Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen from VanveenBulbs.com, and in this segment, we're going to learn all about how to plant Irises. And there's a few rules you should follow, but most importantly, you've got to figure out what kind of Irises do you really have. So there's lots of different kinds of Irises. There's Dutch Blue Iris, which these are actually a small baby bulb that came off of it, it's more like a tulip or daffodil bulb And then you have, like the tall bearded Irises, that have dark blue frilly flowers, and they are more considered a rhizome, so they're more of a root. So, both of them are really easy to grow, and they'll grow almost anywhere, that you have at least a half day of sun. They'll do full sun or a half a day, but they don't want deep shade, they don't seem to do very well, they won't bloom very well in deep shade. So the smaller bulbs are easier to grow, I like to do at least three in a triangle, about six inches apart or so, and about three inches deep. That way they look good the first year and they have room to multiply. So if you have kind of a bulb type of Iris, they come in yellows and whites, and then there's Iris Reticulatas, that are really short, there's all kinds of bulb Irises. But the trick is, about three inches deep and three in a triangle, and clumps all over, in sun or part shade. And then you have the rhizome type Irises, those are like the bearded Irised, they have the big frilly flowers. And those are easy to grow as well. So I usually cut the greens down, if I'm moving them and dividing them just to not take so much space. And, actually plant them sideways, so as long as they're about three inches deep as well, I would have, I would plant it about that deep. So the dirt is totally covering the whole bulb, because you want that bulb covered, so that it has room for the roots to grow, and grow and grow, and grow and grow. Because they will multiply very quickly. So just make sure, sun or part shade and plant them about three inches deep. And they'll do really well. Water them in the heat of the summer. But generally they bloom in April, May, into June. A lot of times, it's still raining that time of year, so in the summer, they pretty much just die back if you don't water them, or they'll stay lush and green if you do water them. But either way, they're a plant that you would never lose, whether you water them or not. Easy, easy plant; the Iris make great cut flowers, and there's a thousand different varieties of Iris alone. But pretty much, all of them, can handle three inches deep, sun or part shade, compost or potting soil, and besides that, let them grow, and they will.
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