75% discount need advice

Our local Lowes has their fall bulbs at a good discount. There are a lot of iris but their rhizomes all seem pretty dried out. I was wondering if it was worth buying some to see if they will come back in spring. Someone told me they would be fine even very dried out but I wanted another opinion or two before I bought some. Any opinion or suggestion very appreciated! thanks! tish

I wouldn't buy unless they still show some green and would still hesitate because even if they do live they may take several years to bloom. I'm lucky here to have many friends who are happy to share rhizomes from their gardens and an active Iris Society which holds a yearly sale with numerous fresh healthy rhizomes to choose from. Google in Georgia Iris Society and see if you can find hobby growers in your area. There are also a number of commercial growers that offer older varieties at bargain prices. I think any of these sources would be more satisfactory.

I purchased my first 6 iris rhizomes from Lowe's for starters back in the early 2000's, they looked absolutely horrible and I couldn't see any green (didn't know enough about them to realize there should be some), and yet they did all finally bloom -- but it took more than two years to see any flowers. And what I found was that 4 of the 6 were not what they were supposed to be. That was a bummer, but I will say that the ones I ended up with were very nice and I wasn't really disappointed, although I finally gave away all but one because it really bugs me to have an iris I don't know the name of. Here's the one I've kept all these years -- was supposed to be MARY FRANCES, a beautiful lavender iris. But I really recommend you purchase from an iris specialist if possible so you won't have to go through all that. And I must say that when they finally did bloom I was really hooked, and I now have over 400!

I yearly buy Lowe's discounted iris and have had great luck with them. Even when completely brown, if the bulb is solid you will be OK. My favorite iris was from such a purchase I have had no problem with miss named bulbs or in the length of time before bloom. I'm sure, however, that this experience is different for everyone.

I have purchased bulbs from several suppliers this year and have been greatly disappointed. Bulbs were very small and many have already rotted. This really concerns me since both companies were recommended on Dave's. I won't mention the names of these suppliers but I will say that I got the nicest bulbs I have ever received through another supplier on Dave's; Iris Melodies. bob

This is a thread that I feel sad about. because it is asking us to wait another year for our 'bloom'. I'm sorry! I just turned '70' and will not wait another year if there is a better choice.

DG Iris has introduced us to the bigger & better rhizomes from the gardens that stand behind their Iris! 'Enough said'! If you want/desire quality Iris rhisomes, don't go outside the Top Iris Gardens. If you are 30 'ish' and don't know better...there are still beautiful Iris that will make you love them & want more...you just need to wait longer for their lovely bloom.
Sharon #3

Well thanks so much for opinions. I'll maybe wait until they are 90 % off and look again. Years ago a neighbor bought them from maybe something like schumans?-by mail order and they were just outstanding. I bought a few at that time and for a couple years had some pretty ones but then my dh decided the grass was growing in the beds too much and I was not keeping up with that well, so we relocated them. That set them back a year or so and then the trees started getting bigger and over the years have shaded them...I haven't seen those bloom in years now. This year I was going to have my dh till me a new place to start to relocate them. Last spring I seen a lady bring a boquet of iris and they were so large and just beautiful colors. I thought if I can get him to start me a bed early enough, I would like to get some special ones again. I never was interested in named plants. Then I joined the african violet club and quickly realized you can't know what you already have and share them unless they are named. I will look into an iris club. And look into getting some catalogues. Thanks for all the opinions, it really helped.

I'm thinking that was probably Schreiner's Iris Gardens. Here are addresses for some websites where you can drool over the pictures from their 2010 offerings. The only one updated for 2011 and open for business so far this year is Blue J Iris, but the others will be updating their websites in the next couple of months and if you're interested you can order after that.

www.schreinersgardens.com

www.napairis.com

www.mid-americagarden.com

www.cooleysgardens.com

www.bluejiris.com

www.snowpeakiris.com

Oops, forgot to say that I only know about bearded iris, so if you're also interested in the beardless (Japanese, Louisianas, Siberians, etc.) maybe someone else can give you some website addresses.




