78 Great Northern Hwy, Midland, WA, 6056               Ph: (08) 9250 3682               Shop Hours:   10am   >>   6pm

SHOP

DATABASE

JOURNAL

Planting Bearded Iris

Scott Robinson

Updated on the 29th of November 2010


  • Your Bearded Iris have been trimmed to help them conserve moisture and establish faster. This also makes them easier to plant, requires smaller holes and makes them less prone to blowing over in high winds.
  • Upon receipt of your Bearded Iris, if you do no intend to plant them immediately, unpack them and store them in a cool, shady place. A daily spray of water is all they require. Never leave them standing in water or sealed in plastic bags. Kept like this they should remain healthy for several days.



  • Your Bearded Iris require a sunny, open site, uncrowded by other plants.
  • Bearded Iris need good drainage. If your soil is heavy, you can easily improve the drainage by mounding the soil up 20cm or more and planting your Bearded Iris on top of the mound.
  • Loosen the soil beneath the Iris with a fork or spade to encourage establishment.
  • Plant your Bearded Iris with the rhizomes just below the surface of the soil. They can pull themselves deeper if they choose. Water well to settle the soil around the roots.
  • Do not mulch or manure over the rhizomes as they do not enjoy being constantly moist. These are plants of open places, not woodlands. Mulch or manure can be applied at any time as long as it is kept more than 20cm from the plants.
  • After several weeks, when your Bearded Iris show signs of new growth, feed them with a low Nitrogen fertiliser. We use Thrive Granular All Purpose. High Nitrogen fertilisers encourage lots of leaf growth at the expense of flowers. Bearded Iris are grand plants and to look their best need to be fed lightly every six to eight weeks throughout their growing season which is April to December.
  • The addition of ground Limestone or Dolomite can be of great benefit in acid soils, making for stronger more disease resistant plants. This can be applied as a top dressing or dug in before planting at the rate of one handful per square metre. Reapplication should only be necessary every three to four years.



  • Autumn to Spring is Bearded Iris growing season. In late Spring, from October through November depending on variety, your Bearded Iris will start to flower. During this time if there is a lack of rain a good watering once a week will prolong flowering and let them continue to grow strongly. There is nothing quite like the sight of hundreds of Iris blooms standing to attention.
  • Bearded Iris are very drought hardy plants needing water only weekly during Summer, even less frequently in heavy soils, to look their best. They will survive and still perform well with only the occasional deep watering through the Summer as their fat rhizomes store moisture. They are far more likely to rot from being too wet than die from lack of water.
  • Bearded Iris clumps can become very crowded after a few years, with many individual plants competing for the same space, light, water and nutrients. In February or March these ‘fans’ can be dug with a fork and separated, discarding any that have flowered or show signs of disease or rot. Your garden will soon be filled with Bearded Iris.
  • Once an Iris fan has flowered it will not flower again, though it will produce and feed many offsets that will flower next year.
  • As with most Bulbs the flower buds for the following year are formed in the current growing season. What you do or don't do this year will affect next years flowering. We attempt only to sell rhizomes that will flower for you the first year, after that it's up to you.