The Bearded Iris

I never really gave much thought to bearded irises until we bought our first home in 2022. The landscaping was full of massive purple flowers that smelled faintly of grape jelly and I was hooked. As big as the patch was, there were not as many blooms as I had thought there would be. I learned this was because the rhizomes (root ball) were too crowded and needed to be separated. How does one do that? 

When it comes to digging up plants, there is usually an optimal time to do so. I learned for bearded irises the best time to dig and plant is pretty much any time after they finish flowering for the season which is typically late Spring. This gives a nice big window of time to procrastinate and then finally get it done. 

Step 1. Cut back the foliage

Cut back the foliage to about 6” or so in order to make it easier to work with the plants as you dig and divide. It also makes for less work for the plant to support as it goes through the transplanting process.

Step 2. Dig

Use a garden fork, pitch fork, or shovel to ease the rhizomes out of the ground. Depending on the size of your patch, you may find they come up in a giant clump rather than in smaller bunches.  Make sure you have a clear spot you can work in to place the clump and divide it.

Step 3. Divide

So here’s the fun part, dividing! There will be natural divisions in the clump that will make it fairly easy for you to know where to focus. Make sure that each rhizome you pull has a fan (greenery) attached otherwise it won’t grow. While you are going through this process, make sure to check for any soft rhizomes or for any holes. Soft ones may be the victim of bacterial rot and should be tossed. Any ones with holes may have iris borers residing in them and should also be tossed. You want to make sure you have the best of the best rhizomes so your plants are nice and healthy.  

Step 4. Plant

Give the freshly divided rhizomes a day or two to callus over where they were separated. Though optional, you can even dust the wound with powdered cinnamon to act as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal drying agent to help prevent the rhizomes from rotting. You can of course plant the rhizomes right away, you just have a higher chance of rot than if you let them callus over first. Dealers choice.

Find a nice spot with well draining soil that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. Like with pretty much all bulb based plants, if they sit in wet conditions for extended periods of time they are likely to rot so drainage is key here. Once you’ve found your most perfect location, make a nice wide, shallow hole so you can spread the roots out. Make a small mound right in the center of the hole to rest the rhizome on then spread the roots out around it. When you backfill the hole, make sure not to bury the top of the rhizome. Leave it mostly exposed so it can stay nice and dry and happy. Space rhizomes about 18” apart so they have plenty of room to multiply.

Step 5. Enjoy!

Every spring for the next few years you will be gifted a stunning display of magnificent flowers. The plants will naturally multiply pretty prolifically and will need to be divided every 2-5 years in order to keep flowering well. I’m always so excited in early Spring to see the first green fronds starting to come up out of the dead foliage from the previous season. The smell is magnificent (if you choose a scented variety which I highly suggest you do) and I love having them on the sides of pathways so I can walk through that wonderful scent. 

So go, pluck up the courage to finally dig those old clumps in your yard or go ahead and buy one or two rhizomes to give growing these old fashioned beauties a try. I promise you it is worth it.