GROWING BEARDED IRIS - PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Iris is the botanical name of the whole genus of these amazing bright flowers, which is translated from Greek as rainbow. The name seems to be specially chosen in order to emphasize the variety of colors of the flowers.

Among irises, the most common are bearded irises, Siberian, marshy.

BEARDED IRISES - CARE

In my front garden for many years bearded irises have been growing. A variety of shapes and colors makes them the undisputed favorites of the flower garden. A distinctive feature of bearded irises is a wide beard, turning in a group of varieties into colored “horns”, “spoons” or frills, which is why the colors of the petals are amazingly varied.

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Reference by topic: Irises bearded and not bearded - planting and care

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The place for irises I chose a little sublime, sunny, open, but sheltered from the winds. Grow tall and medium-sized plants.

The more sun, the brighter their flowers. Violet and blue, yellow and maroon, white and peach pink - they are simply charming!

This unpretentious to the soil plant still needs well drained loose and clean areas, without weeds and stagnant water. Irises do not tolerate overmoistening, so I water them during the flowering period and in extreme heat.

In autumn, the leaves that have withered from below are removed, and the remaining ones are cut off. For winter, irises do not hide anything, in our area they tolerate the winter well. I feed flowers in spring with a complex mineral fertilizer, since it is at this time that plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Organic additives are introduced in a very small amount to prevent excess nitrogen, which reduces winter hardiness of the plant and increases the risk of bacterial infections. Completely pereprevshy compost or manure I add only to the lower soil layer, to the depth of occurrence of thin roots, not allowing contact with a thick rhizome. In order to prevent diseases during flowering, I always remove wilted flowers and leaves.

The peculiarity of these flowers is that the most intensive growth of foliage and roots takes place not in the spring, but in the second half of summer, and the feeding fibrous roots are located at the very surface of the soil. Therefore, the best time for planting a garden iris is the summer period - immediately after flowering. Best for planting is the annual link of the rhizome.

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See also: Growing of bearded irises

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DIVISION OF BEARDED IRIS

By dividing the bushes of iris I do every 4-5 years.

I dig an old bush with my garden pitchforks, shake off the rhizomes and cut them so that each year's growth has leaves.

To reduce evaporation, I shorten the leaves by 2/3 of the length, and the roots by 1/3. I make all slices with a sharp knife, dry the slices for 1-2 days and sprinkle with a mixture of sulfur and charcoal or process them with green to prevent decay.

I make the holes according to the size of the roots.

I pour sand in the center, straighten the roots well and cover them with earth so that the back of the rhizome “sunbathes” in the sun, that is, it is at the level of the soil surface. If the landing is deepened, irises can get bacteriosis.

After planting around the rhizome of irises, I fill a small hill of sand, tightly squeezing my hands and shedding well. I plant irises usually in groups of three plants at a distance between rows of 60-70 cm, and in the row -20-30,

You can breed the variety you like, without digging up the iris completely. Simply separate the lateral branches of the rhizome from the bush. As a result, not only does the planting material come to life, but the old bush is also rejuvenated.

Buying a variety I liked on the market or changing with familiar people, I always pay attention to the rhizomes.

I never buy soft to the touch, and also covered with stains or mold. Rhizomes should be strong, fleshy, preferably with long thin roots.

© Author: Natalia Karkacheva, Krasnodar Territory

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IRIS GROWING - FLOWER GROWERS SHARE EXPERIENCE

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IRIS=NORTHERN ORCHID

Bearded iris is often called the northern orchid. And this is not an exaggeration. On its petals you can find all the colors of the rainbow and see hundreds of different shades. Not to mention the pleated corrugation, lace, bubbling border and other ornaments that make each variety unique. To all the rest, any florist iris is still the one that blooms in June, happily notifying that the stepped-

From the life of the bearded

Most of the irises grown in our gardens belong to the so-called group of tall bearded irises. They got this name for the characteristic pubescence of hairs on the outer perianth lobes. Their ancestors are the well-known “males” that grow in almost every yard.

Modern varieties have a developed bush with a powerful peduncle at the beginning of flowering. Flowers are usually very large, at the same time there can be more than 10 buds. To develop such a vegetative and generative system in a short period of time (40-50 days) is possible only with proper care.

Seven Features of Breeding

Many growers refuse to breed irises, believing that such a beautiful flower is very demanding on growing conditions. In fact, this is not so. You just need to know some of the subtleties that care for them is different.

