I purchased some plants last year and didn't have a plot ready to plant so I potted up about 25. It is crazy how much the ones in the garden patch have grown compared to the pots. Does this happen to you? I have been working on getting them a permanent tag and into the garden this week! Hoping for a awesome Spring bloom!

I'm curious about planting in pots as well. I just had a terrible day yesterday, discovering iris borers had infested nearly all of my "inherited" Melanie irises I got from my grandmother. She got these irises nearly 75 years ago and has moved them through three states, passed some rhizomes to me and I've moved them twice. I am heartbroken that out of nearly 75-80 I dug up, I maybe salvaged ten. I am scared to put them back in the ground, and I'm thinking about just putting them in buckets until spring, hoping a good cold Wisconsin winter will freeze and kill anything in the soil.

I have good luck with pots, Teresa. I buy plastic buckets.... about 4 gallon size and make holes in them about an inch up on the sides. This allows water to stay in the very bottom as it sorta acts like a tray that catches water. You cannot leave pots during a drought to fend for themselves as the roots cannot go deep to get to water but If you water them thoroughly they will do better during a drought than the ones in the ground. Make sure the pots are not a dark color. If you go into your garden after the sun has been on the side of the pot and put your hand on it you will see what the little roots have to contend with. No, a dark pot will not kill an iris but they do a lot better without having some of their roots baked.

Bonnie, that is the problem I guess. I am using the nursery 1 gallon black pots. So do you do both? Or is everything above ground?

Most of my irises are in the ground. I do have some that live in wheelbarrows, old tubs and buckets, and a few in pots. I was thinking about getting them all in-ground just in case I could not water them and they would perish. Then the flood waters rose and the in ground ones are the ones I lost. The others are doing fine. There is no perfect solution so I guess it is what works best for each one of us. I do like being able to bring a pot of beauty up to the front entrance where every one can enjoy it and then trading it for another pot when the bloom fades.

I guess my point is to make sure the pot is a big one and if it does not have a saucer then put the drainage holes in the side of the pot an inch or so above the bottom. I like the lightest shade of pots I can find and I like them to be uniform in color, shape and size when possible.

I only pot up irises that will later be transferred to the ground. Sometimes July weather is just too hot to do anything outside.

I recently received some dwarf irises from a garden friend and put them in pots.

Bonnie, I agree about moving the blooming pot to the center of attention! Then afterwards you can put it out of sight.