When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
You are probably used to planting iris from rhizomes, but it’s also possible to grow the popular flowers from seed pods. Iris seed propagation takes a little longer, but it’s an effective, inexpensive way to get more iris flowers in your garden. If you are interested in picking and planting iris seeds, keep reading. We’ll give you tips on how to plant iris seeds in your garden.
Can iris be grown from seed? Anyone accustomed to planting iris rhizomes may be surprised to hear that iris can be propagated from seed just as easily. It takes a little longer to get blooms, however, and they don’t necessarily look like the mother plant.
When you grow an iris (or any other plant) from its root structure, you are cloning the parent plant. This type of non-sexual propagation will produce an exact duplicate of the iris from which you cut a piece of rhizome.
With iris seed propagation, it takes two plants to make the new one. Pollen from one plant fertilizes a female flower from another. The resulting iris seed pods can produce plants with flowers that look like either parent or any combination of the two.
Iris flowers bring a rainbow of colors to gardens in spring and early summer. But after those lovely blooms fade away, seed pods start forming on the flower stalks. These pods are part of the iris life cycle, but should you remove them or let them be? Learning how to manage iris pods properly helps grow healthy plants that rebloom vigorously year after year.
What Are the Pods?
The oval swellings that develop where spent blossoms were are seed pods, also called capsules. The pods enclose and protect the maturing iris seeds inside. As seeds ripen, pods expand noticeably. Initially green, they turn yellow, tan, or brown when mature. Fully dry pods split open along natural seams and release seeds, allowing irises to reproduce and spread.
To Remove or Not Remove Pods?
-
Remove Pods Prevents unwanted spread, preserves hybrid varieties, redirects energy to rhizomes, keeps tidy appearance.
-
Leave Pods Allows observing development, collects seeds, doesn’t harm plants, self-sown plants can be moved or shared.
Gardeners must weigh pros and cons themselves. Immediately deadheading flowers prevents pods, but leaving some satisfies curiosity without sacrificing vigor.
Techniques for Managing Pods
-
Pinching: Grasp young green pods and twist off stems. Quick and easy.
-
Cutting: Snip off pods with pruners or scissors for a clean cut.
-
Cutting stalks: Eliminates pods by cutting back stalks after blooms fade. Keeps plants neat.
To collect seeds, allow some pods to mature, split open, and release seeds. Then gather dried seeds to plant or share.
Handling Spent Blooms
Remove individual dead blooms at the base to prevent pods without cutting stalks. More time consuming than stalk cutting but less disruptive to plants. Allows some reseeding while maintaining tidiness.
Timing Matters
-
Check plants every few days once blooming ends.
-
Look for wilted flowers and tiny round pods starting to form.
-
Act while pods are small and green to minimize plant stress.
Staying on top of grooming makes removing pods a quick, easy routine.
Impact on Plant Health
Removing all pods doesn’t necessarily reduce vigor in healthy plants with proper care. But allowing some mature pods satisfies curiosity without sacrificing performance. Just don’t let stalks remain tall and unsightly all season.
Embrace the Iris Life Cycle
Irises self-seeding illustrates the cycle of rebirth in nature. As a gardener, appreciate floral beauty while guiding pod and seed development to enrich your vision. Value the full lifecycle when making choices to keep plantings vibrant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I cut off iris seed pods?
Removing pods promotes rhizome growth for next year’s blooms and prevents unwanted seedlings. But leaving some pods doesn’t harm vigor and satisfies curiosity about seeds. Hybrids should have pods removed to preserve variety.
What are the pods on iris flower stalks after blooming?
These oval swellings are seed pods containing maturing iris seeds. They start small and green but expand, dry, and split to release seeds naturally. Removing spent blooms prevents pod formation.
When should I remove iris pods?
Act while pods are still small and green, before heavy seed set. Check plants every few days after blooms fade. Staying on top of grooming makes pod removal quick and easy.
The life cycle of irises involves seed pod development after bloom time. Deciding whether to pinch off pods or allow some to mature is a personal choice based on your gardening goals. Proper iris pod management after flowering is key for growing vigorous, floriferous plants.
Harvesting Seeds from Iris
If you’ve decided that iris seed propagation is the way to go, you’ll need to start picking and planting iris seeds. The first step is harvesting seeds from iris plants.
Watch your garden plants as they bloom. If the flowers have been pollinated, they will produce seed pods. The pods start out small and green but expand quickly during summer months. When the pods are dry and brown, they split open, and the seeds are probably ripe.
Harvesting seeds from iris plants isn’t difficult, but the trick is not to lose the hard, brown seeds. Hold a paper bag under the stem, then snip off the iris seed pods one by one, so that they drop into the bag. You can also gather any seeds that have fallen to the ground.
Gardening tips, videos, info and more delivered right to your inbox!
Sign up for the Gardening Know How newsletter today and receive a free copy of our e-book “How to Grow Delicious Tomatoes”. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors