HOW TO MAKE ORIS ROOT FOR POTPOURRI

Over grown iris lot

My seedlings have been plants and they are sitting outside growing well.  I have roma tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, dill, bell pepper, cucumbers and lavender have all started growing well. 

I have my lettuce started in the no till area of my garden and I have planted a few onion sets (which I will show you how to plant) just as soon as my new video camera arrives; my other one died.   I won’t be time to plant the main garden for a couple of weeks yet

Dug up Iris

In thinking about potpourri that I want to make later this fall for the Christmas season, one of the things on my list was oris root.  This root chopped or ground is thought to be the staple fragrance in potpourri.  Upon further investigation I found out that oris root is iris root.  Yes, just the flower iris, using the rhizome root chopped or ground.  Further investigation showed that oris root is $6.00 to $7.00 per 4 oz.  

Well I have plenty of iris so I am going to make my own for the cost of drying time.

Iris Rhizome

As shown in the picture I have plenty of iris I can dig up and use without worrying that I won’t have any flowers; so I am.   The lot of iris is very weedy so it needs to be cleaned up anyway.

Those of you that would like to join me in experimenting on how to dry and use oris root I am going to offer 3 to 4 roots for the cost of shipping.  No charge from me just from the post.  It will ship in a flat rate box and sell for .99 cents.  By the time I pay Ebay for the auction and Pay Pal for the privilege of collecting your money, I am giving these away. 

Rhizome to sell

For those of you that want to plant these, feel free, I am including a few pieces that don’t have much root but are perfectly good for planting in case this works well and you want more oris root next year and the years to come.  Each box should contain 6 or more rhizomes and should make 4 oz. or more of chopped oris.

If you have plenty of iris yourself, join me.  Dig some up and lets try drying for  use later in the year.

Close up of Rhizome

 

This will be a great experiment if all of you will join in drying and chopping up your roots.  We will compare notes for the best results.  In case you just have to know, these are purple iris, nothing special about the color or type, just plain ‘ole iris.  Send me your comments when you get your package.  

 

 

Clean the Rhizome

 

According to the instructions I am getting from surfing the net you clean the roots and  then:

Some places say chop up others say strip the bark of the root off, then chop.  We will try both ways.

Clean all the dirt off your rhizomes, removing all roots.

Peeled rhizomes

Unpeeled cleaned rhizomes

If you smell the root while it is green there is no smell but it is said as soon as they are dry or as they are drying the smell comes through.  It is supposed to smell like violets.

Chopping the roots are like chopping up potatoes.  I chopped up in small pieces which will make it goof for potpourri and easy to make powder.

Cut out bad spots

 If you run across and bad spots in the root make sure you cut those out.  If you don't this will cause mold and decay during the drying process.

Left-peeled root, Right unpeeled root chopped

Place your chapped pieces on a piece of paper or paper towel to dry. 

on paper or paper towel to dry

If you have a large pile like I do, make sure you turn them a couple of time a day to get even drying and prevent rot.

To locate me on Ebay use this link.  I sell other things as well but not so many that a page search will bring the oris root up.

 

If you want to see additional information on oris root try some of these links.

Oris Root:Fixative for Potpourri

Oris Root: Mountain Herbs