2012 Iris blooms!

I have blooms! Just within the past 2 days these have opened up:

Iris Reticulata "George", and "Harmony"

This message was edited Mar 11, 2012 2:13 PM

Very nice, Debbie. "George" is quite striking.

Thanks Fruity! I chose those since my DH's name is George! I will add more this fall!

George is my favorite. It's the longest lasting one I've planted.

Love those pictures! Mine aren't up yet, and you're in a bit colder zone than we. Gives me hope spring is really coming.

Those are beautiful. I have a dark blue one. It is finished blooming now. Any one have a good company to order these from. I'm on the hunt.

I ordered some of mine from Brent & Becky's Bulbs and some were found locally. I also ordered some from Bert at Eflower when they had the coop a couple of falls ago. Seems like I ordered some from another source as well....need to look back on my records!

2 stems of Katharine Hodgkin are in bloom, one more than last yr.

I have a few KH shoots and 1 bloom. I had hoped to photo when there was more to see. We had snow last night ,maybe tomorrow when temps go to hi 50's

28 & snow maybe an inch+

My "Katharine Hodgkin" bloomed out yesterday! I have 7 groups of them.....so pretty! The other purple/blue one above with "George" is "Harmony".

Those are beautiful. Waiting for my clump to grow.

I have another color that will bloom out soon....."Alida". Those were just planted last fall.

This is Alida.....not my picture but from Brent and Becky's website.

Nice clump of KH.

They're all beautiful, and the Katherine Hodgkins are outstanding.

While we've had lovely weather, I've been indoors all week with some king of illness and cough. Today was my first day out, and nothing could have started out better than to see clumps of reticulated iris. I love them because they are so pretty and also because they are so reliable. They are the true harbingers of spring along with crocus. Only this year, we've also got alliums that have started their growth too.

I am waiting for Frank Elder to open.

"Alida" has bloomed out today.......FFO with more to come!

Sorry, double post!

This message was edited Mar 12, 2012 2:24 PM

Same clump of "Alida" with more flowers opened.....have 4 clumps of these and I love the blue! The second picture is "Katharine Hodgkin" again....7 clumps and they are blooming their hearts out!

KH is a gorgeous plant.

I should have Frank Elders soon.

Frank Elder is pretty! I may have to get that one too!

Its hard foe mw to tell KH and FE apart

Those Iris Reticulata are all so pretty. Sorry to say that I still don't have any Iris Reticulata in my garden. I have been wanting to get some for years. I will just have to be smart and order some for fall planting.

How tall does the folliage (not the blooms) get? I think they put out folliage again in the fall if I am not mistaken. How tall?

The foliage continues to grow after blooming but nothing in the fall. Grape hyacinths put out new foliage in the fall though. IR foliage gets about 10-12" here before it dies back.

Oh OK, thanks. Don't know why I thought it came up again in the fall.

I really like my iris reticulata. The first iris to bloom in the spring!

I think for sure I should get Reticulata 'Harmony' as I do not think I can go wrond with that one. But maybe I should get some other colors too?

Harmony is so pretty and it does stand out. There is a yellow also.......I would have to look it up 'cause I cant spell it...."Dandifordia" or something like that. And the others I added last fall.

The Iris Reticulata are such a welcome sight at the end of a long and often very cold winter. Usually we notice the bloom before the foliage which is distinctive. They never rebloom here (they probably need another cold winter), but the foliage, which is hollow and strap-like, is actually triangular if cut across. The foliage gets very tall with brown tips, and the best part is that you always know where they are planted by the continuous foliage. They are definitely an alpine type flower, and they seem to thrive on neglect.

The pictures of the flowers are so pretty.

Clump of Harmony is doing well for us. Love seeing it as we come in the driveway. Scattered purple & purple & white stripped crocus are also very sweet.

luv'em

Reticulatas are done here. Natasha was a big disapointment.

They are done here also.......didn't last long. Even my daffs are going fast.

Has anyone here ever seen Natasha bloom significantly? I can see my 'Clairette' and a few other blues from twenty feet away, but I've never seen a clump of white or near-white I. reticulata anywhere but the catalogs.

I've tried it a couple of times, wanting some white flowers with the blue after the snowdrops and before the hyacinths, but I don't recall seeing even a blossom.

Natasha is infamous for doing poorly. I think that it should be taken off the market. Usually poor first yr bloom & then nothing.

Mine were first year and I would hardly call them blooms.
I agree with iris MA .too bad I didnt know about the poor performance when I was ordering.

I'm glad to hear it wasn't just me. There are no real full sun flower beds in my tiny garden, so it doesn't surprise me when sun-lovers fade out, but now at least I can save my money for visible flowers.

The reticulatas did well for me this year in 7a, but I think that was because they started almost a month ago here and were almost done when the heat arrived. They're so vivid when they open in cold weather, and so faint and insubstantial when they're spent, like beached jellyfish. It's a real disappointment in years when their season spans less than a week!

YES!!! My first TB buds are here!!
deb