New to Iris, planted numerous healthy plants in 2017--got a few blooms the first year; but this year absolutely nothing! Keep the area well watered but not soaking & fertilized with a "bloom producing" fertilizer, gets plenty of light. My other perennials bloomed like gang busters, so I'm not sure what I did wrong. I really want to add more, but hesitate to do so until I figure this out! Thanx.

Marci ~ First of all, to the Irises Forum!

Where do you live, and how often are you watering?

Welcome to the iris forums, Marci!

From what I'm hearing, it is possible you're either overwatering, overfertilizing or snippets of both for your irises. I second Evelyn with the question of how much you're watering them.

Depending on how much, some of your irises may have been poised to rot, and even some succumb to it. Usually, an iris of the bearded kind....are they the "bearded iris?" that look like this?

Notice the fuzzy looking things on the petals that fall(That's how you know it is a bearded iris!).

If not, you might have other beardless varieties, particularly some that need a lot more water than you'd guess, but it sounds like you have bearded irises. If ya do, bearded irises usually only need "thick" watering for a few weeks, or until they've set in. Then they're really drought tolerant and don't need water so much as even every two weeks. I say, water them when it hasn't rained in...a week at least, and I've known the optimal fertilizing time is six weeks before the bloom (roughly April-May for blooms, so March at the latest), and right after the blooming period so that the rhizome (the fancy term for a long rhizome) can set in place increases and further blooms.

I hope this helps you - I am sure there are plenty more experienced iris veterans that can help too. Hey, if you stick around, pretty soon you might be hoarding irises because you've gotten addicted to them....

Marci, which growing zone do you live in. If your winter temps remain too high, that can affect bloom on the irises, especially the miniatures. Another thing I might suggest is to test your soil for nutrients and acidity. Then amend the soil as needed rather then just adding randomly. There are many irises that need a couple years to settle in before blooming it seems, especially where the growing season is short. Hang in there, I'm sure we can support you through a good bloom season.

My guess is they were planted "too deep".
http://www.irises.org/About_Ir...

You stated they were planted in "17, and you had "a few blooms, the first year", so, were they planted in the spring, and had a few flowers in that first summer ? Or, did you plant in the summer, and had a few blooms in the fall ?
"Too much" water, would have caused a rot problem, maybe, but shouldn't have affected bloom, and, as to fertilizer, unless the soil they were planted in was very depleted , to begin with, there should be enough "go power" in that soil for two-three year's worth of bloom (IMHO), so my thinking is, if it ain't water, and it ain't food, it's either sun exposure, or planting depth. You said they get "light", and they need at least, one half day of sun....and more is better....and that "sun exposure" needs to be available all growing season, spring, summer, and early fall.

If the rhizomes are planted "too deep" (and except for a few areas of "severe climate", the very top of the rhizome should be visible, after they are planted) the increases (which are where "next years" flowers will come from)have to "grow towards" the soil surface, and depending on "how deep" , that can take a few years!

marci. growing zone is an important place to start to help you.

exposure to sun, is another important factor. depth of planted rhizomes, and then kind of soil, such as sandy or clay. after that, nutrients and water. you got some good advice from tom, get the soil tested to add nutrients accordingly.

kind of soil is important, too, because it will factor into how much or how often the irises need irrigation.

Marci! I think you have enough advice to start on, but don't hesitate to ask more questions. The good people here like to help!

Hi! I live in SW Florida zone 10 a. My bearded iris' did the same thing - bloomed great for 1 year and then nothing. Now they just add interest to my garden with their spikey foliage. Any thoughts?
Thank you!

It could be that they are not getting enough of a chilling period over winter, but it could be a myriad other things as well.

NE Kansas gets plenty of winter chill (more than here, where they do fine), so I don't think it's that. I also don't think it's the soil, because I sent bearded irises to my cousin who lived in the Kansas City suburbs, and they took off like gang busters, forming huge, floriferous clumps in just a couple of years. I think he fertilized them once with a little 10-10-10 in their first year.

So my guess is that either they are planted too deep, or they aren't getting at least 6 hours of direct sun per day. Overwatering could be a problem, too. They are very drought tolerant and don't like being over-watered. I don't give added water to mine except when they are first planted.

P.S. My reluctant bloomers are only in areas that are too shaded, from our giant maple tree. So that would be my number one guess.

NonnaC said: Hi! I live in SW Florida zone 10 a. My bearded iris' did the same thing - bloomed great for 1 year and then nothing. Now they just add interest to my garden with their spikey foliage. Any thoughts?
Thank you!

I was responding to NonnaC's post who lives in Florida zone 10.

Have you ever divided them since planting? If not, I can't imagine the rhizome mess it has now.

The original post by Marci in Kansas was made in 2018. NonnaC resurrected the thread with a similar problem.
Nonna, could you post pictures of your plants? We might be able to identify what type of iris they are. I think Tom is correct, though--probably doesn't get cold enough in winter to allow bloom.

lauriemorningglory said: The original post by Marci in Kansas was made in 2018. NonnaC resurrected the thread with a similar problem.
Nonna, could you post pictures of your plants? We might be able to identify what type of iris they are. I think Tom is correct, though--probably doesn't get cold enough in winter to allow bloom.

I'm blind.

Arico said: I'm blind.

I've never done that! well not more then once or twice, maybe three times or so. ....

There was a little confusion about the thread. I, too, missed that the original post was from 2018 until I reread it. Ha Ha! Maybe my attempt to explain it made it more confusing! Sorry!