Planting Dutch Iris Bulbs
Planting Dutch iris bulbs is a way to delicately enhance the beauty of your garden or landscape. The Dutch iris, also known by its botanical name of Iris x hollandica, is a lovely, hardy, fragile iris varietal that can reach two feet high at maturity. With one slender blossom balancing on the end of a thin green stalk, there is no substitute for the elegance of a Dutch iris in full bloom. The Dutch iris flower blooms in a traditional iris pattern, with three upward facing petals called standards, and three downward facing petals called falls. Dutch iris blossoms are especially popular in cut flower arrangements, and are widely grown for use in florist designs as well as home garden and landscape designs. Learn from experts how to successfully plant and cultivate Dutch iris bulbs in your home garden.
Preparing to Plant Dutch Iris Bulbs
To begin, select a site that receives a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight per day. Dutch iris bulbs will also need excellent soil drainage as soggy soil or standing water can cause bulbs to decay and rot before they can germinate. Adding compost to the soil can help with soaking up moisture as well as adding much appreciated nutrient enrichment to the soil bed.
Planting and Caring for Dutch Iris Bulbs
To begin, space out the area where Dutch iris bulbs are to be planted. If drainage is not good, build up the soil an extra two to three inches into a raised bed before planting. Plant each bulb no more than five inches deep, and include any protective topsoil mulching to be done when estimating planting depth. Planting bulbs too deep will suffocate them. Space bulbs three inches apart. After planting, water bulbs well. Blooms can be cut as needed and this will encourage more blossoms to form. At the end of the bloom season leave the foliage to die on the plant as this provides enrichment.
