How to Plant Japanese Iris? Detailed Guide to Planting Methods and Precautions

Japanese iris is a perennial herbaceous aquatic flower. Its blooms are mainly blue and purple, giving a noble and mysterious impression. Many people grow a pot of it at home, adding a great decorative touch to their home. So how exactly should Japanese iris be planted, and what should we pay attention to when planting it? Let's take a look below.

How to Plant Japanese Iris

Choose a flower pot of moderate size, put the growing medium into it, and level the soil surface. At this point, be careful not to press the soil with force, so as to avoid the growing medium becoming too dense and causing poor air circulation within the soil. Evenly place the selected seeds on the soil surface.

At this point, be careful to keep enough distance between the seeds as much as possible, so that the mature plants do not end up too close together. Then cover the seeds with a layer of growing medium, trying to keep the soil thickness moderate, neither too thick nor too thin. Covering with soil that is too thick can make it difficult for the seeds to sprout, while covering with soil that is too thin can cause the roots of the mature plants to be exposed outside the soil and easily damaged.

Japanese Iris Planting Methods and Precautions

I. Japanese Iris Planting Methods

1. Soil: Japanese iris likes water, and loose, breathable sandy loam is suitable for iris growth. You can mix vermiculite, river sand and nutrient soil at a ratio of 1:1:1. Some soybean cake fertilizer can be mixed into the soil as a base fertilizer, which is both breathable and able to supply sufficient nutrients. When cultivating, loam rich in humus is best.

2. Fertilizing: Japanese iris has strong adaptability during the growing season and can be managed extensively. Iris likes nitrogen fertilizer, and decomposed soybean cake water is the best fertilizer, as it can avoid burning the seedlings. Nitrogen fertilizer can promote its growth. In the later stage, topdressing needs to be applied 2-3 times, combined with fertilizing and weeding.

3. Water management: Japanese iris likes a moist environment and avoids drought. For daily watering, it is appropriate to keep the pot soil moist. During the growing period, maintain the water level to prevent drying out from causing the leaves to wither, and be careful to keep the environment humid.

4. Light: Japanese iris likes shade and avoids exposure to strong sun in summer. You can shade the plant. For potted plants, they can be moved indoors to a place with scattered light. In the other seasons, they can be placed outdoors in a slightly shaded spot by the water or in the shade of a large tree.

II. Japanese Iris Precautions

Weeding: After Japanese iris is planted, weeds will grow around it, so loosen the soil and weed in time. When weeding, do it by hand when the soil is relatively dry.

Japanese Iris Propagation Methods

1. Seed propagation: Sowing is divided into spring sowing and autumn sowing. After sowing, seedlings emerge in 4 to 6 weeks. Seedlings grown from seed can bloom after two years of cultivation. Sowing is generally done immediately after harvest, but it easily produces variation, so it is generally used to cultivate new varieties.

2. Division propagation: This method can be carried out in spring, autumn and after flowering. Dig out the mother plant, divide the rhizomes, each with two or three buds, and plant them separately.

How to Prune Japanese Iris

Prune when it is in full bloom. At this time, you do not know when it will wither. When the flower diameter grows to 5~6 cm, you can appropriately thin the branches and leaves and remove the withered flowers. During the flowering process, the leaves must be kept green so they can provide sufficient nutrients for the flowers. However, the leaves will gradually begin to turn yellow and brown. At this point, pruning is needed. Cut off the withered yellow leaves and branches to promote the plant's color change.

A small amount of intercalary leaves will grow in the middle of the plant, and they should also be removed in time. Weed in time, clear away dead leaves, and observe carefully before and after flowering. Promptly remove fallen leaves, spent flowers and dead branches around the plant to avoid fungal infection. Observe carefully during maintenance. Once brown or yellow spots appear on the leaves, remove the leaves in time. Leaves with spots are infected with fungi and will affect the plant's flowering.

So the most critical step in growing Japanese iris is pruning it. If you want it to grow well, pruning is very necessary. However, pruning Japanese iris is not something to be done casually; it requires certain techniques, especially removing the withered branches and leaves, otherwise they will absorb its nutrients and cause the whole plant to die.