In article , PatK
wrote:

Wolf Kirchmeir wrote:
David Ross wrote:

PatK wrote:

Is it normal for iris to fall over? I mean the flowers, of course. They
were fine until the flowers came out and then boom, down they went.
Should I tie them up somehow? The flowers are HUGE.



If these are bearded iris, the stalks may have been chewed by
snails or slugs. In my garden, that is the usual cause for iris
stalks to topple.


Insufficient watering may make the stems weak. It's internal water
pressure that stiffens them. (Also happens with amaryllis, for example.)

HTH

I'd be more inclined to think not enough water, just because they don't
get much where they are. I have to water them myself.

Pat

The slug guess is often the problem when irises fall entirely to the
ground. Even quite small slugs can damage stems. It should be easy to
tell, at the point where the stalk bends & topples there'll be some
chew-marks revealing where the outer wall of the stalk was weakened.
Sluggo is a non-toxic slug control that so far as the plants are concerned
is fertilizer, but it makes slugs & snails slime themselves to death.

If there is no evidence of having had the stalk chewed, & especially if
the irises in question are the biggest fanciest bearded irises on
three-foot-tall stalks, or of the varieties that produce a dozen flowers
on one stalk -- too many of these have been bred for amazing flowers
without sufficient attention to strength of stem. They are frequently top
heavy & the first rainy day adds still more weight to big blooms, or a
windy day, down they go. Those with less sun are even more prone to
lodging.

Such irises indeed need staking, or can be wired together as a lot if its
a large clump. Most of the less ultra-fancy irises will never "lodge" or
fall down, although a few of the species irises like gladwyns just
naturally flop partway.

Other causes of weak stems & lodging is an overcrowded clump that has
depleted its own soil, too little sun, too much water, or very poor soil.
Division & replanting after the soil is enriched with compost, in a
sunnier spot, might fix it if these have been factors.

But for many tall irises wind & rain is all it takes & there's no avoiding
staking; or grow different varieties that are resistant to lodging, or
which are comparatively short. Also since irises are shortlived blooms
even when all goes well, the tippier ones can just be taken for bouquets,
they'll last just as long in vases.

If the leaves also fall over then the problem is "soft rot" caused by a
bacteria, usually gets started in overly wet places. If a stalk or leaf
falls loose, give the base a sniff, it'll smell bad if its soft-rot. This
requires the rhizomes to be dug up, all the rotten bits cut out of it, the
rest dipped in bleach or dusted with Comet, & replanted where they won't
be so wet & nowhere near their previous location which'll still have the
same horrid bacteria in the soil.

-paghat the ratgirl
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