The most successful place for growing irises is a sunny area with possible partial shading in the afternoon. In the shade, their flowering leaves much to be desired. In addition, irises do not like moist, heavy and acidic soils.

Without transplantation in one place irises can grow up to 5-6 years, each year intensifying flowering. After that their decorativeness begins to decrease.

It is possible to divide and transplant irises from early spring to autumn. However, the best month is July. Plants have already faded, their rhizome actively grows in length and thickens. New links can be easily distinguished from old ones: their bark is lighter and there is a constriction between them. Having formed roots, they begin an independent life. And the old part of the rhizome gradually dies.

To propagate irises, it is possible and not to dig out the whole bush from the ground, it is enough to separate only one or several lateral branches. In this way, not only do they receive the planting material, but they also rejuvenate the bushes.

Immediately after flowering, you need to remove all the arrows, cutting them as low as possible. For the winter, the foliage is shortened to 10-15 cm.

Irises of the bearded are divided into groups by the height of the peduncle.

Low-growing (Iris x barbata-nana) with a height of 20-40 cm bloom before others, in the spring. To medium-sized (Iris x barbata-media), plants are tall from 50 to 70 cm. They bloom two weeks later than the short ones. The most spectacular are the tall irises of the bearded (Iris x barbata-elatior) with a height of 0,5-1 m, their large flowers blossom in the summer.

Rhizomes of bearded irises grow horizontally and often bare, leaving on the surface. Therefore, for the winter, irises are necessarily sprinkled with earth and peat so that they do not become frozen. In the spring, this cover is carefully removed.

“Don't feed organic fertilizers to irises, they don't like them. The best choice is mineral fertilizers in liquid form. With triple feeding, the plants become powerful and decorative. The first is given in early spring (NPK in a ratio of 2:1:1), the second - during the budding period (NPK 3:1:3), the third - a month after flowering (PK 1:1).

Plant beautifully

The bearded iris is an unstoppable flower; in one year it can shift its location to the side by a few centimeters (from 5 to 9). When landing, you should definitely consider this feature.

The standard division (blade) of iris is a fan of 7-8 leaves and a rhizome 3-5 cm long. It has a head part with a fan of leaves and a tail part. Iris grows head (fan) forward.

In order not to get bushes moving in different directions or creeping on each other, the blades are planted in three ways:

1. in a checkerboard pattern, fanning towards each other and observing the distance between the plants at 50 cm;
2. fans in one direction, plants grow as if "after". The distance with this landing pattern is 40 cm;
3. circle (round dance), tails inside the jacket. With this arrangement of plants, they are planted at a distance of 30 cm from each other.

The technique of landing blades is simple. After digging a hole, pour a mound of earth on the center. It is set de-Lenka, evenly spreading the roots along the circumference and covered with earth. The back of the rhizome should be located at the soil level, and the plant should not fall on its side.

The iris will bloom faster if the fan of leaves with its back looks to the north, and the tail (rhizome) is always in the sun.

When planting, in no case can not bury the rhizome, otherwise the plant will need a lot of energy to its surface, and iris will not have time to blossom. In a more sad version, he can just rot and die. It is best to start dividing the irises in about 2-3 weeks after the end of flowering. If the curtain is long (years 5) grows without a transplant, it needs to be dig out entirely. Rhizome shake off the ground and divide into segments. Dead (withered, without roots) and diseased parts of the plant are thrown out. The leaves are trimmed with a triangle UP to a height of 10-15 cm, the roots are only slightly trimmed. Before planting the shoulder blades must NEED TO RELAX, fresh slices should dry at least a couple of hours.

In the design of the garden

In the flower garden, irises are well combined with decorative bows, peonies, daylilies, astilbes, hosts, geicher, brunner, rodgersia and other large perennials with dense beautiful foliage. They also look spectacular against the background of decorative shrubs, coniferous plants, stones.

If the site allows, you can allocate a special place for the northern orchid in the garden, pick varieties with early and late flowering - and enjoy the splendor of its colors from spring to almost mid-summer.

© Author: Anna VASILYEVA, flower grower with experience

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DISCOVER THE ROOTS OF IRISAM

According to the legend, the first iris blossomed several million years ago at the edge of the subtropical forests of Southeast Asia. It was so beautiful that not only animals, birds and insects came to admire them, but even wind and water, which then smashed the ripe seeds of the flower all over the globe. When the seeds sprouted and blossomed, the irises became one of the man's favorite plants.

