the flower; http://wuching.blogspot.com/2007/05/bearded-iris.html
rose: can! u come get it?
me: here it is! http://wuching.blogspot.com/2007/05/bearded-iris.html
EK: u should put the orchids in a bigger pot or separate them but if u do separate them be prepared to miss the flowers for a couple of years coz they won't flower till they've regrown & settled in their new pot over a couple of years!
kayatan: nolah, jiap pah bo su jo wan!
Wow. So much work. I'm too lazy. :P
SA: get off your butt!
Because you showed pictures along with your instructions, everybody should be able to do this. Thank you for making it easy for us. When is the right time to do this?
Thanks!
May T.
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