moving my iris (the small japanese iris)

Question

I am in zone 6 and my iris’s are just starting to push up the green stem….they did not bloom last year and I believe it is because they were under a tree and did not get any sunlight as they bloomed the year before when the tree was not covering them. Your site tells me to transplant after blooming in the summer….as I want to see them bloom this year can I transplant them now? It is not a huge clump….maybe 10 inches by 8 inches….I thought I could just dig them up and move the entire clump to a sunny spot. Will this work?

thank you
Pat Rizzo

Answer 1

Yes, you can move them now. Iris doesn't bloom well when the clump gets crowded. When you move them, divide the clump. Add some compost to the soil and splay the roots outward and downward.