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The Indomitable IrisThe tough, graceful flower endures where others wilt.

By Constance CaseyPosted Monday, May 28, 2007, at 7:22 AM ET

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Dividing your irises is something you should feel compelled to do every four years, like voting for president. And, as with elections, this may be a good time to discard the nonproductive roots and get rid of the pests. In late July or early August, dig the iris plants up with a spading fork, then remove the old rhizomes (no need to use a special tool—you can just break them apart with your hands) and re-plant the young, healthy-looking ones. Some gardeners dip the rhizomes in a 10-percent bleach solution and let them dry in the sun for a day. One of the cool things about irises is that you don't have to keep the rhizomes moist. A happy sight for me last July was a pail of iris rhizomes on a Brooklyn street with a sign saying, "Please help yourself." They are the loaves and fishes of the plant world. When irises haven't been divided, they don't flower well, and the rhizomes grow out of the ground like gnarly, knobby arthritic bones.

You can make your irises less stodgy and militaristic by giving them some relaxed companions. Consider combining iris with cranesbill geraniums, whose finely cut leaves make a good foil for the swordlike iris foliage. Fennel's feathery foliage also makes a good contrast. Other herbs—lavender, chives, catmint, sages, and rue—share the iris's need for full sun and well-drained soil. White columbine in front of white or lavender irises is fabulous.

Late May is the time to appreciate irises; the end of summer is the best time to buy and plant them. The American Iris Society has a list of the 100 most popular tall bearded irises, worth looking at for the names alone.

A final, pertinent thought from fine British novelist Iris Murdoch:

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.

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Constance Casey is a former newspaper editor and New York City Department of Parks gardener. Her blog is the Observant Gardener.
Photograph of flower by Ryan McVay/Photodisc.
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