Planting Iris Bulbs Question

We have some iris' now (purple ones). I picked up some red ones to add with the purple ones next year. Question - it says to plant them between Sept and Dec........my question is do I just dig the holes and plant the bulbs and cover and NOT water them?

I don't want them to start growing with winter coming in Minnesota

Also have tulip bulbs to plant too - same thing? Plant and not water?

I'm not the expert, but I would say water them. My mommy always taught me to water everything after planting. lol

I really don't know anything about plants. But I did find this link that will help you. It has some good tips:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Pla...ulbs&id=887520

http://www.greengate.ca/aboutplants/bulbs/iris.html

I remember when I worked in a law office in the 1990's a girl in the office telling me that she had planted some tulip bulbs. Over the course of the conversation I discovered that she didn't know how deep to dig, so she dug about 18 inches down and planted the bulbs. And that she planted them upside down!

Needless to say the never made it above the ground!

You will need to water well after planting and plant them soon as possible to get some root growth before the ground freezes. I've not had luck with planting iris's this late in the season I would rather plant in spring. Iris's are planted fairly shallow the top of the rhizome is just at the surface of the soil.

Any bulbs that are planted should have bulb fertilizer added in the planting hole.

Thanks for the links. The weird thing is that the package says "plant Sept - Dec" and the links say summer to September. Since they may not get roots right at this point (think it will be early winter in MN), I think I'll hold off planting them till spring (May) and go from there.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Thanks for the links. The weird thing is that the package says "plant Sept - Dec" and the links say summer to September. Since they may not get roots right at this point (think it will be early winter in MN), I think I'll hold off planting them till spring (May) and go from there.

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I think it's not too late to plant them...I planted last year right up until the day before our first snow and they came up. If you do wait, make sure you store them right or you'll end up with "bulb muck" like I did. lol

Bulbs generally need the winter cold in order to sprout properly. If you're going to wait until spring to plant you need to store them in a cold place, but not freezing.

Here is a link to a very brief article on storing bulbs indoors.
http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergarde.../latebulbs.htm

I work for a nursery, experience with landscaping and garden design. You don't water bulbs after planting and they should be planted in the fall, one month before freezing temps. Bulbs are dried and without water for a while before you buy them to plant, their activation for growth is the freezing period and then spring warm up and rains.

I have no advice for when you should plant, but I just wanted to say that I'm glad that I live in a part of the country where I don't have to dig up any of my bulbs. They stay in the ground year round. I only have to dig up to divide every few years.

Originally Posted by SophieC

I have no advice for when you should plant, but I just wanted to say that I'm glad that I live in a part of the country where I don't have to dig up any of my bulbs. They stay in the ground year round.

I only have to dig up to divide every few years.

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This is one of the major benefits of planting bulbs, no watering! As long as they are planted in the fall, they will regenerate the next spring and most double each year following. Tulips are more challenging to reproduce each year, most are 50%. Daffodils, Crocus, and hyacinth according to zones will give fulfilling results! Plant in neutral, well drained, mulched soils for best results.