Perennial-Iris ( update for Rajah )

[Mamu]

Irises-There are many different kinds of Irises. Some I know, some I know nothing about. There are the bulbous type The English and Dutch Irises are in this category. The rhizomatous Irises. This group contains The Louisiana, The Siberian, The Japanese and the one that seems to be everyone favorite The Bearded Irises.

There is a Pacific Coast Iris that I have seen pictures of. They have a beautiful flower, but I know nothing of how it grown or under what conditions.

Pacific Coast Iris

Also The Aril Iris I know very little about. It's a cross of an Near East and a bearded. It grows only in the warmest and driest regions of the U.S.

Aril Iris

The Siberian Iris prefer a dry life. They have delicate leaves and flowers that seem to float in the air. Their foliage disappears in the winter.

Siberian Iris

The Louisiana Iris likes moisture. They do not grow well in cold climates.

Louisiana Iris

The Japanese Iris also likes a damp area.

Japanese Iris

The best know is the bearded. There are 3 group The Dwarf, The Intermediate and The Tall. These come in just about every color and some are two-toned. These are Rhizone Iris. Bearded Irises like sun, ordinary to rich soil. They love bone meal and a fertilizer low in nitrogen. The rhizone should be planted near the surface.

Bearded Iris

 

[amid chaos]

Beautiful pictures, Mamu...thank you for taking the time to post them.

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

Thanks for posting these Mamu! I just bought my first Louisiana Iris yesterday..looks just like the picture!

 

[Pixie_Dust]

>There is a Pacific Coast Iris that I have seen pictures of. They have a beautiful flower, but I >know nothing of how it grown or under what conditions.


Hi, Mamu, as far as I know these are wildflowers, like all California plantlife protected from picking. We just enjoy the drive when they are in bloom. It is great to live somewhere the "weeds" are actually wildflowers! These iris are tiny and short lived compared to the cultivated varieties, but a great joy to see in early spring when pretty much nothing else is in bloom yet.

Today we are going to a cultivated iris farm. I got the handout at the farmer's market yesterday where they were displaying some spectacular blooms of the two toned bearded varieties.

Cheers

 

[Rajah]

Le-sigh. I love Iris I just wish I could grow one. I don't think they'd do well in pots, though, and it's about past their peak already this year, isn't it?

 

[Mamu]

Pixie Dust sounds like a wonderul day let us know how your trip to the Iris Farm was.

My day was spent at the dumb casino, which took my flower money away. Actually not so dumb it was a girlfriends birthday, I just have to learn not to gamble with plant money.

 

[Mamu]

Rajah there is an iris that you can grow in a pot. It's called the Moraea or Butterfly Iris. It's quite beautiful.

I know very little about it and will look for some info on this Iris for you.

Moraea Iris

 

[Rajah]

Oh, how pretty! Thank you, Mamu I'll have to look into that

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Mamu, we actually took pictures at the Iris farm and when I get enough time off work (maybe my day off tomorrow!) I will upload some pix and try and post a link here

To the Texas poster, here this is peak season. If I can slip away from work this weekend (the only time they are open) we are going back to try and catch some more that were only in bud last weekend -- although we had two days of rain and now warm weather so they might pop out and be done with before we see them!

These are all the hybridized big bearded kind. I also searched for Iris on the web and found one company that has almost 650 varieties, almost all with pictures, so it is very interesting. The cheapest bulbs are $5-6 each, though, so other kinds of bulk irises or other bulbs may be preferable to most people. Personally I don't have a good space to put such expensive bulbs, and even though they told me at the farm that they could be grown in containers, here was a post saying not, and who knows how much was true and how much was trying to make a sale?

I found out that I have a "judge's eye" for iris in that the ones that caught my eye were all ****'s medal winners... I also have a judge's palate for wine, OT Each year only one hybrid is awarded the medal. My favorite because it is in my favorite purple-blue color family was I believe the 1969 winner. It is called Mystique. There was a huger version of the same colors called Great Gatsby that made a great picture but had much sloppier stems. I was told that when you place an order they might substitute if you don't say no, and I was horrified to think of ordering that perfect plant and possibly getting a sloppy lookalike.

RE. the other reply to someone about Moraea, what a surprise, I didn't know they were iris! All I know is they are originally from Tahiti and they are used quite often here in parking lot/shopping center landscaping. Mostly they are white with purple, but I saw one at a Safeway that was pale golden with burgundy purple (later found out it is a bit smaller than the white ones) and searched the nurseries until I found one that would order a plant for me. Now it has pride of place in the middle of my sidewalk strip, flanked by two lavender bushes.

Cheers

 

[Mamu]

Pixie-Dust the visit to the iris farm sounds very exciting. Looking forward to seeing the pic's. I once visited a hosta farm in Wayland and it was like entering hosta heaven.

It a wonderful experience to visit the farms where new varieties are developed. There is so much to be learned on one of these visits.

I guess we'll be calling you are Iris Expert. Thanks so much for sharing your visit with us, again looking forward to seeing the pic's.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Lol, I'm no expert, just good at research I have my photoisland albums up. If the site looks good to you, please note that if you open your own free account from the link on one of my pages I will get 5 megs of extra space! It may be silly to mention this, but all rights to the photos are reserved. I'd love to hear which flowers/pictures you liked best! Cheers

Here is the invitation. The link is the same and the three passwords get you into the three albums:

Hello friend, Please come see my new photos on PhotoIsland.com! To get there, simply click the address below and enter your guest password:
iris
iris2
iris3

http://www.photoisland.com/servlet/GuestLogin?USERNAME=pixiedust

If that doesn't work, go to www.photoisland.com, and log in to my albums with the following information:
Log-in ID: pixiedust
Guest Password:
iris
iris2
iris3

 

[Rajah]

How pretty! Oh, I love Iris! Sigh... I need to find some late-blooming iris to plant. I need to see if anywhere local can provide those moraea iris...

 

[LisaF]

Just was "browsing" through this forum and read the word "iris" - my favorite flower. There is a catalog order nursery called "Schreiner's" (I think from Minnesota or Wisconsin area) that I have always ordered my rhizones from. They sell mostly the bearded variety, and they are beautiful. Unfortunately, when we sold our old house, I wasn't able to take any of the rhizones with me. On a happy note, I can order all new irises for my new beds!!!! LisaF

 

[NHMickey]

Fantastic... I really love the Japanese Iris