Iris Questions
 

I got several Iris last year and the year before. They are not doing well in the place where I have them planted. Right now they are basically where my orchids are, beneath the shade of a big tree. It is too shady, I think. The symptoms are that they are thin and scraggly and have not had flowers this year even though when I bought some they were in bloom. I would like to move them, possibly to a small raised bed more in the sunlight for next year. Should I do this now? (fall) or pull them up, store them, and plant next spring?

Any Iris people out there with opinions? I am in New Mexico. The winters are fairly mild but we can get snow and pretty cold. It rarely gets beneath "0" F.

Fall is a fine time to plant them. What type of iris are you talking about?

Bearded Iris are not easy to grow in the desert.

First, they need almost full fall/spring/winter sun to grow and bloom well.

Second, they are mostly dormant when summer days are routinely over about 85-90F, and very susceptible to rot if watered too much during this time. But, they do need watering. If your summer days are cooler than this, you can stop reading now and just move them to a sunnier spot when fall comes.

The Sun Country Iris Society in Phoenix recommends a separate bed for Iris here. They water about once a week from about April to October, taking care to use flood irrigation so as not to get water into the fans. Rain during monsoons is OK since it is a lot cooler during the rain. When nights start to cool and the plants wake up and grow again, routine watering and fertilizing can begin, and continue all winter and spring.

They are typical bearded iris. The older type, not the new ultra frilly kind. Just typical purple and yellow types.

Yes I think I will move them. I will wait for any more opinions.

I don't know about where you are, but here Bearded Iris need a fair amount of direct sun to look good enough to justify the space they take up. Water isn't normally a problem here, but obviously your situation is very different! Fwiw a native NA species, Iris cristata does very nicely in shade, even dry shade around here. In full sun and constantly moist conditions it spreads rapidly. It is very small, 4"-6" tall, and blooms in the spring.

Here in Germany we recommend to divide and plant bearded irises between August and September. I personally do it often in spring while blooming, but the chance is that you miss flowers in next spring.
They need full sun and a well drained ground. A sandy soil with stones or pepples is far better than loam. Cold temperatures in winter are not a problem.
Never allow the rhizomes to be overgrown by weed. For best results take them out and divide after four years or so.
Here the irises grow after flowering and go dormant in winter, but in the Mediterranean we have the most intense rainfalls in winter. I remember that I've seen flowering irises at New Years Eve in Madrid once.