Louisiana Iris

My Louisiana iris are beginning to bloom. This is one I bought at the Master Gardener's sale last year, but there was no name on it. It is about 4 ft. tall. The flower itself is not spectacular, but the color is.

This another view

Thats gorgeous!! I have purple and yellow and just got mauve and ??..
Is the color a deep magenta?

The color is just like the photo. I think it is a species plant, but I have been trying to find which one, and although I have found some that look like the flower, I have not found any that are that tall.

This is another LA iris. The tag said that it was Freddie Boy.

I think I have one that color, I'll check on it today and get back to you. I have 24 different colored LA iris's and 500 TB iris's. I'll snap a picture and send the similar LA to you. (I am new by the way, this is my 2nd post.)

Welcome weegy12 to Dave's Garden. I think you will love it here. I only have a few Louisiana Iris, but I do like them a lot. I lived farther north in Texas and at one time had quite a few TB Iris, but had to leave them when I moved. I have gotten a few since moving, but do not have the open space here to put many. I keep trying to squeeze more in...

love that Freddie Boy. Such a bright color!

My first Louisiana iris of the season bloomed last week. It has lost it's tag, but I think it might be Gerry Marsteller. I know I have Gerry Marsteller in there somewhere . . . lol

Cheri'

Sudie Goodman, Zone 8b, SE Broaddus, TX
I have La Iris.

Bloom Color is purple
Planted under big pine tree
Does not bloom too well
Will plant in pond as soon as I find how to do this.
Hope, by transplanting to fish pond, I'll get more blooms.
Thanks for any suggestions on planting into pond water; especially using LA Iris.
Best regards to all

Mine are not in a pond, but bloom well. I do water them a lot when it dry. They do need sun. I have yellow ones that never bloom because they are under a tree, but some from that same clump blooms in the sun.

Thank you midsgarden for your wonderful welcome. I was going to take a picture for you today of my LA that looks like yours, had trouble formatting my disk on my digital, but will get it for you. If you ever need TB's or know someone, I have a little garden open for business...500 TB's and some spuria's and LA's. Thanks for the welcome...

welcome weegy'
FREDDIE BOY ? R&I description .
Introduced by Mertzweiller in !974 .
32"-36'' midseasson bloom
standards, pink /with orange cast falls deep red .
I am about two weeks away from Bloom
i grow mine in Pots in ponds .

Sundry ,descriptionof Gerry Marsteller is 32' m-L
light magonolia purple -fadeing to to cream edge . !1988 by R, Raabe

That is a great looking iris sundry. I hope to get some more Louisianas. I have a couple more with buds, one of which is Black Game Cock and the othe was tagged Charlies Tresses. Thanks for the discriptions tazzy. I have seen some photos of Freddie Boy, and sometimes the colors look different.

midsgarden, Your LI's are beautiful, as is Sundry's, do you have any pics of the Black Game Cock? I'm new to LI's but think they are stunning. I hope to be putting some in the front yard if I ever get it ready to plant. I'll have to check out weegy's nursery if I can track it down in some of these other iris threads. I'm interested in the black varieties of irises at the moment, but all of them are beautiful.
Chad

I love that shade of violet midsgarden. Reminds me of the color of Hyacinth Bean vines.

Susan

This is my Black Game Cock, which is blooming now. It has done very well. I have buds on one called Charlies Tresses that should open in a few days.

GAAAWD! That's beautiful, midsgarden. Thank you for posting it, and will you post a pic of the Charlies Tresses when it blooms? Do you have any idea if these irises are deer resistant? I'll have to look into that.
Chad

I lived out in the boonies before moving into town. I brought these with me, and I had lots of deer around the place. They were never bothered,. You might look up durionusery.com for some Louisiana Iris. The nursery is called Louisiana Nursery. Charlies Tresses is a more blue iris. I also have some yellow ones.

Tazzy, that pic was of the first flower, and it didn't look quite right to me, either. Subsequent flowers look more like Gerry Marsteller. These poor babies are so neglected and crowded it's amazing they bloom at all!

Midsgarden and Chad, thank you!


