Irises: planting and care

Man has been growing irises for more than two millennia. In translation, the name of this flower means "rainbow". Indeed, the variety of varieties and colors of irises resemble a rainbow. Grow these amazing flowers are not only for decorating gardens and homes, but also for obtaining perfume essences.

Planting irises

According to the generally accepted opinion, it is necessary to plant irises after the end of the flowering period, so that they have time to take root before the onset of cold weather. But with a warm enough autumn, you can not rush to transplant. The main thing to remember is that this flower must be transplanted to another place every 3-4 years so that they do not degenerate.

Irises require rich, nutritious soil. If your soil is not nutritious, then before planting it must be fertilized and disinfected with a fungicide. Treat the material that you will use for planting with a growth stimulant, for example, Eco-gel. Make shallow holes in the soil and sprinkle sand into them. Lay the rhizome horizontally on the sand and spread the roots. Cover with soil so that the top protrudes slightly and water well. Maintain a distance between seedlings of about half a meter.

Iris varieties

There are over 80 thousand different varieties of irises. The fact is that different varieties of this flower cross very easily with each other. Therefore, breeding new varieties is not difficult. By general agreement, all varieties of irises are divided into bearded and non-bearded.

Bearded irises are among the most popular garden irises. This name is due to the presence of stripes of hairs on the outer petals. They often have a contrasting color to the general background of the flower. The color range of bearded irises is diverse - they can be white, purple, brown, yellow, black, white and pink. At the same time, flowers can be either one-color or multi-colored.

Swamp irises are very fond of moist soil and grow in nature along the banks of reservoirs and in the floodplains of rivers. At the same time, they have tremendous vitality and in this regard, I even resemble weeds. Seeds that fall into the soil in the fall give strong and powerful shoots in the spring.

Siberian irises are reliable and practical. They are great for cold climates. These varieties differ in that not only the flowers themselves, but also the foliage differ in their decorative properties.

Irises in the open field

Irises are very unpretentious, so they can and even need to be planted in open ground... These flowers are often adorned with flower beds, parks and alpine slides.

If irises grow outdoors, sometimes they do not bloom. There are several ways to solve this problem:

• First, make sure that the plant is not damaged by pests and is not infected with diseases.
• Then see where the flower grows. Perhaps he just does not have enough light. It is necessary to transplant it to another place.
• Make sure there is enough room for the plant. In too cramped conditions, irises will not bloom.
• In cold winters, the buds of irises can freeze. Bearded varieties of irises especially suffer from this. To avoid this, cover the plant thoroughly for the winter.

Home irises

IN at home only dwarf iris varieties are suitable for growing. All of them must be planted early in the fall, so that during the winter the rhizome has time to take root and the flower blooms at the end of winter.

After landing, keep pot with iris in a cold but bright place. For example, the shaded side of a window sill will do. Before the beginning of the flowering period, the pot with the plant must be rearranged to the sunny side. Don't overdo it with fertilizers. Otherwise, the plant will have few flowers. All his strength will go to the production of the baby.

Home irises should be watered about once a week to keep the soil moisture at a certain level. Do not spray the plant.

Iris care

If you planted irises in the spring, then in the summer they need frequent watering. If you have a humid climate, treat plants with fungicides and insect repellents. Do this early in the morning or late at night. At the end of summer, be sure to inspect plants for winter scoops. This voracious insect lays its eggs on rice, from which caterpillars hatch. They eat young leaves in the fall, and after overwintering, they bring the flower to death.

It is much easier to care for irises of autumn planting. They take root after a month and begin to produce new leaves. Then you need to loosen the soil and make the first top dressing. Use exclusively mineral fertilizers for this.

In autumn, the iris leaves should be cut in half and the base of the flower should be examined for health. The land needs to be loosened up a little and fed with nitrogen fertilizers. Then the irises are covered for the winter. First, sprinkle the back of the rhizome with coarse sand, and then cover it with peat. As a result, you will get a mound with leaves sticking out from above. There is no need to cover Siberian iris varieties for the winter.

Iris transplant

To prevent the irises from growing strongly, they need to be repotted periodically. In addition, an oversized iris bush practically ceases to bloom.

It is allowed to transplant irises fourteen days after the end of flowering. The plant is dug out with a pitchfork, then the rhizome is divided for planting into divisions, which consist of a pair of intergrown links with leaves. Then the planting material is disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate. After this, the delenki must be dried in a natural way. Then the leaves are cut off so that the water can easily flow off them, and the roots are cut to ten centimeters in length. After preparation, the processed delenki can be planted in another place.

Reproduction of irises

It is customary to propagate irises in a vegetative way. That is, in this case, for reproduction, you must perform the same actions as during transplantation. Can be propagated by irises and seeds. In most cases, this method is used for plant hybridization. When using this method, the plant will begin to bloom only after a couple of years. In this regard, the seed method is rarely used. Most gardeners prefer to propagate irises by dividing the rhizome.

Irises: photo

Irises: video