excellent video, thanks. The only improvement I could suggest would be some example photos of the flowering plants when you have the titles up - rather like Gardener's world does...
Thanks for your kind words and I couldn’t agree more!! I’d love to have included some stills of various iris flowers, however not sure where I stand with RUclips’s copy write rules governing the use of pics that are not my own....I’ll keep taking pics and clips and build up my own collection for future use!! Best, Ed
Hi mate I have planted new yellow iris In my pond about 6 weeks ago only young plants 8 inches of growth. They are potted the water level is around 6 inches above the soil. this week some of the leaves have started to go brown. Any information on what the causes is or is does this just mean the roots are growing, or are they to deep into the water ?Thanks
Hi there, thanks for watching and your comment- its difficulty to say exactly why this is- it could just be some of the younger growth is dying back from the ‘shock’ of being moved and introduced elsewhere and new growth will replace this quickly. It could also be that the plant was grown out of water/in very shallow trays with less then 6” of water above the crown of the plant. Young foliage wont take too kind to being fully submersed and may perish, but again new growth will quickly grow. Might be worth raising the plant to only just submersed and then dropping it down deeper as it grows. Once established it’ll be happy full time at this depth- provided the variety is a true marginal/pond plant. Also although it will tolerate shady conditions it would prefer as much sun as possible. Best, Ed
a very good (and tricky) question! Most iris will tolerate damp conditions, but only a select few are true aquatic species. Obviously if your iris is growing already in a dry ish area it’s unlikely that it will like true submersion of its rhizome. That said gardening is constant experimentation and if it were me I’d try a small piece of something in a container and position it in shallow water and monitor the plants progress. Best, Ed
Hi Ed. Another very informative video. And what a beautiful pond! Just wondering, Mark at Pond Advisor has a video about repotting water lilies (ruclips.net/video/ITYVVsUw_WA/видео.html) and I was wondering if the same guidance holds true for Irises. He advises planting in a wide shallow non-perforated pot with some Aquascape fertiliser mixed into the aquatic medium and topped off with 20 or 30 mm gravel to stop the fish from upsetting things. I have a formal fish pond that I want to add Irises to and want to keep things neat.
Hi Neil, thanks for your comment and kind words! In my experience planting any aquatic plant in an enclosed pot has its down sides- chiefly water stagnation within the pot, which creates an anaerobic environment surrounding the plants roots- which is not good. Plants require a supply of (albeit low) oxygenated water around their roots. The use of mesh baskets and a compaction free substrate (such as a fine gravel/shingle) allows for easy root development and doesn’t inhibit micro water circulation around the roots, which supplies rooted aquatic plants with a constant source of essential gasses and nutrients- vitally important for healthy plants. Some years ago Tetra brought out a product called ‘aqua planters’ which were a very fine woven rot free fabric. These could be used as basket liners or even used as a flexible basket in their own right. I was impressed (having never really been a fan of the flimsy cheap mesh pond baskets generally available!) and quickly adopted these over the traditional basket. Over two or three years I quickly noticed a decline in plant health and growth-particularly in water lilies (despite annual fertilisation), which threw up less pads and flowers. Upon closer inspection it was immediately apparent that the plants were quickly becoming pot bound in such restrictive environments and having removed them from these and replanted them in a traditional mesh pot the change in the plants growth and health was stark. Personally (and particularly when building ponds) I like to plant marginals (including iris) bare rooted- but only if your pond has dedicated contained planting zones- if you have a more traditional shelf then obviously contained plants are a must. Iris are indeed shallow rooted- but do opt for as large a basket as you can accommodate, particularly as they will become top heavy and frequently end up blown into the pond! A minimum pot size of approx 20cm square is ok for smaller varieties of Iris, but for lager varieties (such as the yellow flag iris) a much larger pot is required. The use of gravel over soil in my experience has no negative effect on plant growth- allows for easy administration of plant tablet fertilisers as and when used, isn’t messy like aquatic compost and has the added bonus of being heavy and helping to anchor the plants down well! If using plastic crates/buckets I would recommend punching holes around the sides and base to help prevent stagnation. Hope this helps! Best, Ed
Thanks for your incredibly detailed answer Ed. I hear what you're saying about stagnation so I was thinking of a pot with solid sides but plenty of drainage holes at the bottom, elevated on some stones under the base to keep the water circulating - hopefully that might work for my irises. The pond I'm planting out is very formal and Italianate so I want to keep things in pots wherever possible as I won't have planting pockets. I'll be choosing some of the smaller Versicolour varieties that you mention in the video. Once I get this formal pond sorted I need to rescue my wildlife pond which was doing great for years but now was severe algae issues :-(
HI there, thanks for watching and commenting. Do you know what variety/colour flower your iris is? In general most iris are undemanding and free flowing, but deepening on the variety it may be that its not receiving enough light or that it is more of a bog variety rather then a true marginal and so prefers to be in moist conditions, rather then standing in the pond… Best, Ed
Хобби
I’m hoping to find you in my pond one day here in Surrey. Meanwhile my weekend viewing is sorted. Marvellous
Fantastoc video mate. Quality just keeps getting beter. Great content and nicely edited 🏆
Thanks Mate! Appreciate your kind words!
excellent video, thanks. The only improvement I could suggest would be some example photos of the flowering plants when you have the titles up - rather like Gardener's world does...
