How to grow irises? A detailed guide to potted iris cultivation techniques

Irises have been cultivated in China for more than 2000 years, and are currently distributed across all 3 continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, with an extremely large and hard-to-count number of varieties. This flower can be divided into 3 types according to plant height: the dwarf type is only 15-25 cm tall, the medium type is 25-70 cm tall, and the tall type can reach 120 cm.

Irises like sunlight, but can tolerate partial shade and drought, and are suitable for planting in wind-sheltered sandy loam. They have strong adaptability to the environment and are relatively easy to cultivate and manage, and can be planted in clumps in the open ground or grown in pots for appreciation.

The cultivation of potted irises is often combined with propagation. Propagation can use two methods: division and sowing. Division is carried out in early spring or late autumn. For open-ground cultivation, a planting bed must first be prepared, and soybean cake fertilizer or manure applied as a base fertilizer; dead branches and old roots should first be cut away, then the root base divided apart, with each rhizome keeping 2-3 buds as one bundle, and 2-3 bundles as one plant, planting 9-15 plants per sq m, with the planting depth such that the bud-bearing rhizome base is not exposed.

After planting, water once thoroughly, then frequently loosen the soil and weed. If growth is poor, apply topdressing 2-3 times. After flowering, cut off the flower stems to save nutrients; after winter begins, the dead leaves must be cut off. The method for potted plants is the same, but in winter they should be moved for overwintering, with no special heating required.