Questions about rebloomers...

Three years ago when I first started, I had about 30 Iris and the first fall, I was SO excited about having one bloom in Sept., Matrix, and another bud, Baby Blessed, wanting to! I brought it inside to baby it...didn't happen but was still so amazing.

I realize that being in a zone 4, MN, that it doesn't happen often. But since then I haven't had a one, even though I have 400+ more. So when I see that an Iris IS a rebloomer, I don't buy them for that reason. If it might happen, 'Wow'!

What are the best reblooming zones? Oregon, CA, TX, SC, KT, ME? I really don't believe that 'rebloomers' happen that often. If I'm mistaken, I would love to see the pictures because you would make me a believer again. I wouldn't move South of NE, but I would enjoy you having the exhileration of seeing these awesome flowers bloom twice!

S

it doesn't happen much for me in TX/OK

husker11 I have rebloomers also but they do not rebloom in my zone 4. I just enjoy them when they do bloom early summer. My growing season is not long enough for them to produce more buds.

Most iris lovers don't realize that even if you live in the more southern zones where irises do rebloom, they don't automatically do so on their own. Non-reblooming irises go dormant during the summer after blooming. Rebloomers do not. Therefore, in order to have the bloom again, they need addtional watering, and food. Feed them early spring, then after they finished blooming the first time with a fertilizer low in nitrogen. A 10-10-10 type of plant food is good. Also add bone meal and scratch it in to the top soil.

Lilly

I live in SC and this year the only one so far that has rebloomed is Immortality. It was very dry in August & Sept. and I did not keep things watered well so that may be the problem. Last year I had a good many that rebloomed:

Immortality
Harvest of Memories
Clarence
Total Recall
Rosalie Figg
Pink Attraction
Istanbul
Earl of Essex

Immortality, Pink Attraction have rebloomed here & we are a long way from SC. Chuck Chapman who lives in Ontario & has done a lot of research on rebloomers, points out that it is not in the plants' best interest to rebloom. Putting up stalks in another season can take away from a plant's need to survive. So those which do are going against their best interests. His SDB Forever Blue did not produce reblooming plants when crossed with plants like Immortality, well known for a second bloom season. Only when crossed with a plant like SDB, What Again, which seems to have the same rebloom triggers did he get another season of bloom.

I have a lot of rebloomers, and if they are listed in the Reblooming Society as having rebloom in my zone 6, I can usually get them to bloom. A friend who lives about 40 miles north of me has a very large iris garden and last year her fall bloom was almost as spectacular as her spring one! It was gorgeous -- I will try to get a picture posted. So they do exist and they do rebloom. She digs 1/3 of her garden every year, and most of the rebloomers were dug this summer, so the color isn't as nice this fall, but she still has more than 40 varieties blooming right now! So, if you buy an iris that has rebloomed in your zone, you should be able to duplicate it!

husker, if you go to the Reblooming Iris Society website and click on reports, you'll see a partial sample of a reblooming report that they create each year.

rebloomers take a LOT of extra food and water to have a chance at reblooming.

This is Immortality.
Planted 1 year ago. Came from Iris Co-op last summer.
Bernie

oh my, country gardens, is that cold damage, or do you have a leaf spot problem on those?

think I read somewhere that Immortality will rebloom in the lowest rebloom zones and can multi-rebloom, too.

The brown leaves ? That is called time to go into winter!

ah! something I don't see here until late Dec.!

This is the same thing that keeps us from Iris borers & other nasties.

This is one of the main problems I keep fighting! When my Iris are blooming and I want to take their pictures, leaf spots are SO ugly. Plus they turn into a real distructive element to the leaves/plant. You live in MN also and I 'think' that we may have more moisture, humidity, that it thrives on.

One of my, 'authoritative Iris friend', has suggested using the Bayer 3-1 Rose & Flower Care. Even though it's 'kind of' for Roses, she sprays and then waters with the solution, close to the rhizome, twice a year. First in the Spring and then towards Fall. It's a Systematic product, meaning that it is absorbed through the root/stem.) It fertilizes-feeds and controls the disease.

I hope /believe that I am getting a handle on it. I love experimenting so I am also using 'Daconil Fungicide' who's main ingredience is 'chlorothalonil', on another 'plot' to compare.

To not have the beautiful leaves that frame the Iris, is not good! I understand the few fungal spots, but not the whole brown leaves. I know it will be worth the extra effort.

well, Ray Schreiner told me it's basically the same blackspot disease on roses, so I could use the same on my irises as my roses, but I never have.

If you read the label on the Systemic 3 in 1 is says that it is not just for roses. It has different strengths of mixes to make for flowers, etc.

I use the Systemic for my Roses (couldnt have the roses w/o it), and for all my other plants. I like to use it as a prevenative, plus it has a low dose fertilizer. I will be using it on my glads to get rid of possible thrips too.


Danielle