Medians and MDBs
will have little trouble in growing
if you follow the preceding ad-vice
14
for Tall Bearded Iris, but
there are some considerations that
set them apart.
In some areas of the country, such
as parts of the Desert Southwest,
you may find many MTB varie-ties
are challenging. Anyone in
zone 7 or lower should have no
problem. But some medians and
some MDBs require a degree of
cold in the winter for there to be
good bloom. As with growing
any iris, it is wise to talk with
local iris growers and ask with
which varieties they have had the
best success. An advantage to be-longing
to a local club is gaining
from others‟ experience. It is also
fun to share your successes and
failures.
Because MDBs are so small, they
are often more difficult to trans-plant.
The tiny rhizomes shipped
in the heat of summer often can-not
form adequate roots fast
enough in the blazing sun, and
keeping them too wet can cause
rot. Often it is wise to pot up new
dwarfs and provide them some
shade until a new set of roots are
established.
MDBs that are only a few inches
tall will have roots a foot or more
down by their second year. But the
first year they may not have had a
chance to get them deep enough to
prevent heaving with hard freezes
and thaws. Many growers place a
brick on the rhizome behind the
fan for the first winter. After a full
year they are just as easy as any
other bearded iris.