These beautiful flowers come in a variety of colors and shapes, so they bear the name of the rainbow goddess, blossom from the end of May for a month and a half. Irises are also attracted by the fact that they remain fresh for a long time after cutting.

Transplant - every four years

I propagate irises by dividing rhizomes. I plant them in groups and rows two weeks after the end of flowering on a sunny, not strongly moistened, sheltered place from the wind, to a depth such that the rhizomes are covered with a thin layer of soil. After planting the plants must water. You can propagate them and seeds.

I transplant irises every four years, otherwise they cease to bloom, as the soil is depleted, and the rhizomes grow and intertwine with each other.

CARE

As soon as the soil is thawed, I uncover rhizomes of irises. I shovel the earth, release them for the sun's rays, so that they grow better.

Fertilizers I use only as needed. A week before planting I apply fertilizer to the soil with a minimum content of nitrogen.

Periodically I loosen the soil around these plants, remove the weeds, water regularly in the budding stage in the evening, and in the rest of the time, as the soil dries up, while I wipe out the wilted flowers.

In October, I trim the leaves with a cone at a height of 10 cm and sprinkle the rhizome with a layer of earth.

DISEASES AND PESTS

The most dangerous disease of irises is the rot. If the plant already has such a disease, then the affected specimen must be destroyed, and the remaining bushes should be poured under the root 2% foundation solution.

No less dangerous for irises is another disease - heterosporosis, when brown spots appear on the leaves of plants, and then they completely turn brown. In this case, you need to cut off all the leaves and burn.

Irises are more resistant to pests than to diseases. The most common of the enemies are gladiolus thrips. In this case, the leaves become brown and dry. In this case, I treat the plants with Imidor (3 ml per 10 liters of water), spending 1 liter per 8 square meters. m

If suddenly there are slugs, I spread out the leaves of burdock between the irises as a bait, and then I collect them and destroy them together with the pests.

The value of iris lies in the fact that it is used not only as a garden ornament, but also in medicine and perfumery. Essential iris oil, obtained from roots, goes to the production of perfume products. Drugs of rhizomes of many types of iris have an expectorant, laxative and vomiting action.

Iris is a charming flower, which pleases not only the long flowering and its wide application, but also attracts unpretentiousness. Exquisite large flowers with a pleasant smell cause admiration, amaze with the beauty of their petals. Even blooming, they decorate the garden with their beautiful foliage.

© Author: Svetlana Anatolyevna Martynova, Oryol

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MAIN CONDITIONS FOR GROWING BEARDED IRIS

Bearded irises are my favorite flowers. They are quite unpretentious, bloom at the time

when the spring bulbs have faded, and the peonies are just gaining buds. But there are a few conditions that you need to know when growing irises in order to enjoy their flowering.

The first and most important condition is the landing site. Iris categorically does not tolerate places where water accumulates. The rhizome may rot, or the iris will constantly hurt, bloom poorly. But if the site is very low, then you can plant it on a hill or make a hill with a sand cushion, leaving the back of the rhizome outside on the south side. But even if you deepen the root, then he himself will raise it to the sun over time. The ideal soil for irises is sandy. On the sand, they do not get sick at all.

The second important factor is the sun. Irises are very fond of sunny, even hot places. In the shade, they do not bloom and often get sick.

The third rule concerns top dressing. Irises cannot stand manure, diseases can appear from it, but humus still needs to be applied, it improves the structure of the soil, and together with mineral fertilizers improves flowering. It responds well to the introduction of ash and superphosphate. In general, the more ash, the better, it also disinfects the soil around, preventing the spread of rot to the rhizome. There is a lot of potassium in the ashes, and it is necessary for flowering and laying flower buds.

The division of irises is the next rule that will have to be followed five years after planting. The fact is that irises grow rapidly and the roots in the middle of the outlet grow old, do not give leaves with a flower arrow, or even get sick, rot. They are removed by separating a small part of the rhizome with five to seven leaves. Transplantation can be done at any time, but is usually done in August after flowering.

And the last. Of course, irises winter well, but still it must be borne in mind that their root system is superficial and they winter well only under snow. Therefore, it would be useful to mulch the iris with earth or humus for the winter.

© Author: Olesya Kazeeva, p. Zarubkino, Republic of Mordovia (photo by the author)

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GROWING BEARDED IRIS - VIDEO

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