Not a single Iris in my gardens!

Not sure how that happened, probably because I got too carried away with Daylilies last year. Irises are sooooo beautiful, I must have some LOL! Can anyone suggest LATE(er) blooming Iris that would be hearty in Zone 5 area?

Could you please suggest a place to purchase blooming size, or does anyone here have any to sell? I would rather support DG'ers than a nursery if at all possible--- and I know that the really good hardy & beautiful ones are not cheap.

Are there some Iris that bloom longer than others? I'd like longer blooming ones, if possible. Winter seems to get longer each year, looking forward to summer blooms helps pass the dreadful winter.

All of my flower beds are in FULL SUN from sun up to sun down. We have clay soil so I have to ammend every new planting with better soil and drainage.

Thank you so much for any suggestions! Please feel free to D-mail. THANK YOU!

Annie

There probably isn't anywhere to buy irises that will still bloom this year, but you have plenty of time to order and plant for next year. Look for varieties that specify "Late".

Thank you! I'll start looking, there are so many beautiful ones it'll be hard to decide! Do you have a favorite place that you order from?

There are many good places; Schreiner's is my favorite. They have huge rhizomes and one year when I lost my whole order to rot, they replaced every one of them. That won my loyalty for life!

Schreiner's is a great place to buy iris. The rhizomes are large and they will replace any lost the following year. They have what they call a "Red Star Quantity Discount'. If you purchase $80 worth of individual iris (not the collections), then you get 1/2 off of the order AND can choose a bonus iris from the bonus iris page. For every $40 you buy, you get a bonus iris. Check out the website for more information. This year they included the SDB and Siberian iris in the 1/2 price offer. They've never done that in the past. They normally have a summer iris sale which is 1/2 off (I think).

http://www.schreinersgardens.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=SIGO

Edited to add the link to Schreiner's

This message was edited Jun 22, 2011 7:38 AM

You might want to try Wild Iris Rows. Greg Hester is a most helpful and courteous
gentleman. I order from them every year and all have done well here plus he sends
Lots of extras, both those that I order AND others. I highly recommend WIR.

Received an email a bit ago from Schreiner's. Their Summer Iris Sale catalog will be out in 3-4 weeks.

Remember Snowpeak iris. Also Mid-American especially if you want a size other than TB. they have both types, tall & dwarf.

Ohhhh, I'm in trouble! I've been searching the site and making a list, a very very long list. There is no way to just pick 10. I think I love every one of them! I'm not sure if I should thank you or not, LOL, I'm going to burn a hole in my debit card before I'm finished ordering!

Hope that you have room in your garden. It can be a fact of your eyes being larger than your garden spaces.

hehehe - another addict in the making....irises are the most demanding flower I grow, but I keep adding more!

I like www.irisfarmer.com. They are a family-owned/operated iris farm out in CA. Great, huge & healthy rhizomes with very reasonable prices. Enjoy!

Don't forget the reblooming irises. Some will rebloom in your zone. Usually they are honest in telling which one have time to rebloom in your area. There are even a few that once they start reblooming, they continue until frost.

I ordered from Keith Keppel this year - one mini & one TB, and he sent beautiful rhizomes plus a 2010 intro as a bonus.

I too, have been extremely pleased with Schrieners. Love their bonus & sales. ~Jan

A very kind and thoughtful DG'er on this forum sent me some Irises for postage - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! I am constantly amazed by what a wonderful community DG is. I planted them right away and already look forward to seeing them bloom next year. Thanks again!!!!!