Who has time to "work it in" these days. Especially with us enablers with such LARGE numbers of cultivars.

When I first started I was using a 10-10-10. I have tried alfalfa meal and have not seen any improvement. I have recently tried the 0-45-0 added to the 10-10-10 and that seemed to work better.

I broadcast and hope it gets where it needs to go.

Last year I just added bone meal, but this year I'm going to add 10-10-10. I did lime in one bed in the fall and those rhizomes all look great. I do the individual scratch in method, but I went from 150-750 in one year so it should be a lot more work this time around.

I think that is an understatement Liz!

This thread reminded me that I'd picked up a home soil testing kit last fall and had sat it aside. I've got samples from 3 beds now mixed with water but I'll probably need to wait till tomorrow to do the NPK analysis- the clay takes a long while to settle. I have been able to do the ph test on a couple of samples, and the ph is neutral in one and slightly alkaline in the other. That's what I was expecting as the soils in this region are limestone based, and the natural "sweetness" of the ground water is what makes this bourbon country.

It will be interesting to see how the levels of NPK look. I plan to have a couple of samples tested professionally this year and see how accurate this home test is.

I would love to know what you find out Neal.

I've been avoiding responding to this thread because I was embarrassed to say I haven't fertilized my iris yet. I do mix compost into the native soil when planting. Last year a little alfalfa pellets was added to the holes when planting. So far I've had very little rot issues. This year may be different with all the rain we have had. Will see.

Leslie, today is the day, just waiting for my brain to wake up and for the sun to come up. It's easier to compare the color of the test tube to the chart in natural light.

Barbara, with all the rain you've had, wouldn't a lot of the fertilizer have washed away?

Barbara, is this a typical time of year to fertilize there? I did on 2/1, but we've been unseasonably warm.

Gabe - the Cali folks often start their bloom time before we do. Looking at last year's 2016 Bloom Season, they had blooms about a month or so before mine.

Neal - Let me know how it compares with the professional test too. I wonder, are there are some home test kits that are more reliable than others?

This test was pretty cheap at Lowe's, and the results are measured by the color of the vile contents with a little color chart for comparison. So I think this one is kinda iffy as far as accuracy.

According to this test, all 3 of the beds I tested are low in nitrogen and phosphorus. 2 beds tested as mid level on potassium, the other bed tested low. All 3 of these beds have a pretty dense plant population, so I'll be fertilizing the whole beds.

gemini_sage said:
Barbara, with all the rain you've had, wouldn't a lot of the fertilizer have washed away?

Maybe in a few areas, most of the areas where my iris are planted drain really well.

Cuzz4short said:Barbara, is this a typical time of year to fertilize there? I did on 2/1, but we've been unseasonably warm.

Today we had a high of 62* some of my daffodils are blooming but nothing else here. In town I've notice some shrubs and trees are just starting to bloom. Weather report shows we have another week of rain.

To warm to wet already lost 4 of the newbies so far and at least 10 from the existing beds

Sorry to hear that Arilbred, so disappointing. Where is your garden? I think I've known before and forgotten...I do that a lot these days

Everything is awake and growing here and I feel like I need to go ahead and fertilize, but I'm not sure. The long range forecast doesn't call for any more extreme cold, it looks mild from here on. I think I detected a pregnant looking fan on a dwarf yesterday.

I got a lot of the iris fertilized over the weekend. Two large beds to go. I usually do this closer to March, but the plant growth is accelerated this year so they will need that food. Who knows, it might even help give them energy to survive if we get a deep freeze or two in March (which historically has happened in my area after every overly warm February).

Leslie, what is the analysis of the fertilizer you're using?

I'm unsure how to proceed. Everything is waking up and growing and I feel like the garden could use a boost, but I don't want to promote quick, tender growth that will be prone to cold damage. Wondering if I should apply phosphorus now and nitrogen a little later?

I am spreading 4-10-10 on the newer gardens. I am trying 9-18-9 on a couple of the older gardens to see what it might do. All the Japanese and Louisianas and Sibs got 8-8-8. I have never had the 4-10-10 or bone meal cause really quick growth thankfully.

My last planted gardens, planted in early September, and about the first of October (too late, but wanted them in the ground) are not getting fertilized since they were planted with 4-10-10. I will fertilize them with the others later after bloom.

Neal I'm between Knoxville and the park zone 7

My fertilization regime is a bit spasmodic. I tend to use whatever is in my garage and compliment it with whatever is suggested by the Australian iris growers and in these forums. This year I am applying a liquid 10-10-10 fertilizer every couple of weeks or so during the growing period, which is what is suggested on the label. Tempo Two suggest using a long life 10-10-10 fertilizer but the liquid form is is all I could find. I have applied osmocote too so there is some long life fertilizer in the soil.

The soil in this area is really poor when making the beds compost was added to amend the sandy/pumice soil. Then for years nothing, I neglected the Iris and a lot of things. The Iris did fine, but separating them a couple of years ago was a time consuming mess.