How to Plant a Butterfly Iris

Butterfly irises, also called African irises, produce flowers periodically throughout the year. The foliage resembles an ornamental grass and looks good even when the flowers aren't in bloom. They thrive in wet and soggy soils where other plants suffer from rot and also grow well in beds and borders as long as you keep the soil moist. Plant butterfly irises any time of year in frost-free areas and in summer in cooler areas. They need full sun or partial shade and an organically rich soil. Butterfly iris is hardy in USDA zones 8 and warmer. Provide thick winter mulch in zones 8 and 9.

Things You'll Need

• Hand trowel
• Bone meal or bulb fertilizer
• Butterfly iris bulbs
• Water

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Dig a hole 2 inches deep using a hand trowel.

   • 2

     Sprinkle a small amount of bone meal or bulb fertilizer in the bottom of the hole, and cover it with just enough soil so that the corm doesn't come in direct contact with the fertilizer.

   • 3

     Place the corm in the center of the hole with the growth bud facing up.

   • 4

     Cover the corm with soil, and firm gently with your hands.

   • 5

     Water thoroughly.

   • 6

     Plant the next and each additional bulb 18 to 24 inches from the previous bulb