Impulse Purchase - 400 Iris rhizomes (I'm guessing)

There was a yard sale...... unknown Iris in a BIG box. The woman said she thinned out all her beds so they were various colors. Deciding I wanted some, I asked "How much?" A piece with about 5 rhizomes was $1, so I asked how much for the box .... $25. That's how I came about sitting here shaking my head, wondering what "the real story" is since they only have very small shoots showing (no fans) and trying to figure out just what I'm going to do with all of them.

Good thing I'm going to the KYRU tomorrow so I can corner "Wandasflowers" and ask for suggestions. Maybe plant them temporarily until they bloom so I'll know what I have???

What a way to "get into Iris"!!!

I've found they do really well in pots !

No Matter Whats in the Box....
You Got a Terrific Buy!

Be Sure and Get Those Babies in the Ground.
So They Set Their Roots Before the Winter Sets In.
And Remember Me Next Summer for Trading...(smile).

first its Iris bug that bites you then while your bent over planting them along comes the daylily bug -OUCH!!! oh NO its not the last bug to bite watch out for those HOSTA bugs-they are always lurking waiting for you to bend over again!

HAPPY PLANTING!!!

notmartha,

That is exactly what happened to me too!!! When I started on DG a few months ago I had 2 different irises. Now I have 22 different irises!! Then I saw the daylily co-op. I only had some ditchlilies before that, but now I have 10 named daylilies. My next project is making a shade bed so I can fill it with hostas.....starting with the one ZZTOPSOIL gave me!

Watch out judycooksey, those bugs will get ya!!!

Last fall I got in a bind just before frost and couldnt get some iris in the ground. I just placed them on the ground and covered them with topsoil (1 dollar a bag) and this spring they all came up well and some bloomed. Does Ok in a bind when you have so many and cant figure just where you want them.

marclay - Thanks for that tip, thats good to know since I just ordered 24 that I have no where to put right now.

Marclay - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!

We just got back from the KYRU, it was great fun and all the DG people were great!!! We're tired now!!

I'll never finish planting!!!

Don't tell Judy but I think there were lots more than 400! I built her an eight by four bed that she planted almost 200 -- hardly a dent in her "buy"...

Judy, be sure to photograph & mark them when they bloom. They'll make great trading stock for next summer. All you need is a pohtot. maybe you'll have some old historics in ther to trade with me.

It was great seeing you at the Round Up! I put my last iris in the ground today.
I'll be very surprised if any of them bloom for me in the spring. That's okay--i have plenty to enjoy while I wait... :)

NotMartha what a funny, but true, comment you made!!!

What a "Lucy Thing" (I Love Lucy) I did, but it isn't the first!! However I do hope it is the last!!! I keep promising myself, no more sweets, chocolate, volumn/bargain buying ...........

wandasflowers - I'll have to take pictures of all of them when they bloom so you can see if there are by any chance any "good finds" that you want. (KYRU is a blurr since I had a vicious headache which caused us to run late.)

I'm always looking for old breeds from the 1920s to 1950s. Big, dogeared ones with speckles or stripes. Tazzy brought me some from her garden at the Kentucky Round Up. YES! :) happy dance!

Post some samples!!! Then when I'm out and about in the spring, if I happened to see any, maybe I can talk whoever owns them into giving me a start.

Okay! Frivolite is one of my favorite old dears. big & multicolored.

I was told this one was "Chantilly"--Tazzy, any ideas? Love the multicolors and floppy "dog eared" falls.

Color Carnival knocks me out everytime it blooms!

King Tut is old and features an unusual color combination.

Is there a place like Tinkers but for Irises. Where you can look up the year, breeder etc..?

omg thats alot of iris to plant!!! good luck girlfriend!!
You need a huge FIELD!!!!!!

its freezing (literally)here tonight!

I'm sending out packages of "early Christmas presents"!!!

We're working on adding data to the DG Iris database. I have quite a few iris blooms in. Remember to post any iris photos you have on file--I'd love to see them!.

They have started to bloom... I know nothing about iris, but these are much shorter and smaller than the few others I have.

- First lesson I learned is I planted them too close. I probably should have only planted 1/8 as many in that bed as I did. Do you think that is correct?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Judy

Yes, that looks like they're planted much too close. There are several potential problems with close planting:

1) Clumps will grow into each other very quickly, making it extremely difficult to separate clumps from each other when you dig and divide.

2) Close planting requires frequent dividing.

3) Closely planted beds will become quickly exhausted of soil nutrients.

4) Close planting restricts air circulation between plants, leaving them particularly susceptible to leaf spot infections.

5) If beds are very crowded, flowers may not have enough room to open properly and may be difficult to see when they do open.

Under ideal conditions, I prefer to plant the small beardeds (miniature dwarf and standard dwarf) at 1' spacings and the taller medians (intermediate, border, miniature tall) and talls at 2'. That gives them room to grow and expand for several years before dividing becomes necessary.

Build yourself a few more beds so you'll be able to transplant some of that wonderful bounty after bloom is finished and give them room to grow!

Happy irising,

Laurie

Judy,
You say these are shorter-- it could be because they were planted so late & didn't have time to store up full energy for the Spring , or they could be a shorter iris version. Dwarf iris (6-12 inches) & Intermediate Bearded (12-24) are naturally shorter and bloom well before the Tall Beardeds.

Are Tall Bearded iris blooming in the other beds in your area? Another possibility is Border Beardeds that are naturally short and bloom the same time as Tall Beardeds.

You do have them planted close together, but maybe this will be a good year for seeing them bloom & marking the color on each fan with a pen. You will want to let them rest & store energy until midsummer. In July, I would dig up the iris by color & plant them by clumps.

Be sure to phtotgraph them all so we can see what you have! Since there are soo many iris it would be hard to find their name, but at least you will know the color range for trading. Maybe you will have a real strangely marked one in there to trade with me!

Judy, If you need to thin them out and need a good home, I will happily take some of these on. 400 is a huge number. You did seem to plant them pretty close together and if they are all happy and take off for you, you will need more room in a very short time. I also don't mind not knowing what colors they are either. I like surprises. Please e-mail me and let me know.
Martha

ill take some too. hehe

i love the yellow one in the picture.


i seperated all mine when i moved and now they look like i never did. i guess they liked being close and friendly.

what a great price. now see when i go to yard sales they never have any flowers. hmmm maybe i need to visit the state above me. hehe

Last October I was begging people to take them and several did. What you see are the only ones I have left and I want them to bloom before I thin, but I will keep you all in mind when I do.

Judy

Judy, I'm always up for a trade! let's see em bloom! :)

Very few bloomed. I suppose it was because they were planted so late and crowded. Two colors yellow and purple, all blooms of a color appear to be alike. There is the purple.

Picture of another purple

Picture of another yellow

Wow! I've got all 3 in my garden from generous DGers! Love your color photos....

Judy, that purple one is exactly the same as my Grandma's iris that finally bloomed... It is very beautiful.... I am not familiar with the yellow at all. I have one yellow that I have not seen bloom yet, I got it from a friend of mine that died from pancreatic cancer last April... I was sure hoping it would bloom this month for her .... Have a great day! .... Hugs, Starr