I don't know what the "rules" are about Iris, but I know 1st hand that they'll take a beating, then hit the ground running again, whenever they get back into the ground!

When we moved here 2 years ago, there was so darned much Bearded Iris EVERYWHERE, I thought the previous owners must have been nuts or something! I dug Iris up, hand-over-fist, & thought I'd never see the last of them! (It was easy! Most of them didn't even have dirt over the tops of them! That looked awful, but hadn't stopped them from blooming PROFUSELY!) I dug them up even before the flowers had died off, not knowing or caring if it was the right time or the right way to do it... I just wanted them GONE!

I had buckets & buckets of Iris that I'd dug up, & they sat around getting totally neglected for a couple months (because I kept forgetting to take them to the dump)! Several people heard about my "garbage Iris" & said they wanted some, so I managed to finally get rid of them! The following Spring (this year) I heard from each 1 of them & they couldn't thank me enough... said their Iris gardens were gorgeous!

Bordering our property line there was a massive row of Iris, more than 100 feet long, almost hidden among the tall weeds of the adjacent field. I didn't pay much attention to them until this year, but when Springtime came, although they were only a little taller than the weeds, the sight of them upstaged the tacky looking overgrowth in the field! I had to admit that they were so beautiful there, I decided to leave them alone & try to clean up the area around them, instead of pulling them out like I'd done with the ones around the house & in the yard! (I don't think I could live long enough to dig them all up anyway, so its a good thing that I decided to like Iris!)

(These were taken from almost the same spot, 1 facing east & the other facing west... I should have taken pictures when they were all in bloom! It was breathtaking!)
I've started cultivating the hillside above where they are, & have moved some of them around because although there are a variety of colors out there, they aren't very scattered around, color-wise. I've got a pretty good start with the first 50 feet & plan to do the other 50 feet next Spring.

Anyway, last fall before I'd decided to leave them alone & fix up the hillside above them, I dug up 20 or 30 plants for my sister, & just dumped them in a box with whatever dirt came up with them, & put them in the garage. She had planned to come for a visit (from 400 miles away) but didn't make it until January... & the Iris was fine! The little ones (which must have been 1st year starts within the shoveled masses of Iris root) were reaching for light (of which there was very little, in the garage all winter), but they were fine! She took them home & planted them as soon as the ground was workable, & the older ones bloomed for her! (The little ones will probably bloom next year.)

So all I can tell you is that Iris seem to be pretty hardy & I don't think they care what you do with them, as long as you put them back in the ground before they get dry & shrivel up... which apparently takes a LONG time! I would guess that they should be in some dirt, or wrapped up in newspaper or something to keep the moisture in. (not plastic though, because the roots hold their moisture in, & you don't want mold to get started.) I didn't water any of the 1's I dug up... could have been dumb luck, or could have been that I had inadvertently done it right, or it could be that with Iris, it just doesn't matter! All I know is that mine all survived just fine!

I'm sure someone will come along here with a more intelligent approach than mine! Good luck, & have a HAPPY move!

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could have been dumb luck, or could have been that I had inadvertently done it right, or it could be that with Iris, it just doesn't matter! All I know is that mine all survived just fine!

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The luck o' the Iris!

I love them! Not sure about storing them , but I imagine you could store them in some peat.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINDY!!!!!!!

Would the same be true for daylilies?
I plant many of daylilies and iris this spring and might move this winter...
Would they make it? I spent alot of $$ on them and dont want to leave them.

Greg

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In the midst of the storm..I find the greatest Peace. I don't know what tomorrow holds..but i know Who holds tomorrow.

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Originally posted by Patty S:
Most of them didn't even have dirt over the tops of them! That looked awful, but hadn't stopped them from blooming PROFUSELY!

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I don't know about how to store the irs roots, but I am sure you can take some, Iris are very hardy. But you might look at this: moving and storing iris

And here is care & Transplanting:
Dividing and Transplanting Iris Plants

As far the dirt over the tops of them...In order to bloom the top parts of the roots need to be exposed a small amount in order to bloom.

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Kathy, I say take them ALL with you! Even after I uprooted all those Iris when we first moved here, there were still baby Iris poking thru in those spots, this spring! (I have a hunch that the new homeowner will STILL have Iris, even if you think you've gotten them all!)

It's been said here, that the definition of a weed is anything that grows where you don't want it to! Well, that being the case after what I was dealing with the 1st year I was here, I think Iris must be in the weed family ! Ha ha! ...But, who could ask for lovelier ones, huh?!

Thanks Comfrey, for the links! Seeing how many babies were on the ones I'd dug up, & as crowded as the Iris are across my hill next to the field here, I think that since I decided that I like Iris after all, I should thin them out a bit & give them all a little more elbow room to grow! Wouldn't it be something if they'd take over that ugly field next to us?! (DREAM ON!!) Anyway, since I'm thinking about doing that, it might behoove me to look & see how to do it "right"! (Hope that doesn't mess me up, cuz the way I did it when I didn't care, worked just fine!)

I didn't get a snapshot of the yellow ones, or the pale purple ones with the brown streaks, but here's what's coming up out there, so far:

I'm thinking that I should go buy some new colors!

Hey, TheGardenerGuy, if you ever have occasion to travel through Oregon, give me a holler & stop by...(I-5 runs right through town, so I'm not "out of the way!) ...I'll let you borrow my shovel & you can have a hay day, digging up as many as you want! All you'll have to do is toss them in on top of your spare tire & make sure to get them out of the trunk before it freezes, when you get back home! (That invitation is open to anyone else here, as well! I don't think I could give away so many that I'd ever run out!)

Low maintenence, deer resistant, green thumb not required... who could ask for more?! I think I've died & gone to heaven here! (And I used to think that Montana was "God's country"! He sure gets around!!)

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