Advice sought on growing on seedlings

[Jupiter]

I have only recently started growing species Iris from seed and am in need of some guidance. I have good strong seedlings of Iris darwasica and Iris chrysographes which are now four months old. We are heading into autumn now but they are still growing.

Would it be best to separate them now into individual pots, or leave them be until the spring?

Any tips on the best media for these?

[Lesley Cox]

Hello Jupiter,
welcome to the Forum. I'm just one of many iris growers/lovers here so you will have lots of suggestions I expect.

I would leave the chrysographes for now, as they should die down anyway for the winter and there won't be too much root growth  over the winter (thought such plants are never truly dormant. Winter isn't a dead time, but one for gathering resources ready to burst forth come the spring). They shouldn't come to any harm left in their seed pot. If you really want to move them on a bit, you could up-end the seed pot and place it in a larger pot of the same shape and fill in the gaps with a similar compost, giving them a bit more room without too much disturbance, so discouraging the roots from becoming too entangled and easier to separate later on.

I darwasica, if you have the true plant (lucky you!) is somewhat more problematic and is dormant over winter, only producing foliage above ground in the spring, so I would certainly NOT be disturbing it now, thereby putting it at risk of turning up its dormant toes.

So far as a growing medium is concerned, chrysographes likes a humus rich but well-drained soil and prefers the open garden to a pot. It likes sun to produce flowers but plenty moisture as well. I. darwasica is a plant of very high altitudes and will prefer an open, sunny place or pot, with superb drainage and a gritty or even stony compost. It may enjoy lime but I can't be sure about that. Someone like Brian Mathew would know, or perhaps others members of BIS or AIS.

[Lesley Cox]

It is perhaps worth mentioning that though both these species would normally be without foliage in the winter, they - and many other deciduous species - often retain their first year's foliage following germination. It throws one a little bit, leaving one not sure how to go on with them as they're behaving not as expected. But on the other hand, that extra growing time in the first season does give them a really good start, squeezing two growth times into one, so to speak. If they continue green through the colder months this year, especially darwasica, remember to make sure they are perfectly drained at all times, damp but not wet.

[Jupiter]

Thanks Lesley, thats exactly the kind of advice i was looking for and what you suggested confirms my gut feeling about them. I will leave them be and move them into new homes in the spring. I. Chrysographes can have a place in the terraces in my front garden and darwasica will go into a terracotta pot with minimal disturbance. The seed of I. Darwasica came from plant world seeds so i do trust the source and expect that it is the true beast. I hope they do well for me and I'm looking forward to trying my hand at more rare species like the oncocyclus irises and other arils. So far so good!

[Lesley Cox]

Well at least you do know that oncos do well in some parts of South Australia at least. Pat Toolan could you excellent advice. She's definitely one of the great onco growers.