Thanks for your kind words and I couldn’t agree more!! I’d love to have included some stills of various iris flowers, however not sure where I stand with RUclips’s copy write rules governing the use of pics that are not my own....I’ll keep taking pics and clips and build up my own collection for future use!!
Best,
Ed
Thanks
You’re very welcome!
Hi mate I have planted new yellow iris In my pond about 6 weeks ago only young plants 8 inches of growth. They are potted the water level is around 6 inches above the soil. this week some of the leaves have started to go brown. Any information on what the causes is or is does this just mean the roots are growing, or are they to deep into the water ?Thanks
Hi there, thanks for watching and your comment- its difficulty to say exactly why this is- it could just be some of the younger growth is dying back from the ‘shock’ of being moved and introduced elsewhere and new growth will replace this quickly. It could also be that the plant was grown out of water/in very shallow trays with less then 6” of water above the crown of the plant. Young foliage wont take too kind to being fully submersed and may perish, but again new growth will quickly grow. Might be worth raising the plant to only just submersed and then dropping it down deeper as it grows. Once established it’ll be happy full time at this depth- provided the variety is a true marginal/pond plant. Also although it will tolerate shady conditions it would prefer as much sun as possible.
Best,
Ed
How do i know if my iris can be submerged in the pond?
a very good (and tricky) question! Most iris will tolerate damp conditions, but only a select few are true aquatic species. Obviously if your iris is growing already in a dry ish area it’s unlikely that it will like true submersion of its rhizome. That said gardening is constant experimentation and if it were me I’d try a small piece of something in a container and position it in shallow water and monitor the plants progress.
Best,
Ed
@@CrystalClearAquatics thank you mate!
Oh the joy of not having to net your pond because of heron’s.
That are a nuisance aren’t they though.....!
Hi Ed. Another very informative video. And what a beautiful pond! Just wondering, Mark at Pond Advisor has a video about repotting water lilies (ruclips.net/video/ITYVVsUw_WA/видео.html) and I was wondering if the same guidance holds true for Irises. He advises planting in a wide shallow non-perforated pot with some Aquascape fertiliser mixed into the aquatic medium and topped off with 20 or 30 mm gravel to stop the fish from upsetting things. I have a formal fish pond that I want to add Irises to and want to keep things neat.
Hi Neil, thanks for your comment and kind words! In my experience planting any aquatic plant in an enclosed pot has its down sides- chiefly water stagnation within the pot, which creates an anaerobic environment surrounding the plants roots- which is not good. Plants require a supply of (albeit low) oxygenated water around their roots. The use of mesh baskets and a compaction free substrate (such as a fine gravel/shingle) allows for easy root development and doesn’t inhibit micro water circulation around the roots, which supplies rooted aquatic plants with a constant source of essential gasses and nutrients- vitally important for healthy plants. Some years ago Tetra brought out a product called ‘aqua planters’ which were a very fine woven rot free fabric. These could be used as basket liners or even used as a flexible basket in their own right. I was impressed (having never really been a fan of the flimsy cheap mesh pond baskets generally available!) and quickly adopted these over the traditional basket. Over two or three years I quickly noticed a decline in plant health and growth-particularly in water lilies (despite annual fertilisation), which threw up less pads and flowers. Upon closer inspection it was immediately apparent that the plants were quickly becoming pot bound in such restrictive environments and having removed them from these and replanted them in a traditional mesh pot the change in the plants growth and health was stark. Personally (and particularly when building ponds) I like to plant marginals (including iris) bare rooted- but only if your pond has dedicated contained planting zones- if you have a more traditional shelf then obviously contained plants are a must. Iris are indeed shallow rooted- but do opt for as large a basket as you can accommodate, particularly as they will become top heavy and frequently end up blown into the pond! A minimum pot size of approx 20cm square is ok for smaller varieties of Iris, but for lager varieties (such as the yellow flag iris) a much larger pot is required. The use of gravel over soil in my experience has no negative effect on plant growth- allows for easy administration of plant tablet fertilisers as and when used, isn’t messy like aquatic compost and has the added bonus of being heavy and helping to anchor the plants down well! If using plastic crates/buckets I would recommend punching holes around the sides and base to help prevent stagnation.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Ed
Thanks for your incredibly detailed answer Ed. I hear what you're saying about stagnation so I was thinking of a pot with solid sides but plenty of drainage holes at the bottom, elevated on some stones under the base to keep the water circulating - hopefully that might work for my irises. The pond I'm planting out is very formal and Italianate so I want to keep things in pots wherever possible as I won't have planting pockets. I'll be choosing some of the smaller Versicolour varieties that you mention in the video.
Once I get this formal pond sorted I need to rescue my wildlife pond which was doing great for years but now was severe algae issues :-(
No problem and glad to be of assistance!
my pond iris never flower
HI there, thanks for watching and commenting. Do you know what variety/colour flower your iris is? In general most iris are undemanding and free flowing, but deepening on the variety it may be that its not receiving enough light or that it is more of a bog variety rather then a true marginal and so prefers to be in moist conditions, rather then standing in the pond…
Best,
Ed