nzata@otarabirch

Japanese Irises ~ Preparing a Site.

While your seedlings are slowing growing in the pots it is time to work out where you are going to plant them as the area you put them in will be use by these seedlings for up to two years.

Remember that Japanese irises "Need wet toes and dry ankles."

They require a good enriched heavy typed soil, slightly acid, well drained to slightly damp. Moisture is very important for good growth. A minimum of 4 hours and at least 6 hours of sunlight to induce good growth of your plants and to promote great flowering.

Once you have worked out the number of plants you have to plant you have a good idea where they will fit in your garden. Sometimes it is hard to throw the leftovers away so the idea is to set yourself a target number to be potted with a few spares in case some plants do not make the grade when you are planting them out.

Once you have selected your site there are two ways in which you can approach preparation of your planting bed.

The area selected has weeds or is part of the lawn area. So in order to plant your iris plants you must prepare the ground first.

You can do this by either -

(1) Spraying the area you are going to plant with a weed spray with chemicals like Roundup herbicide a few months before planting to wipe out your perennial weeds. Mother nature is excellent at taking good care of our adventures in the garden so she will put back what you take away. Once you have a second germination of weed seedlings use the Roundup herbicide spray again to take care of these new young weeds.


Then cover your bed with 10 cms (4 inches) of mulch such as barley straw or pea straw or one can use pine needles. It you use meadow hay you will have the problems of all the wonderful seeds in the hay put back into the area you are preparing. Not a great idea.

Or....

(2) If you are not into sprays then take a large piece of black polythene and cover the same area over the lawn or weeds about 3 months before hand. Place weights around the big area of polythene to stop the wind removing it. Leave and the weeds will die underneath this covering. Once you are near the time of ready to plant you can then remove the cover and work up your soil to a fine tilt and cover with your mulch to prevent more weeds germinating.

Once the area is covered with mulch, the weeds are far and few between and can be easy be removed by hand. Make the bed easy for access from either side so you can control what it happening. Weeding, spraying, watering and fertilizing can be made easy.

Once your seedlings are ready to plant out, a string line with a long bamboo cane or pipe can be used. The cane can be marked at 40 cm (16 inches) intervals so one can plant at each mark and slide the cane along the string line to give you the correct spacing's. Plant your plants through the straw and replace the straw around the plants. This will reduce your weed re-growth and will conserve the moisture to the growing plants during the early to late summer. When the soil becomes dry begin to water them later in the season when they require it, The mulch will help retain the moisture held in the soil for the plants to take up easier.

For me... my eyes are bigger than my mind and I like to do things on a grand scale... sometimes the hard way.


Mind you I am trying to make it easier as I get older and the new knee joints slow me down a little. I just need more oil in the titanium joints... LOL.

I have had someone cultivate the soil for me of a quarter acre lot and then prepare it to a fine tilt. Once the area in ready... It is time to begin the planting.