What is a "Starter Iris"?

New to DG and all the activities.

am in a trade and was asked to ship "starter iris" of the one we discussed.

ive got loads.
can send 3rd &/or 4th generation family line of mother, daughters, sisters . . .etc (you get my drift)

but what is a ''starter Iris"


'The Problem of not knowing
- is ya just dont know!'

I'm a commerical grower and never heard that term...

D

Probably they're just referring to a start of the iris, or a small piece. But I would ask them to be sure. It's always better to be clear about a trade.

Welcome to DG and the iris forum, by the way.

Oh! ThankYou for the welcome to Irises!

I figure I might as well start checking in.

Got hooked in one of DG IRIS Co-Ops
. . .so I will have a small collection soon - i hope.

So you WILl be seeing me around here - possibly a lot.

but i dont think Irises are that difficult.
of course I am newbie
and my favorite saying goes:

"The problem of not knowing is . . .
- Ya' just dont know!" LOL

You're welcome, for the welcome, LOL. I do hope you hang around, a lot. We're a friendly group. There are some experts on here, and just about any question you can come up with, someone can answer.

Plus, pssst, there are often giveaways of free iris for postage.

Welcome to the Enablers site. Don't trust them. They will get you hooked even more than you are now. I KNOW. LOL.
This really is the place to learn and have fun at the same time. I have met so many people that have shared invaluable information and I have seen flowers they are Hybridizing that I never imagined existed and you will too. Have fun with us all.
Steph

wow - thanks! it is NICE to feel Welcomed rather than an intrusion.

Thanks. Im getting"into' my garden and irises
- so you WILL see my posts here and there
- asking something everyone already knows
- but we MUST keep our Irises happy!

Thanks again for the Warm Welcome!

Welcome and any time you can not or do not receive an answer just email me as I am a commerical grower and try to take the time to answer all questions as when you learn we learn.

D

Welcome 50glee....good to have you here.

Welcome to the addiction....just be warned that there will come days when you are sore and tired of weeding, pruning, mulching, etc. and you will wonder why in the world you ever allowed yourself to take on this gardening addiction. LOL....I am saying that to myself today after doing a full day of tidying up in my beds. I hurt....where oh where is that bottle of Tylenol? LOL

Nana3

It would help if the rain would stop so we could dig, weed & hope that seed pods won't rot.

Most bearded iris are easy to grow. Where you live, I feel sure you can grow Louisianas and probably Siberian and maybe even Japanese Iris. For the later groups, they are easy to grow if you have the right conditions -- mostly East Coast which is you!
So a good starter iris is what grows well in your area.

Oh you can grow Japanese. One of my trading partners lives in your state, and grows some great Japanese. It's not just an east coast thing Betty. My gosh, look at Dees JIs and sibs. I think it's just not a NM thing. Or an AZ thing, or an AK thing. LOL. In NC you can grow just about any type of iris there is.

Good to know, Polly. I think it is just a wet climate thing which is not NM or AZ. Not sure what the problem is in AK.
How lucky you NC people are to be able to grow just about anything!

Too cold in AK. I think it's just a dry climate thing. The people with extreme dry climates can't grow them, but the average precipitation climates can. We're about average here, except for winters.

But at least you can grow beautiful bearded.

I think it is also an acid soil thing. We have alkaline soil, so Siberians aren't happy here. We can add things to the soil to improve it and make it more acid, but as my county agent puts it, the soil always wins.
We do grow beautiful bearded iris here because they are very drought tolerant and don't mind alkaline soil.

It could be the alkaline soil thing. Mine is pretty close to neutral. Siberian and JIs do well in neutral to acidic, but not alkaline. Luckily most of the US does not have alkaline soil. You do have some challenges there, but you, and as most people should do, make the best of it, and grow what's best to grow under the conditions. Changing a large area from alkaline to neutral or acidic certainly is a major project you probably won't win.

Our county agent warns all the people who move here from back east that they can try to grow their acid loving beauties here -- azaleas and such, but warns they will not be satisfied with the results. Oddly enough, there are now rhododendrons that will grow here. Apparently the big obstacle was temperature and there are several that will go down to -20. So I have a rhododendron that is flourishing in my front yard. Also there are starting to be hydrangeas that will grow here. Only a few, but again the problem is temperature. But someone has been breeding hydrangeas for Minnesota and those work for us as well.

I know this is getting off subject, but can you grow the hydrangea paniculatas? They don't need such an acid soil, and are hardy down to -30. Like Limelight, and those?

Yes we can grow Limelight, Annabelle which does very well here, and Pink Diamond, I understand.