These reblooming iris varieties are recommended for San Diego gardens.Īlice Goodman: Tall bearded variety, to 33 inches. You’ll probably have extra to share with friends and introduce them to the excitement of reblooming irises.
Remove the nonproductive rhizomes in the center, and carefully break apart the clump. Lift the clump with garden forks (two people are useful for this task). Pull or cut each away from plant.Īfter approximately four years, clumps will become crowded and will need dividing and replanting. Old leaves will turn brown and wither as new leaves form. When blooms are finished, cut flower stalk near ground level if you haven’t already cut it for indoor enjoyment. It’s crucial to place the plant rhizomes at or slightly higher than soil level, and they need fast-draining soil. These irises do require watering in summer but not too much, as rhizomes can rot. Use a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 in early and late spring, summer and early fall. Because they grow and flower faster than the oncers, they must get additional fertilizer and water.Īvoid high nitrogen fertilizers that encourage vegetative growth. Some repeat this process three, four or five times within one year. Remontant irises accelerate the growth process by producing additional increases that send up flower spikes in the same year. The central rhizome of any iris can bloom only once.
Among them are numerous remontant varieties.Ĭonsidered drought tolerant, remontant irises do require more water than the once-blooming varieties because they have accelerated life cycles.
Some will rebloom four or five times annually.īill Molnar is a local iris fancier, chairman of the Southwest District of the Reblooming Iris Society, who grows approximately 300 varieties at his house near San Diego State University. These vigorous plants bloom in spring, often a week or so earlier than standard bearded irises, and they will issue bloom stalks again in summer, and even repeat the process in fall. A small group of iris fanciers has been tracking the development of irises with reblooming characteristics (the technical term is remontant). The good news for San Diego gardeners is that there are hundreds of varieties of tall, medium and dwarf bearded irises that bloom and rebloom reliably in our land of (almost) perennial sunshine. Named for the Goddess of the Rainbow in Greek mythology, irises come in many colors are one of the least demanding of all perennial plants. Bearded irises have come a long way from the simple Iris pallida fondly called “Grandma’s flags” and grown in so many gardens many decades ago.
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