I don't know if I'm early or late, but I do know that this isn't the ideal time of year to be digging and dividing bearded iris, but our mild climate is very forgiving and I didn't get any flowers last year, so I figure the worse that can happen is I don't get any blooms until next year anyway. But chances are I will get a few flowers if I am lucky, so I have been taking advantage of this lovely weather and out digging the rhizomes up and separating the mothers from the babies. It has been five or six years that most of these plants have been in the ground, way too long to go without dividing. In addition to that, many of them are now growing in the shade from trees that were just shrubs when they were planted. Years of adding mulch to the beds have also covered many of them so that they are buried too deep and the tops of their rhizomes are not getting any sun, another reason they will not bloom. I have lost track of what is planted where, so they are all just being dug up, separated and thrown in a basket and will be planted with a handful of the organic fertilizer I am getting for the camellias and azaleas since they prefer acidic conditions and we have such alkaline water. They are all going in one of the sunny beds that have good drainage and we will see what comes up! I may throw a few in pots to share after I see them bloom so I know what I am giving away because I have quite a few it seems. There are a few areas like the Moonlight Garden that I know only have white reblooming Frequent Flyers and the side garden that are all Frequent Violet, but other than that it looks like I am in for some surprises when it comes time for them to bloom this spring!
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| D. iridioides |
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| D. bicolor |
There are a lot of reasons not to like dietes, also known as African iris or fortnight lilies. They are very common plants in Southern California and can be found in most strip mall planters. They spread like crazy and can take out less aggressive neighboring plants in a few seasons. Their foliage is rather dull, stiff and spiky, nothing to rave about. The flowers, although pretty, only last a day so they don't work well in cut flower arrangements. They look horrible when they get thick and die out in the center, in need of dividing with a sharp spade. But I still kind of love them. They are very trouble free and drought tolerant, no need to fuss over them. They have charming little flowers that kind of hover above the foliage, earning them the nickname of butterfly iris and they are fire resistant. I think their charms outweigh their vices.
The dahlia tubers I ordered from Swan Island Dahlias have arrived and I have already got them in the ground! I jumped right on this task this year because I ordered some last year that sat out in the rain and rotted before they ever were planted. You have to love dahlias for their unbridled enthusiasm in the summer when other flowers are showing signs of stress. Some of them have flowers the size of dinner plates and they all make wonderful cut flowers. They are planted about 4 inches deep with a shot of bone meal (I didn't have any on hand so mine went naked), on their sides, in a sunny location with regular water, then just wait. They put on quite a show and in our area will return every year for a long time without having to be dug up and stored over the winter. The only problem is remembering where I planted them!
The dahlia tubers I ordered from Swan Island Dahlias have arrived and I have already got them in the ground! I jumped right on this task this year because I ordered some last year that sat out in the rain and rotted before they ever were planted. You have to love dahlias for their unbridled enthusiasm in the summer when other flowers are showing signs of stress. Some of them have flowers the size of dinner plates and they all make wonderful cut flowers. They are planted about 4 inches deep with a shot of bone meal (I didn't have any on hand so mine went naked), on their sides, in a sunny location with regular water, then just wait. They put on quite a show and in our area will return every year for a long time without having to be dug up and stored over the winter. The only problem is remembering where I planted them!