Iris Trouble

[FlowerNerd817]

Hi, I have some very strange irises coming up this year. The rhizomes on some of them are weird - not segmented at all, just a single, thick rhizome, and then the swords that are trying to grow out are very stunted and crowded - it looks like a little shriveled-up version. I pulled several out of my bed. There are many more irises in the bed that look completely normal, and this isn't something that I've encountered in previous years (I've had these iris beds for many years). Does anybody know what causes this and what I should do to prevent it from spreading?

 

[Meadowlark]

First, welcome @FlowerNerd817 . I'm always glad to see another Texan here

I don't know the cause or the prevention for certain, but I believe it could very well be because of the fact you haven't rotated those beds "in several years".

Recognizing that growing veggies isn't the same as growing Iris, but I know for absolute certainty if I did not rotate certain veggie crops, they would absolutely fall victim to all sorts of decline.

If it were mine, I would definitely look into rotating into a new Iris bed.