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I moved my iris bed last Fall and this Spring everything bloomed either in purple or white. To my knowledge I have never bought a white iris and had several other specials that I bought at a local farm. Can irises change color?
Thanks for your help.
I found this link that mentions irises in particular changing to white due to transplant stress...curiouser and curiouser the plants we grow...(oh, the grower is also in Colorado)
You never mentioned which type of Iris you have as there are many, some grow from Corms, some from Tubers, some from Bulbs, all multiply as they grow over the years, bulbs produce little off shoot bulbs that take about 2 years to grow full size, tubers grow the largest and as it grows, the middle of the tuber produces less flowering spikes, these require lifting say every 4 years and you use knife or your spade to cut off parts of the tubers and throw away the old middle part, the bulbs are lifted around four years and replanted by thining ot the size of the clump of bulbs, this allows more room for the bulbs developement, by doing all this whichever type of Iris you have, you encourage better flowers both in size and colour, they are healthier also as there is more air / light allowed to reach the plants.
As mentioned above, most plants can suffer from transplant stress, other things to remember with Iris, the TUBER type like to have the tubers more or less on top of the soil in a bright sunny spot where the sun can bake the tubers, bulbs like a richer soil with organic's added to planting soil to help retain moisture but like the sun too, Corms are about the same as for bulbs, all need watered but not sitting in wet soil UNLESS you have the type that are tubers that are specially produced for water garden areas.
I would add a handfull of blood/fish/bone meal to the planting area and and use hand fork to mix this into the top soil, make sure you dont damage the tuber/bulb/corm. this is a slow release feed and will help the stressed plants prepare for the next season.
Hope this helps and Good Luck. WeeNel.
