HoosierHarvester said:... but it's hard to get well rooted mature Iris out concrete block holes without destroying them. And I did not want to destroy them! . . . these were my babies. So I don't suggest planting Iris in concrete block holes unless you are absolutely certain there is no further settling of the soil to happen.

Still haven't got them all out of there. You can't exactly tell from this photo I took quickly today, as to the depth that the rhizome is down.

How about a sledgehammer to break up the cinder blocks? But I guess that might rip the Irises up pretty badly.

They do make masonry cutting wheels for angle grinders. Use ear-plugs and a dust mask!

Now that's not funny!!!
It's about a 35'-40' length of concrete blocks. Don't think I want to mess up my border.

Can you tip it over and push the irises upward and out? Seems like planting annuals would be a good choice.

HoosierHarvester said:Now that's not funny!!!
It's about a 35'-40' length of concrete blocks. Don't think I want to mess up my border.

I have a kitchen tool that I guess is a type of spatula that I would use on that. It is ~ 12 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide and thick enough that it will flex a bit. I use it all the time to get root bound plants out of containers. I got it at Dollar Tree for 1 #.

I have to admit, I too thought of a sledge.

David ...

I don't think this would work with the irises because I am pretty certain those roots go down and under the blocks, but to get root bound plants out of containers, I just knock the pot all the way around, up the sides of the container and the bottom of the container with my trowel, then tip the plant out. If I am afraid I might break the container, I use one of those rubber type hammers ... I don't know what they are called ... to knock the plant loose from the container. The plants just slide right out.

For me, this works a whole lot easier for all sizes of containers than trying to dig the plant out of the container.

Kayleigh .....

Here's a photo of my iris mistake:

Sure looked pretty, but messed up the bottom of the rose. It used to have to most gorgeous foliage all the way to the ground. I was able to remove the irises, but virtully had to start over with the rose to get it to the foliage back all the way to the ground. When a rose is covered with foliage and bloom all the way to ghe ground, I think it is an awesome sight.


Smiles,
Lyn

I actually have a fairly long-handled dandylion remover tool (like a 2-pronged fork) I thought would work, but I tried putting it down behind the rhizomes, in front of the rhizomes, at the side of the rhizomes, but based on the small size of the concrete block hole, I can't get much leverage. I think there were 10 to 12. I've got a piece out on almost all of them, but not without destroying some, and some pieces were very small so hopefully they will make it through winter. The Iris really seemed to be happy in there. I've just got a couple that I'm waiting on bloom to see how much I'm willing to destroy the Iris to get them out.

It is funny though, but I could kick myself . . . live and learn.

@RoseBlush1 , everything in that photo at that time looks extremely healthy though. I guess, who would have know the rose bush (is it a Knockout?) would have gotten so large and sprawled over the Irises.

Kayleigh....

Then name of the rose is 'Lynnie' and was bred by Kim Rupert.

Rose (Rosa 'Lynnie')

In my garden, I think it is healthier than most of the Knock Out roses.

The reason my roses get larger than the reported size is that I have to dis-bud them every spring to prevent rose curculios from breeding in my garden. The dis-budding causes the plants to put out more foliage and more growth.

When Kim saw my rose, he was surprised at the size of the plant because it is twice as large as any of the other 'Lynnie' s he as seen in other gardens. This is an own root plant that I started from a cutting in a 4" pot. At the time of the photo, it had been in the ground three years.

Smiles,
Lyn

Kayleigh....

I forgot to tell you ... oops !

I got rid of all of the dandylions that were infesting my lawn by just removing the blooms as soon as they appeared over a two year period. Now, I get one now and then from a wandering seed that blows into the garden, but the lawn is dandylion free.

Smiles,
Lyn

HoosierHarvester said:Now that's not funny!!!
It's about a 35'-40' length of concrete blocks. ...

Wow, I stand corrected.

This is a case for ... dynamite!

I take it the rhizomes go straight down below the level of the cinder blocks.

Could you use a "sharpshooter spade" (trenching spade with a flat blade) to cut down 12" below grade, all around the cinder block? Then uproot the iris' root ball at the same time you tip the cinder block on its side ... but still have to extract the root ball from the cinder block.

For the future, it might be worthwhile lining the cinderblock holes with heavy plastic film before filling with soil and plants. Then you could tug on the plastic like a sleeve.

BUT those rhizomes might have like all the air and drainage they got from being flush against a very porous surface.

