IRIS problem

 I have about 14 IRIS in my full sun center garden in San Fernando Valley
near Los Angeles Calif. I divided and replanted these in November of
2005 and have been watering and feeding all winter. Only 4 plants
produced flowers.
Following Scotts bulb plant food directions, I recently fed these in
spring. Any idea what I can do to produce any flowers this spring or
insure I get more flowers next spring? Can IRIS still produce flowers
this season?


Thanks, dave_s

 Dave_s wrote:


That might be normal.  Quite often Irises take a couple of seasons to
"catch up" to where they will bloom like they were in the old location.
  Another thing that might cause them not to bloom is if they were
planted too deep.

I don't think that you can get them to produce flowers this year but you
should get more flowers next year.  Keep feeding them and don't cut the
foliage back.
--
Bill R.      (Ohio Valley, U.S.A)

Gardening Since 1969

To see pictures from my garden visit http://members.iglou.com/brosen

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 when you divide them, they don't produce the next year. That is why you
have to divide about 1/3 per year, so you have a constant 2/3 bloom.

 What part of the SFV? If your down in the flatlands and where it doesn't get
cold during the winter, your lucky to get any at all. Iris like to have a
cold time of year, I've north of you in the High Desert of the AV and I've
got 300+ Iris and they are just about done blooming after waking up from a
good cold winter.

Something like L.A. Iris or other breadless iris group members would do
better.



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 Dave_s wrote:

When you plant them, the rhizome should be horizontal (which might mean
the fan of leaves is tilted).  They should be planted very shallow; the
top of the rhizome might even be exposed.

To promote flowering, you should dig bone meal or superphosphate into
the planting hole.  To prevent burning the already injured roots, you
should then add plain soil (no fertilizer) before setting the rhizomes
in order to keep the fertilizer from direct contact.

Be careful to avoid over feeding.  Iris are not heavy feeders.  Too much
nitrogen can cause the plant to rot.

I'm about 5-15 miles west of you, depending on where in the Valley you
are.  My iris are blooming right now.

--
David E. Ross
Climate:  California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/>