Garden’s Hidden Treasure – Storing Rhizomes.

Oct 2

Garden Week Twenty-Five 10/2/2018

Garden’s Hidden Treasure – Storing Rhizomes.

Last time we learned about Bulbs, Corms, Tubers or Rhizomes. Today I want to talk about storing Iris Rhizomes for the winter. If you recall, Rhizomes are underground stems, which grow horizontally are capable of producing root and shoot structure of a new plant. Unlike tubers, Rhizomes store proteins as well as starches. Many invasive and aggressive plants have rhizomes allowing them to propagate asexually rather than just with seed.

Last week, I worked with Jessie Gerard of Mother Earth’s Natural Design, a local Landscape specialist. She had an Iris Garden Bed, which she plans to redesign. We worked together to gently remove the rhizomes from the ground so that the roots were not damaged. I collected them into buckets and took them home to work with later. (Where I could be warm.) Thanks for all the Iris rhizomes, Jessie!

As with any project, it’s important to clean and sanitize your tools. This will prevent the spread of disease and fungus. Prepare a comfortable working location. Because I am preparing a large volume of plants for storage, I set up at my kitchen table. First, I laid newspaper over the table, prepared a garbage bag for debris, and a clean dry location for the plants once cleaned. My garden scissors and knife are cleaned and sanitized. I am ready to get to work.

At this time, it is OK to cut back the last of the foliage. You can leave about 3 inches of the fan intact, they will dry. Remove any remaining dirt, and inspect for soft or rotted spots, porous, diseased or dead parts and remove. Don’t be afraid to cut or scrape these areas away. Make sure you throw these away. Do not keep or compost any Rhizomes which are diseased. A good Rhizomes for storage will have, roots as well as stem.

Not every Rhizome will flower next year. Keep the largest of these for next year’s flowers. If you keep the smaller of these, next year you may consider planting them where they can continue to grow for the following year

Once they are all clean, place on a rack or table, in a warm location with good air circulation, where they can dry for a couple of days. They will form a thick layer, kind of like leather. This will allow the plants to store without rotting over the winter and is known as curing.

Once dry, store in a box, or paper bag, by creating layers with straw, sand, newspaper, wood chips, or preferred medium. Be sure to label each container with the species and color so you don’t lose anything. Periodically, check on the rhizomes. Remove any which become soft, so that fungus does not spread.

Enjoy building your Iris Rhizome Treasure Chest!