Planting?
hi everybody. I need some advice. A friend of mine has ordered some iris and delphiniums which I didnt hunk was the best time to do so. She was hoping I could ask around on here peoples views.
The Iris at bare root and the delphiniums are small plug plants but with a good root system.
Ive heard that if I add some root grow fungi to the roots. Then it’s is ok to plant now?
what are people’s though on this?
day time temp is still quite warm and have only had a couple of frosts which thaw out quite quickly.
can I get them in the ground and mulch around them, or should I put them up and leave them to the spring?
hoe you can help
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Which kind of iris are they, do you know? The bearded iris with knobbly rhizomes need planting with the roots (the thin stringy bits) covered, but the rhizome right at the soil surface, where it can get baked in the sun, if we get any! Siberian iris have thinner leaves and no big rhizome, so they can be planted normally and mulched if you wish. It would be best to soak the roots first to rehydrate, but the beardeds want a drier, sunnier position , while Siberians can cope with more moisture and some shade.
The delphiniums definitely need potting up and some tlc. You will never see them again if you plant them out now, the slugs will be on them before your back is turned! They need watching in spring and given slug protection as soon as there are signs of new growth, and then potting on at least once, preferably twice, so they make decent sized plants that may stand some chance against the slimy ones.
I would not put Delphiniums out in the garden until they fill a 2l. pot at least, otherwise they are just slug fodder.
I don't believe there is any evidence that " Root Grow " is of any benefit to perennials.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Totally agree
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi all.
sorry for the delayed reply it’s been a busy few weeks.
Thanks for the great advice.
The delphiniums are bow potted up for winter and nemetodes and slug pellets are at the ready. We won’t plant them out until the root system has started to fill a 2ltr pot. Any idea how ping this might take? Will they be ready for next year?
As for the Iris. Yes they are bearded Iris I think ‘fortunate son and gala madrid’
i Am aware that the rhizomes need to be visible to be able to be baked in the sun. Is the correct even if we have a cold winter? Will they not be damaged by any frost or snow if we get any?
As it s still fairly warm and the ground is not frozen, we were going to plant them this week.
I would probably put the iris in pots, as well for now. Although they don't mind the cold, if we get a very wet winter they won't like it much. I'd cut own any top growth to about 3 or 4 inches high and then pot them up with the rhizomes on the surface as you would in the ground, in a fairly gritty compost then keep them somewhere sheltered with the delphiniums. They will all be able to go out in the spring - the delphiniums will grow fast once the weather warms up so you need to pot them on fairly regularly. May at the latest I should imagine. The irises - it depends where you are and how the weather is. Once the worst of the winter wet in over, they can go out. That has been April here the last few years - we seem to be getting very dry spring weather quite often.
Thanks raisingirl for the pointers I’ll see how the weather goes in the spring.
As for more. Established Iris that have already been in the ground. The cold weather won’t damage the exposed rhizomes then? Do they need to be protected?
They should be OK with cold, they are very hardy. They won't like sitting in a puddle.
I notice, by the way, the RHS say new rhizomes should be planted out between July and October. I have planted them out earlier than July and not had a problem, but just thought I should point out that's experience in my location and if you live somewhere much colder than me, you might be advised to leave it a bit later
So does that mean they are unlikely to flower next year? They don’t seem to look like 1st year plants as the rhizomes and roots are of decent size. By planting them from July to Oct then one would assume they don’t flower that year
You're probably right. I've potted them into pots as I described above and then transplanted them out in April or May with minimal root disturbance - i.e. just dig a hole big enough, lift the entire content of the pots out carefully and slotted it into the soil - then usually popped in a short stick as a support for the first year (those big leaves act as a sail until they are properly anchored) - and they've grown away and flowered that season.
Perhaps I've just been lucky. 'Feu du ciel' planted in April, flowering in June