This message was edited Jan 3, 2011 9:47 AM

This message was edited Jan 3, 2011 9:48 AM

Hey tish, I just realized that all the rhizomes you might order through the mail would not be sent to you until this coming summer/fall, so if you really want to start planting now you should maybe try some of the Lowe's iris just for kicks or look for potted ones in local nurseries -- although spring 2011 bloom will be doubtful. If you get them from an iris specialist nursery through the mail they usually ship during summer months and into the early fall, and then they should bloom the following spring -- although there will always be a few that will hold out until the second year. The ones from the iris specialist nurseries have been fertilized and baked in the sun to set the following spring's bloom, so you have a much better chance of spring bloom that first year.

Also, I've had great luck with spreading Preen around and right up to my iris plants to inhibit grass and weed growth in my beds. You have to weed the bed first and then sprinkle the Preen around, but after a couple of applications grass and weeds have all but been eliminated from my beds, I'm happy to say!

Wow such great info. Thank you all!

I had not thought about a Lot of things. I need to Plan, ha.... I should have been planning better LAST year! Well, I will definiately need the planting bed first, so I'll work on that and then see about ordering and planting. Give me time to narrow down the choices...if thats possible! So many pretty ones and I really only knew about bearded iris. I have some in my fishpond I got on clearance a couple years ago for water/bogs, there are purple and one was white and they are not bearded...I doubt water iris are their real name, ha.

The Preen sounds great..I have heard of it but was afraid for my perenials, I'll look into that too.

tish

I also find that yes they are tough little buggers but it does take longer for them to grow well and bloom, and I also find that more often than not, they are not the correct iris, although I have ended up with some just beautiful, unknown iris...just never know, I highly recommend the gardens above.......

Years ago as an experiment before I became a business I had heard the stories on the mart iris (ie Walmart, Lowes, Kmart etc) so there were 5 in our group one in WA, one in OR, one in CA and can not think who the other two where, we went down and each bought the same 5 iris from the store we selected...

Out of 5 of mine none were what they were suppose to be, one was in CA and one in WA the other had 3 correct and one correct.

What a surprise and a learning lesson it was.

Now if you just want color and do not care now or ever than there is nothing wrong with the mart iris. But if you wish to trade, sell, judge do shows, then not a good idea.


D

I have bought the discounted and the regularly priced irises from Lowe's and WM. If you want to just get a start in growing irises, it is a cheap way to go. Find an out of the way area and plant them and hope for the best. After you have gained some experience, go for the irises offered by the many top quality nurseries.

All the irises I raised turned out to be prone to severe leaf spotting and some rot. I have dug them all and discarded them and went over to the historic crowd.

With all the big box irises, throw away the named packages and pretend they are all noids. Usually, they will be. Some of them will be beautiful and well worth the $.75 or so as long as you are just looking for generic irises.

I agree with Oldgardenrose that if it is just an occasional bargain that you are looking for it might be worth it to you. But remember if we all support just these big box stores and not the Real Nurseries and Growers in our states, then we will all suddenly have nowhere else to shop other than at these concrete gardens to buy just their sadly grown, mis-marked, desperately thirsty and often diseased plants from staff who most likely knows nothing about a living plant. No bargain except with the devil in my book. Our local Agway Farm store always puts any dried out Iris Rhizomes in a free pile by their register in the late fall. Now that is a bargain. Some live, some don't. Patti

And Tish, you're going to want to come on here and show pretty pictures, and maybe even trade. We do a lot of trading. And for that you're going to want correctly named irises you have purchased from a reputable grower.

You'll be surprised to find out how cheaply you can purchase a rhizome from a reputable grower, if you're not looking for the newest one. There's a lot to be said for the old standbys.

Snowpeak for example has irises starting at 4.00. For 20.00 you could get a really pretty starter garden. Then you can trade and get more, and more, and never ending. Superstition has the historic ones, if you are interested in those, for about the same price. And with these irises you're going to get good size rhizomes with lots of fans that will bloom much earlier for you, and you can divide much sooner.

Divide and trade, that's the name of the game, LOL.

I like to offer an alternative to PREEN. Preen is a pre-emergent . You can get the same results with shredded oak leaves (also a pre-emergent).

A pre-emergent must be applied before weeds emerge to have any real effect, since they work by preventing weed seeds from germinating in the first place. If you wait until after the weeds emerge, the pre-emergent won't have any effect..

Corn gluten meal is also a pre-emergent;o)

Oh, and pre-emergents will not harm established plants. They work to keep seeds from germinating...

This message was edited Jan 15, 2011 3:51 PM

Thanks everyone for the great information. Lots of things I didn't know!