Gardening

onetexan

(13,913 posts) Fri Apr 3, 2020, 07:12 PM Apr 2020

Question for iris officionados regarding soaking white iris rhizomes [View all]

A neighbor thinned out her white iris border and gave me nearly a hundred rhizomes with foliage for replanting. I had planned to put them in the ground tomorrow but it's been raining cats & dogs here past couple days, and forecasted to rain through next Thursday. I soaked them since Wednesday thinking to keep the foliage green till Saturday. Now that it may rain nonstop this weekend, my question is how long can i soak the iris without killing them? Or should i put them in buckets with dirt till i can plant them. I don't want the foliage to dry up?

Thanks in advance for your help.

14 replies

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Question for iris officionados regarding soaking white iris rhizomes [View all] onetexan Apr 2020 OP

How much foliage? 2naSalit Apr 2020 #1

Its about 2-3 ft high onetexan Apr 2020 #4

You should take them out of water and trim the foliage 2naSalit Apr 2020 #7

Thank you for the tips! I will go & place them on newspapers to dry right now. onetexan Apr 2020 #8

The rhizomes will be fine for weeks msdogi Apr 2020 #2

Yikes, thank u for the info re: rot onetexan Apr 2020 #5

Normally you trim the foliage to 3-4" in a fan shape. OregonBlue Apr 2020 #3

Agree onetexan Apr 2020 #6

Me too. The foliage is beautiful and I use it as a backdrop OregonBlue Apr 2020 #9

I would take them out of the water WhiteTara Apr 2020 #10

whoa, rhizome on top of the soil? onetexan Apr 2020 #11

Thanks for the video. I never made mounds WhiteTara Apr 2020 #12

Thank you for the excellent advice re: half exposing the rhizomes onetexan Apr 2020 #13

Excellent choices WhiteTara Apr 2020 #14