When to sow bearded irises in Baoding

Why these dates

Plant in late summer, six weeks or more before the first frost, with the top of the rhizome exposed to the sun and the roots spread below. Buried rhizomes rot instead of flowering. Divide every three or four years in midsummer, discarding the woody centre of the clump.

Hardy to -30C, with the exposed rhizome unharmed by frost. Winter wet is the real killer, so heavy soil needs grit or a raised bed. Needs a dry summer baking to flower well the following year.

Bearded irises are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Baoding is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.

Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Baoding is zone 7a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

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