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Expert: Long Island Gardener - 7/27/2008


Question
I am moving from Amarillo, Texas to Richland, Washington and want to take some of my mother's iris with me.  It is now July and we probably won't be in a house to replant them until September or October.  How do I dig and store them until then?  Do I replant them this fall no matter how late it is or wait until spring?  Can I store them dry in a bag or do I need to put them in pots of soil?

Answer
I'm sorry to take so long to get to your question, Karen, but I am really backed up here and I am getting through these questions as quickly as I can.

Your Iris MUST be moved in pots.

Pick up some empty containers at your local garden center, the kinds they use to sell perennial flowers.  Use dirt from the same location, and keep some newspaper around to encourage them to leave.  Then dump in the Iris plants.  Water occasionally to keep them alive.  Plant as soon as you can get them into the ground at your new location.  Dose them with a little Messenger (Harpin Protein) to get them off to a good start.

Easy question, easy answer.  Good luck in your new location.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER  

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Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.

Experience

Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.

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