Last week we actually got about an inch of rain. To my friends in California where we came from, that sounds like a lot in one sitting. To my friends here in south Texas in one of the worst droughts and history making heat waves, it is a blessing. We are at least 60% below normal for rainfall this year (after about 75% below normal last year) and we have already had 34 days of over 100 degree weather this year (our normal for the entire year is 9 days) and we haven’t even started August which is typically our hottest month. This year is anything but a normal south Texas year for growing things.
Now for the gardening aspect of this blog. Last night I started watering again, and I was taking a good look at my plants. My bearded iris are hanging in there. They don’t look real pretty, but considering they are in full sun with no shade whatever – they are doing fine. Once they are established, bearded iris are drought tolerant. I’ve already lost a couple of crepe myrtles, angels trumpets, and even a salvia. I haven’t trimmed my iris back – I just have too many of them. I will be doing that in late August, when I start to dig some of my bearded iris up and transplant them. August and September are the typical times you transplant bearded iris.
To accomplish transplanting, water your plants 2 – 3 days before hand. Then with a shovel or a garden fork lift the rhizomes. Trim back the leaves to 3 – 4 inches. Break apart the different rhizomes, and let the rhizomes air dry (in the shade) for at least 3 days before replanting them.
To plant them, dig a shallow trench to place the roots in. You can add bone meal to the trench if you want (iris are heavy feeders) and then cover up the roots, but make sure you can still see the top of the rhizomes. Iris do not want to be planted too deep! Water in well for the first week or so.
If you are one of the unlucky gardeners in this awful drought/heat wave, make sure that before you plant your iris in your garden that you have regularly watered the garden. Do not just plant them in a garden that hasn’t been watered for the last several months. The dry soil will not be able to sustain the iris. If you want to plant your iris in pots, then fill your pot half way with potting mix, add a little bone meal, stir it in. The start to place your iris roots in the pot, and fill the potting mix over the roots, again making sure that part of the rhizome stays on top of the soil. Water the pots well for the first couple of weeks and I would keep the pot in the shade if it is still very hot.