How long is it recommended that irises be left in the 10% bleach water?

I'm going to be honest and say that I'm not even bothering now (after having bleached my lungs AND my clothes the one year I did it).

When I DID do it, I did it for something like 20 minutes (iirc), and then I rinsed the rhizomes for at least that long afterward.

I think you will get as many answers as there are gardeners ! I have never "soaked" the rhizomes...a quick "dip & swish" is all I ever did . I read an article in an old AIS journal, about bleach "dipping" affecting the next year's flowers, and did a bit of an "experiment"....some had a 30 minute soak, some a 15 minute, some just a dip, and some just washed in plain water....those that had either the 15, or 30 minute soaks , not only didn't bloom as well, the next year, but, those that DID bloom had smaller, sort of "stunted" blossoms . Not saying it would hold true, for everyone, but that's the way it worked for me....3 rhizomes were used in each "batch", for the 'test". I did a "bleach dip", and a "fungicide dip" on things I sent out, for a few years, because I was having a disease problem, and was afraid of
spreading it", but now, it's just a plain water wash....and if the "recipient" wants more...they can do it

I no longer do the bleach dip on outgoing rhizomes. My hands have become very sensitive to the bleach. I still may give some incoming rhizomes the rinse-dip-rinse. I used to sing in a song in my head when I was shipping them out. "You have to dip dip dip, before you ship ship ship". Now those voices are silent.

at Rob!

That was VERY USEFUL information, Arlyn! THANK YOU!

Rob, I still sing that song. But I only dip and swish in bleach. No 10-15 minute soak ( that seems pretty extreme ). Only dip because they say it can kill borers. While NC supposedly doesn't have borers, I do not want to risk sending the buggers to others.

At least you didn't sing he hokey pokey version. Put your rhizome in, take your rhizome out and shake it all about.

Something that surprises me every so often on these forums are comments about bleach and one's skin being sensitive to it. Over here all bleach products have warnings to wear appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) - i.e. gloves, eye protection (no point risking getting it in your eyes if you're scrubbing or splashing it about) and a mask if necessary. Bleach is nasty stuff (albeit very useful) and I always take precautions when using it.

We are all talking about sodium hypochlorite bleach, right?

I would guess that Clorax is just by its name....

Polymerous said: at Rob!

That was VERY USEFUL information, Arlyn! THANK YOU!

and

Joshua ~ Yes, I wore rubber gloves while soaking them (and yes, it's sodium hypochlorite.). I just left them in a few minutes, and then air dried them. I did not rinse them. I am getting them ready to go. Have I ruined them now for my friend?

No, they will grow for them !

I don't even wash them. Just clean, trim, sun dry and re-plant. (Unless there is evidence of disease then
I take a disinfecting course with organic sulfur for a few days.) This photo was October 3, 2017 after re-plant.
When shipping no bleach, just sun dried. Those of you who I have sent rhizomes to may judge for yourselves.
I do believe too much bleaching might be harmful to the plants as shown in Arlyn's tests.

crowrita1 said:No, they will grow for them !

But well?

They will be fine Evelyn. It wasn't that long in the bleach.

If you mean will a single rhizome make a clump full of bloom in one year.....no..., but they probably wouldn't do that, anyway!..they will grow......and by the second year, for all intents and purposes , they will be "normal".

Leslie and Arlyn ~

I know that she would not grow these irises, if they didn't have a "fighting chance", as she has never grown them before. If they all died, I don't think she would trust me anymore! And if they look bad????

You can only do so much Evelyn. How she takes care of them will be on her, and I have never had an iris look bad just because it was dipped in bleach.

Leslie ~

I dip my stock in a solution of 1 tablespoon per gallon of Consan 20 -- a long chain organic quarternary ammonium chloride compound disinfectant developed for greenhouse use that is non corrosive, and no nasty smell. It's a powerful anti-rot remedy too. I know bleach has been used for decades, but I don't like its corrosive effects on the root system and the rhizome. Also if you expose the plant to an extended dipping to bleach, there may be some phytotoxic effects, such as slow re-rooting, or poor recovery from transplanting.