Note: Took al these out in fall 2021.
Along the fence at the side of the yard there was a whole row of irises tucked in the rocks of the drainage swale.
Care: dig and divide in June after flowering. Add compost, keep rhizomes near soil surface level.
Despite my best intentions, I never got over to this side of the yard to tend, or even to look at, the irises. They got NO care, no supplemental water, no fertilizer and I never got around to dividing them.
And yet,here they are blooming beautifully in late April.
Neglected, unwatered, I did not know they were even there until I cleaned the area out and watered a bit after we moved in. By mid April they were up and greening.
The foliage was distorted from too little water followed by too much, and from alternating hot and cold spells in early spring. But they lived.
The flowers are deep purple. There were only a few -- probably because of so much neglect and uneven watering in the past.
The patches of irises are interspersed among hesperaloe clumps and a spiky yucca *. This is a hard spot to garden, as I rarely am on that side of the yard to see what's going on. I do make an effort to go over to check it, and the irises have spread under the fence to the neighbor's side too.
Care: dig and divide in June after flowering. Add compost, keep rhizomes near soil surface level.
Despite my best intentions, I never got over to this side of the yard to tend, or even to look at, the irises. They got NO care, no supplemental water, no fertilizer and I never got around to dividing them.
And yet,here they are blooming beautifully in late April.
 |
| April 29, 2020 |
Neglected, unwatered, I did not know they were even there until I cleaned the area out and watered a bit after we moved in. By mid April they were up and greening.
 |
| Mid April |
The foliage was distorted from too little water followed by too much, and from alternating hot and cold spells in early spring. But they lived.
The flowers are deep purple. There were only a few -- probably because of so much neglect and uneven watering in the past.
 |
| mid April |
 |
| * the yucca is gone -- rotted out in 2019 |