Curious how many of you routinely pot up new rhizomes upon receiving them? My first order came in about 3 weeks ago, and having some bed prep yet to do before planting them in the ground, I potted them in gallon pots of half MG potting soil and half fine bark mulch with a little slow release fertilizer worked in.
The results have been great! Already seeing new growth and daughter rhizomes forming. I planted a few a couple of days ago, and was also pleased to see new roots at the bottom of the pots. It worked out really nicely to be able to plant them so that the rhizome is set above the soil line, but with plenty of roots to hold them securely in place. I have a rotten cat that loves to dig where I've recently worked the soil- and yep, I've seen her toss a newly planted Iris across the garden!
Although we're having an oddly mild and moist August, typically Iris arrival time is hot and dry here. While Irises don't seem to mind, they also typically don't start showing much growth until cooler temps and more moisture arrive (unless watered and babied, which I typically don't do reliably). Potting seems to give them a head start, and I'm hoping increases the number of first year blooms I see in spring.
