I am starting to dig and divide, and LOL I am running out of space to replant! Except for a large semishade spot that is now covered with lamium. My thought - I could clear out some room here and replant the extra divisions in a maybe less than enough sun spot, and that would solve the crowding temporarily, and next year when I have liberated more new ground I can move them. Thoughts?

They will live and even increase in areas that get too much shade. They are using the sun now to form next years bloom so you may see bloom next spring but none thereafter unless their sun is increased. Sounds like if it is not going to be a permanent location it would work.

Sounds fine for a temporary bed.

And just to complicate things -- my Maple Tree bed Irises are perfectly happy in solid shade with a couple hours of morning sun (at an angle) -- and maybe an hour of afternoon sun. They increase and bloom just fine. They would do more of both with more sun -- but they manage just fine as they are. They've been in the location for six or seven years.

Well,
we will see how they do. It may turn out that it isn't as shady as I think.

It's worth a try (with good labels).

Good luck, Caitlin! You've certainly had plenty of challenges...let this not be one!

Thanks, Barbalee, but life is a continual challenge!

Barbalee said:Good luck, Caitlin! You've certainly had plenty of challenges...let this not be one!

I have an area with deciduous trees that receives a fair amount of sun in spring, but only a couple of hours at an angle like Mary Ann described during summer. I've had some old noids there for years that bloom well, which is why I've left them there. Now that I'm needing iris space I'm trying various others there. Dwarf varieties are responding very well and most of the TBs are blooming well. I planted several I had divided in that area a couple of years ago and this spring had great bloom from them.

I'd like to see breeding efforts toward shade tolerant varieties. ....which is good incentive to try my hand at some crosses...hmmmm...

Shade tolerant irises would be great here Neal. My iris leaves bleach out here in the August sun.

I would love some cultivars that could withstand more shade. I don't grow as many iris as I would like to, since I am always battling shade. We did clear some more trees 18 months ago, and I am slowly clearing away the stumps, branches, and stones and clearing more beds, but it takes time to get any new beds into shape to accept new plants.

This is my shade bed and blooms did decent for early April transplanting. The colors were so much richer than my sun garden area. I do prefer the sun and am probably yanking all these out.

We have our MDBs in an area where they bloom before the trees leaf out.

I am going to plant various categories and varieties in the shade and see how they do. I know tulips and hosta will do well. Daylilies will grow but not bloom much.

grannysgarden said:Shade tolerant irises would be great here Neal. My iris leaves bleach out here in the August sun.

Oh, mine look awful! The only ones that are green and don't look sickly at the moment are the ones that get more shade than they should. The hot sun is sure hard on them.

enidcandles said:

Oh, mine look awful! The only ones that are green and don't look sickly at the moment are the ones that get more shade than they should. The hot sun is sure hard on them.

That makes me giggle, @enidcandles! These are all the NOID Irises that I was gifted with this week. Talk about looking terrible! Maybe it's the full sun that does it??!!

I cut down lower and they still have some perk. I also water at sunset with the newbies.

These were completely removed and received 90° pounding sun the last few days and are happy as can be

Barbalee, they will most likely be fine. Those leaves had been shaded by each other in crowded clumps, and are now exposed to full sun, so its typical for them to bleach out and die off. New leaves that are adjusted to the sun should start emerging as they root.

Thanks for mentioning that Neal. That makes a lot of sense. My first thought was Yikes! Could that happen to me with all of my sunny areas? I am thinking of adding lots more irises to my beds. But, the sun is brutally hot here.

Neal! I was sure worried, but I'm hunting my patience hat (again)!