Gardeners happy to be infected by the iris virus

If you go to Rangit¯ıkei Iris Group’s annual show in Palmerston North on November 4, beware, you could get infected by the iris virus that will you have roaming your garden for spots to grow nature’s fleur-de-lis emblem.

Carole Flyger is the president of the New Zealand Iris Society and the owner of Palmerston North-based Cottage Irises.

Flyger caught the bug about 2004, when her husband saw an ad in a newspaper for an iris show. Flyger took along two irises from her garden and won second in class.

She now has 0.2ha planted in irises and through Cottage Irises sells the plants. Flyger wants people to come to the show to see the variety of irises available to grow in New Zealand.

Every day this year, Flyger has had an iris in flower as different species flower at different times.

Thelma Romp has opened her Hokowhitu garden to the Manawatu¯ Guardian to see some of that variety.

Her story is similar to Flyger’s. About 30 years ago, Romp entered an iris show. When she went back that afternoon she couldn’t find some of her flowers. They had been moved to the front table as Romp had won queen of the show. She was hooked.

Romp has an intermediate bearded iris appropriately called romp. The apricot and tangerine confection

was camera shy, enlisting an aphid to be in the shot, but it might make an appearance at the show.

Flyger says it is pretty easy to grow irises — but don’t plant them too deep.

They need to be dug up every two or three years to remove the old, leafless rhizomes. The remaining transplanted rhizomes need to be watered for three to four weeks until they have grown new roots.

Late spring and summer are the best times to transplant.

The public can bring their entries to the venue on Friday, November 3, between 5pm and 7pm for advice on staging.

Flyger advises gardeners to cut their tall bearded iris as long as possible — it is easy for iris group members to cut to length but they can’t reattach a stem.

Leave any old flowers on the cutting for the experts to remove.

The Rangit¯ıkei Iris Group meets monthly at a member’s house or garden. Most members live in Palmerston North and some in Marton.

From left: A tall bearded iris in Thelma Romp’s Palmerston North garden — tall bearded is the most popular iris; a Dutch iris makes a splendid show in Romp’s garden; A Pacific Coast iris in Romp’s garden.

Photos / Judith Lacy New Zealand Iris Society president Carole Flyger says there will be fabulous irises on display at the November 4 show in Palmerston North.