Have we established whether these are Bearde Iris.  Even for tidwater Virginia, that Feb. bllom date is a bit early for beardeds.  They don't bloom up here till mothers day.  Is there a chance we are dealing with Dutch iris or even little reticulatas?

 

"He who plants a tree, plants hope" Lucy Larcom

I plant my Iris at ground leval as Kym has said and how I do it is: I make a mound of soil the length of the tuber and place the roots down the sides of the mound place more soil to fill in around the roots only and leave the top uncovered,soak very well and taa daaaaa.

The one other thing I know about Iris is that if you transplant them before they bloom they will not bloom for a year.

I hope this helps.

 

I got some iris thru an exchange in another group about three years ago and they did not do anything at all   I had beautiful green foliage and that is it so i dug them up and just laid them on the dirt and just thru a little dirt over them and then put mulch over them   Well this year right now I have 6 beautiful white iris in my yard.  I think that my problem was that i had planted them to deep.  I have been reading up about them and it says not to plant to deep but I was afraid the first time that the cats would dig them up if I did not.   Now the ones that i did not dig up and redo are not doing anything

 Yes, I agree with putting them in pots. The roots grow deeper faster and this helps transplanting them to the ground easier because the feet position themselves to the top while in the pot. Then, you can dig a normal whole in the ground and plant them at ground level without disturbing the roots because the soil has formed itself also. Thus, you will have a better chance of them blooming sooner if the roots don't have to be shocked again. All the iris that I planted in pots from bare root have done a lot better than any that I planted directly into the ground using trenches. Does that make sence to you? Just do not over water, but 1st year iris like water until well established. Then, they are very drought resistent after that and can actually dry out completely for months and be revived. I got a ton from my great aunt that had been dried out for 3 months before I planted them and most of them revived very well. The ones I planted in pots did the best. Hope this helps.

Char 

 1violetheart trades

Irises often take a year or two off from blooming after being transplanted, so it's likely that you won't get much bloom from your irises this year. OTOH, irises can surprise you. Nothing's impossible with them, so you might still get a little bloom from some of them this spring. I recommend you leave them in pots in your house in the sunniest windows you have (or under lights) until your last frost date has passed, then plant them out in your garden. The foliage may be weak and floppy from the time in your house, but they'll recover once you get them planted outside. One thing you'll have to watch for while they're in your house is aphids. Potted irises indoors are aphid magnets. Be very careful, also, NOT to overwater potted irises. The soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings, and watering should be light. It's easy to rot bearded iris rhizomes if the soil is kept damp. Happy irising! Laurie

I think I need to cultivate some of my irises in a few days because my tubers are not showing as Kym said they should.  They may be too deep.  They look good and healthy but I want to get some good blooms this year from the others that I bought that didn't bloom last year.  Could be because they were planted too deep. I bought a large bag (8 Lbs) of epsom salt at Sams club so I will be fertilizing all my plants to give them a good start. Grannyrose 

 

Tatyana my mom has beautiful irises, liles and dayliles.  She lives in Arkansas. I dug up a few last year and from what I have been told my brother buthered her yard when she became ill.  If I had known that I would have taken more.  I didn't because a lot of them were in bloom and had buds.  I hope some were left and I will dig them up next month.  The ones I did dig up, I cut the leaves back and planted outside. To my surprise they bloomed.  Good luck with yours.

Kym thanks so much for the information.  Good to always learn something new. 

Hi Tatyana

I know that just cutting down the leaves, wont bother the Iris, as that is what I do when I dig to divide, or when someone gives them to me, they always cut down the leaves...I am just hoping that you didnt cut the bloom stems....I would think that the bloom stems, you would know the difference....so maybe they were just leaves ?

If you did cut the bloom stems, you may still get some to produce new blooms, and like you said there is always next season. Iris, like to be planted at ground level or just above, and the tuber should be showing. Alot of times when you transplant them, they dont bloom till next season....I would plant them in a pot now if you can...and then put them out in the yard after the ground is work able...

There may be someone else with some great info....but this is my humble opinion.

Good luck with them !