British Columbia: Neophyte Question Regarding Iris Division

Hello,

I am a newbie to this site, as well as to gardening in general, so I will apologize in advance for my mistakes! I am also hoping this post is in the correct category.

Last year we moved to the South Cariboo from the Lower Mainland, and now live just east of Lac La Hache which is north of 100 Mile house. The difference in climate has been substantial! I inherited an established perennial bed, and I also planted my first vegetable garden this year. The soil here is clay based, and quite heavy.

The iris bulbs did not flower this year, and I have subsequently read that they are probably over-crowded and need to be divided. My question is, do I do that now, or in spring? If I divide them now, should they be stored over winter and then replanted in spring? The foliage is starting to brown. Temperatures are 15 - 24 during the day, but can dip 3 to 5 degrees below freezing at night.

 

Bearded iris?

 

Welcome Tigerlily874 to the forum.

It is not the best time to replant your bearded Irises now in your gardening zone. They need time (a couple of months) to root well before winter. You can replant them in spring after your last frost date or wait and do that a few weeks after blooming. If you think they will not bloom the next year, too, replant them in spring.
There is plenty easy to find information on the net how to do that.

 

Thanks very much, that is what I suspected. I will leave them until next spring and divide then. There was only one or two blooms this year, out of several bunches of plants, so I doubt there will be much to speak of next year.

I think they are all bearded iris, but as they didn't all bloom I am not 100% sure!

Thanks again!

 

Since you have a heavy clayey soil add compost in liberal quantities to the planting area and mix it deeply with your soil to improve tilth and drainage so the rhizomes will never stay for long in saturated soil.
When planting don't forget to bury the rhizomes only half way deep.

 

Don't dig in any amendments to the clay, build up on top instead. When you create an amended hole in a sheet of clay, the water simply pools in the amended hole, making things worse. Best bet is to create a raised bed, can be as simple as a mound of soil bordered by logs or stones.

 

Thanks! Soil improvement is top of the list over the next few years. The bed itself is raised, held in place at the front with two by ten's which I will be swapping out for rock over the next few years, and by landscape plastic covering raised ground at the back as it forms the border for the property line. So, as I dig things up, I will be replacing the soil as it dries to the consistency of concrete in the heat of summer. Probably why the peonies didn't flower either! (At least I think they're peonies;).