I have a question for anyone who is an expert on Irises, or just
someone with a really good knowledge of them.
Is it possible to over winter common irises out of the ground all
winter in zone 6? My nieghbor has dug her's up waiting on instulation
of a pond, is it safe to over winter them out of the ground and inside
a non-building?


Thanks for any help,

Sue D.

(Sue D) expounded:

I have a question for anyone who is an expert on Irises, or just
someone with a really good knowledge of them.
Is it possible to over winter common irises out of the ground all
winter in zone 6? My nieghbor has dug her's up waiting on instulation
of a pond, is it safe to over winter them out of the ground and inside
a non-building?

They'd be much better off in the ground, isn't there somewhere you can
just heel them in for the time being?
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

Irises are pretty tough guys. I have tossed bits of rhizome up as I'm
working on beds and had them root wherever they landed. Many people have had
the experience of throwing iris rhizomes in their compost piles and finding
them with new leaves the next spring. Basically, the rhizomes should be
touching the dirt somewhere - that is all they really need. They don't like
wet spots however, so don't throw them in the part of your yard that turns
into a lake with every rainstorm.......
"Sue D" wrote in message
om...
I have a question for anyone who is an expert on Irises, or just
someone with a really good knowledge of them.
Is it possible to over winter common irises out of the ground all
winter in zone 6? My nieghbor has dug her's up waiting on instulation
of a pond, is it safe to over winter them out of the ground and inside
a non-building?


Thanks for any help,

Sue D.

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 00:06:45 -0800, "gregpresley"
wrote:

===Irises are pretty tough guys. I have tossed bits of rhizome up as I'm
===working on beds and had them root wherever they landed. Many people have had
===the experience of throwing iris rhizomes in their compost piles and finding
===them with new leaves the next spring. Basically, the rhizomes should be
===touching the dirt somewhere - that is all they really need. They don't like
===wet spots however, so don't throw them in the part of your yard that turns
===into a lake with every rainstorm.......
==="Sue D" wrote in message
ogle.com...
=== I have a question for anyone who is an expert on Irises, or just
=== someone with a really good knowledge of them.
=== Is it possible to over winter common irises out of the ground all
=== winter in zone 6? My nieghbor has dug her's up waiting on instulation
=== of a pond, is it safe to over winter them out of the ground and inside
=== a non-building?
===
===
=== Thanks for any help,
===
=== Sue D.
===


All depends on what type iris your talking about if it likes wet feet
or not. All of my Iris have been planted for years with 6 inches of
water or more above their crowns..........they love wet feet and being
submerged. They are Louisiana variety........As far as I can tell all
varieties of Iris with the exception of Bearded types like
wetfeet......and its this reason they are so popular in bog and water
gardens.
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

The best thing she can do is to put them in Pots for the winter, this should
keep them alive and growing. Then once they are ready to be planted put them
in a new bed. This is IF they are the Tall Beaded Iris, if they are L.A.
Iris then they should be taken inside and placed in something like a bucket
of water and placed where they get a bit of light from a window.

Being zone 6 I would think they are TBI's, in that case as said above, pot
them up and place them outside then.



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"Sue D" wrote in message
om...
I have a question for anyone who is an expert on Irises, or just
someone with a really good knowledge of them.
Is it possible to over winter common irises out of the ground all
winter in zone 6? My nieghbor has dug her's up waiting on instulation
of a pond, is it safe to over winter them out of the ground and inside
a non-building?


Thanks for any help,

Sue D.


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"starlord" expounded:

The best thing she can do is to put them in Pots for the winter, this should
keep them alive and growing. Then once they are ready to be planted put them
in a new bed. This is IF they are the Tall Beaded Iris, if they are L.A.
Iris then they should be taken inside and placed in something like a bucket
of water and placed where they get a bit of light from a window.

Being zone 6 I would think they are TBI's, in that case as said above, pot
them up and place them outside then.

I seriously doubt they'll make it if they're just potted up, they'll
freeze solidly, thaw, etc. over and over and rot by the spring. Much
better off to put them in the ground somewhere, not where they'll
ultimately be, even in a shady corner, and then properly plant them in
the spring.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

And they can rot just as easy anywhere else. When I had to move all 300+
iris from one area to another I had to pot a lot of them up for the winter
and then I put the pot 1/2 the way into the ground. Not only did I lose very
few ( about 5 or 6 ) they still bloomed the next spring.

Many of the Iris growers I've chatted with will pot up new iris plants for
their first winter and plant them only after the spring bloom time is past.
And these are ones that sell iris too.


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"Ann" wrote in message
...
"starlord" expounded:

The best thing she can do is to put them in Pots for the winter, this
should
keep them alive and growing. Then once they are ready to be planted put
them
in a new bed. This is IF they are the Tall Beaded Iris, if they are L.A.
Iris then they should be taken inside and placed in something like a
bucket
of water and placed where they get a bit of light from a window.

Being zone 6 I would think they are TBI's, in that case as said above,
pot
them up and place them outside then.

I seriously doubt they'll make it if they're just potted up, they'll
freeze solidly, thaw, etc. over and over and rot by the spring. Much
better off to put them in the ground somewhere, not where they'll
ultimately be, even in a shady corner, and then properly plant them in
the spring.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************


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"starlord" expounded:

Many of the Iris growers I've chatted with will pot up new iris plants for
their first winter and plant them only after the spring bloom time is past.
And these are ones that sell iris too.

Where are these iris growers? Near you? You were discussing a person
who is in zone 6, which is where I am. My experience (rather
extensive, I might add) gardening for over 30 years in zone 6 tells me
that you shouldn't pot up anything and leave it on top of the ground
for the winter, without protection. Yes, you can pot them up and heel
them *in* the ground, but you absolutely can't leave them exposed on
top of the ground. You will have dead plants in the spring, or plants
so damaged they never florish again.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

Well, some are down south in NM and Tx, One hobby grower is up in Canada,
some are in the north midwest, heck they are all over the place, even one or
two out here in Calif.

We have a chat every friday night on a MIRC server.


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"Ann" wrote in message
...
Where are these iris growers? Near you? You were discussing a person
who is in zone 6, which is where I am. My experience (rather
extensive, I might add) gardening for over 30 years in zone 6 tells me
that you shouldn't pot up anything and leave it on top of the ground
for the winter, without protection. Yes, you can pot them up and heel
them *in* the ground, but you absolutely can't leave them exposed on
top of the ground. You will have dead plants in the spring, or plants
so damaged they never florish again.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************


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