Hello,

I have a question in regards to planting Iris rhizomes. Do you always plant them horizontally in the ground, at an angle, or even vertically? Does it greatly matter which way you plant it?

I ask because I've read on multiple websites that Iris rhizomes should be planted horizontally. However, whenever I dig up my Iris and divide them, many of the Iris have leaves that grow at an angle to the point where it's difficult to plant the rhizome horizontally without the leaves being really lopsided or even flat on the ground. What I end up doing is that I plant my rhizomes at an angle into the ground, so that this way the leaves are pointing either straight up or at least almost straight up. Also, sometimes the leaves end up growing straight out of the rhizome at no angle at all, so instead of planting the rhizomes horizontally and having the leaves then laying flat on the ground, I simply plant the rhizome vertically with the leaves pointing straight up. A couple of my rhizomes I am able to actually plant completely horizontally since the leaves go up at a nearly 90 degree angle.

I also ask because I've watched videos online of people planting Iris, and a majority of these people seem to plant the Iris either at an angle or completely vertical. I haven't seen any videos of people planting Iris completely horizontal.

At this point I'm not even sure of what's the best way to plant my Iris! All I know for sure is to make sure to not completely cover the rhizome; I usually cover between a third to half of the rhizome and I've had zero problems doing so here in Zone 4.

I've always felt that getting the plant anchored well was most important. If the fan isn't upright, it's often not as stable, and when it's not stable, the roots develop more slowly. I haven't had a problem with some of the rhizome being underground. Some people use a rock on the rhizome to stabilize it until the roots take hold when they have a peculiar angle, or roots trimmed to short..

I'd say if what you're doing has worked so far.. keep up what you're doing!

Silver92 ~ to the Iris Forum!

Mary at Bluebird Haven Iris Garden says that however you plant your irises, make sure that the fan is upright. This year I received one from a vendor where I had to plant the rhizome at an angle. I secured that with a landscape pin to hold it in place until the roots developed.

In a perfect world, the iris "fan" meets the rhizome at a 90 degree angle....you are told to "barely cover " the rhizome, and that puts the fan at a vertical position...but, the world ain't perfect ! Or, at least , MY world isn't . You need to remember that the leaves, as well as the rhizome, are just "temporary" new ones will grow "at the depth and angle that they want to", so, when I plant an iris, first consideration is to the "depth" of the rhizome, and as long as the "fan" of leaves isn't actually laying flat on the ground....don't worry about it ! I, too, use landscape staples to pin the rhizomes....that saves lots of "re planting" the same iris !!

Sherry, Evelyn, and Arlyn, Good information. Thanks.

Silver92!

crowrita1 said: In a perfect world, the iris "fan" meets the rhizome at a 90 degree angle....you are told to "barely cover " the rhizome, and that puts the fan at a vertical position...but, the world ain't perfect ! Or, at least , MY world isn't .

Arlyn ~ You are SO right! Sometime the fans are all over the place and not at a good angle at all. I am amazed at the variety of positions in which they arrive, or become after being dug. Sometimes it is a challenge to plant them, "just right"! Some get planted less than perfect and they will just have to "sink or swim"!

@Silver92

I love my irises in clumps and look better off as one in my opinion. I plant between 3 to 6 iris rhizomes facing each other in a circle about 10 to 12 inches apart. I'd have the last rhizome planted in the center of the circle if I had more than 3 of them.

Sometimes I plant double the rhizomes of an iris I have that I really like. In this case, I make a double circle (one inside the other).