IRIS CARE

Growing Bearded Iris
in the North!

I remember the first year I entered the Mio Iris show about 8 years ago. I only hoped I wouldn’t be embarrassed, never expecting to win anything. That very first year I had one specimen on the winner’s table, a real surprise. Since that time I have always had at least one iris on the winner’s table and twice have had the best specimen of the show. It always comes as a surprise as I imagine that one year there will be no winners.

I have been asked how I grow winning specimens every year. I don’t think I do anything out of the ordinary. I generally dig them up and divide them every three years. Since my garden area isn’t inexhaustible I usually plant them back in the same spot year after year. I always mix bone meal in with the soil when I plant them and when I had it I also mixed in some very well composted horse manure. After planting I sprinkle Preen in between the rows or around the plants in the borders and mulch with straw after the ground freezes. We used to have good snow cover all winter but that hasn’t been the case the last few years so mulch is necessary.

In the spring after fall planting I fertilize with 6-24-24. I also make sure the Iris plants are cleaned up and weeded – sprinkling Preen again if it’s needed. Usually I do not water established plantings unless it’s very dry. After blooming I snap or cut off the bloom stalks and dead leaves and haul them away. A second weeding is done if needed and another application of 6-24-24 fertilizer is sprinkled around the plants. Since I now grow about 350 varieties of bearded iris it’s hard to keep them all weeded and fertilized as well as I would like, so the second application of fertilizer may not be done or at least not to all of the plantings. By the third year I may not be able to keep ahead of the weeds and then postpone weeding until it’s time to dig them up and replant.

After the digging and replanting in the fall I try to apply a 0-14-42 fertilizer to all the Iris. This is the fertilizer that is available at the local farm supply store and it seems to work pretty well. I only mulch the new plantings not the second and third year plants. This fall I used evergreen boughs on some of the new plantings and am hoping this works well. It should be easier to remove in the spring than straw!

We also spray a fungicide (Bravo) early in the spring and again after bloom to control leaf spot. We have not been able to eradicate it totally but it keeps it somewhat under control. An insecticide (Sevin) is sprayed along with the fungicide. We have had a few Iris borers but they haven’t been a big problem.

Our property is located in a high part of Presque Isle County so we don’t get that last frost in the spring or the first one in the fall. It helps prolong the growing season. We have a buffer of evergreen trees on the west and north side of most of the Iris plantings and these help to protect the Iris from west winds. It can be quite pleasant to work in the gardens even on a very windy day. The only other thing I do is walk among the Iris daily and clean up the spent flowers, talking to them as I go!