RoseBlush1 said:Kayleigh....

I forgot to tell you ... oops !

I got rid of all of the dandylions that were infesting my lawn by just removing the blooms as soon as they appeared over a two year period. Now, I get one now and then from a wandering seed that blows into the garden, but the lawn is dandylion free.

Smiles,
Lyn

I do not use chemicals and that is the best way to be dandylion free.

In the Midwest where I grew up-this would work with dandelions as they were killed when the ground froze in the winter. Here in
Zone 8 (Seattle) It rarely freezes and is nicely moist in winter, so they are perennials! Aaagh my first winter here I just left alone the ones that got big in the fall- I "knew" they would die in the winter so why bother yanking them out. They grew all winter, until they were quite like shrubs, then the first warm days of spring they made flowers, which went to seed while I was away on a ski trip....

RickCorey said:
Wow, I stand corrected.

This is a case for ... dynamite!

RickCorey said:
I take it the rhizomes go straight down below the level of the cinder blocks.

Could you use a "sharpshooter spade" (trenching spade with a flat blade) to cut down 12" below grade, all around the cinder block? Then uproot the iris' root ball at the same time you tip the cinder block on its side ... but still have to extract the root ball from the cinder block.

For the future, it might be worthwhile lining the cinderblock holes with heavy plastic film before filling with soil and plants. Then you could tug on the plastic like a sleeve.

BUT those rhizomes might have like all the air and drainage they got from being flush against a very porous surface.

I don't plan to do that again! And I don't recommend it to anyone else either. I'll see what happens next year with them, and go from there.

The concrete block edging doesn't help dandylion weeds anyway. They are airborn from all around, and that's why I have a couple of those tools made especially for their removal. The edging was also put in place to keep out the creeping weeds as well; which can include the white clover that also goes to seed and it's seeds washes. The other being the ground ivy. It's very easy to edge along the concrete blocks, whether it be roundup or weedeater.

HoosierHarvester said: I've just got a couple that I'm waiting on bloom to see how much I'm willing to destroy the Iris to get them out.

Nov. 18? Waiting on bloom?? Are these rebloomers and this is the second bloom? I still have a couple of blooms, but this is from their second and third blooms on rebloomers.

DavidLMO said:
Nov. 18? Waiting on bloom?? Are these rebloomers and this is the second bloom? I still have a couple of blooms, but this is from their second and third blooms on rebloomers.

Mis-communication there. They are seedlings. I will wait until next year and hope to see what the blooms look like. It was possible they could have bloomed this year as large as they got. A couple did have bloom stalks, but I cut them off because they just came up/on in the last 2 weeks and I knew they would never make it. I have one seedling in the garden that I've been waiting 3 weeks for a bud to open. it has it's color, but nights I guess have just been too cold for it to open. Oh well. So the ones in the concrete blocks, hopefully I will see what they look like next year, and that will dictate how I go about getting them out of the concrete block holes, whether as nice as possible, or roughly just to get the job done.

I just had a thought. I use a hose to spray off dirt and separate many plants: iris, hosta, daffodils, daylilies and many others. The water jet helps to loosen and separate the plants. I have never killed an Iris doing this and my experience indicates they are very tough plants indeed.

Maybe next Spring try that? A hose with a jet nozzle or setting and blast those buggers out of there as you use something to help pry them out. How long have they been in there?

BTW - you grew Iris from seed? That is an accomplishment.

DavidLMO said:I just had a thought. I use a hose to spray off dirt and separate many plants: iris, hosta, daffodils, daylilies and many others. The water jet helps to loosen and separate the plants. I have never killed an Iris doing this and my experience indicates they are very tough plants indeed.

Maybe next Spring try that? A hose with a jet nozzle or setting and blast those buggers out of there as you use something to help pry them out. How long have they been in there?

BTW - you grew Iris from seed? That is an accomplishment.

Thanks for the helpful thoughts/ideas. And yes, it is true that Iris aren't the easiest to hand pollinate, and then the seeds aren't the easiest to germinate either. Me, just throw them in a pot and leave them outside all winter - - most will germinate the following spring. Here is a white seedling that I was able to remove from a block hole:


Time goes pretty fast, well uh, two years. You don't know how hard they are to remove, until it's time to try.

That is a beautiful Iris. You hybridized that AND grew it from seed? Wow - I am duly impressed.

Kayleigh ...

That is truly a beautiful iris.