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I just moved to Charlotte into a new home from CT and have waited until after Thanksgiving to plant irises and tulips as we already had some frost weeks before that. So naturally, a week of near 70's weather in December forced the irises to sprout leaves. These are not supposed to bloom until mid-spring so I have really taken care to stage them behind the tulips (which thank God have not come up!) and am hoping for more cold temps to stop the sprouting. Well as of this morning, almost all of them are about 8 inches off the ground. Question for those gardening in the south...is there hope for these irises to bloom in the spring, or should I consider them pretty much dead? I also took care to plant them at the recommended depth (6 times the size of the bulbs). I even refrigerated them prior to planting and made sure there were no fruits or veggies in the crisper. Any advise would be appreciated!
I'm not a expert on iris, so take what I say lightly. I'm going by memory of what my mother does. She has dozens of them and has for years. My comments are for bearded iris, if you have something like Siberian iris this information might not be correct. You mentioned that you planted bulbs. Did you really mean bulbs? Iris are grown from a rhizome, a root-like thing. The roots underneath are planted but the rhizome itself is either not covered, or barely covered. I'm wondering if you actually have iris. Also, iris are generally planted early, in August or September, so they can come up and get established. I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone refrigerating iris rhizomes. So, all-in-all, iris are not treated the same as tulips and other bulbs. In any event, I would wait if I were you and see what happens in the spring.
We are in a new development so none of the neighbors have been here more than just months ahead of me, and I know for a fact that I was the only one on the block to plant for spring. I just checked my order slip to find out what kind of irises they were and they were called "Durch Iris - Sapphire Beauty"..the pics I saw on the catalogue looks like the bearded irises I had in CT. They were bulbs and not rhizomes. I also have a book on Gardening in the Carolinas and their recommended planting time (as well as the supplier of these bulbs) was after the first frost, which came rather early here in Charlotte...November, although that was the recommended month of planting in Zone 7.
I did just a little research. From what I have gathered, Dutch Iris are not quite the same as bearded iris, but you're right, they do look very similar. Apparently the planting instructions is somewhat different too. I'd still give your iris a chance. I've planted bulbs of other things that throw up a little foliage in the fall that get matted down in winter and still bloom come spring. Good luck with them.
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