I only have a few Louisiana hybrids and they have been neglected. I bought a few a couple years ago, mainly because I wanted Cajun Sunrise. That one has never bloomed for me. =(

Here is Professor Jim

Cheri'

Sundry, Prof Jim must be an art professor. What a show off! If you ever divide your clumps let me know, please. Check your mail.
Chad

Professor is a Doll

Thank you both.

I'm still waiting for blooms from VooDoo Music and Voo Doo Rite. But, they may not bloom for me this year.

Cheri'

Great names! Makes me want to throw chicken bones for some reason.

Sounds like they were named by" Marie Labeaux."

I am new to DG too and really love all the information that's out there.

I have many of these LA iris in my yard (not a great pic, but oh well). Just put them in this year. It appears that they are done blooming and I have cut the seed pods off several. They appear to be shedding the older leaves. New ones are appearing, but the older ones have a slight yellow tint to them. Is this normal? I have them mulched to be sure that they don't get sunscald. They are in full sun and I try to keep them moist. Of course the huge abundance of clay in the yard does help with that part.

Any thoughts? I certainly don't want to lose them during the summer. What do you recommend for fertilizer for them? I would prefer a water soluble fertilizer because the beds are new and I had to put the weed cloth down around them to keep the grass out. It is difficult to get fertilizer in there really well. Also, I think I read that the best time to divide them is in August or September. Does that sound right? I bought these in pots from Home Depot and some of them are quite large in their spread. They were in fairly small pots, but now have spread out quite a bit. I assume that means that they need to be divided??

I would really appreciate any advice.

Thanks,
Sheila

Azalea food .they get high on acid LOL

Louisiana iris have the nasty habit of dying back in the summer. For me they are evergreen, but during June and July it's best to have something else planted in front of them. The old foliage dies back as the new foliage takes over. They look like heck. =( For some folks, they go completely dormant during the hottest part of the summer.

It's best to leave the dying foliage alone, so the plant can draw as much energy as possible from it, just like any other iris.

Look around and see what is getting big and bushy right about now in your part of the world. Plant whatever that is in front of the Louisiana Iris. The upside is that the Louisiana Iris stay green all winter.

Having said that, make sure you keep the rhizome covered with mulch (I use oak leaves, for the acid) to prevent sun scald and to hold in moisture. And Tazzy is right about the acid. I work coffee grounds into the dirt, dump it on top, whatever. If you feed it like an azalea or even a rose it will love you.

Iris in general get divided in fall, but I'm planning to divide mine when they start doing the dormant thing in about a month. Mine are way overcrowded because I didn't get 'em divided last year.

Hope that helps.
Cheri'

Thanks for the information. On the coffee grounds, do they have to be watered in right then or can they be put down and then watered in next time I water (in other words, can it burn the plant like regular fertilizer if not watered in right then)? Coffee grounds I have on a daily basis, so it would be no big deal to save them for a few days and then put them down. I assume it takes quite a bit.

Other than waiting until they no longer bloom as well, what is the best way to tell if they need to be divided? Also, I am new to all this, so is it pretty obvious when you dig them up where they could be divided?

Thanks again. I am trying to keep everything healthy and alive, but honestly don't know what I am doing on a lot of this. That's what's so great about DG.

If you have access to dried pine needles, they also work great. I have lots of pine here, and a few oaks, but when the pine needles start shedding, I rake them up and put them on my LA iris to keep them from drying up and also for the acid.I do the same with my azaleas and hydrangeas.

I dump fresh coffee grounds right on 'em, and I don't water it in. I've been known to dump a cup of coffee that got cold on me right on them as well. LOL! They don't seem to mind. Really, I keep a bucket next to the garbage can in the kitchen. It's where I dump the coffee grounds. When it gets about half full, I separate out the filters that got left behind and go spread them around. What with the Louisiana Iris, Azalea, Rose, Gardenia, Banana Tree . . . there is never enough to go around. Plus, worms love coffee grounds, and we love worms!

I don't have pine needles, but I have tons of oak leaves that serve the same purpose.

Mine are in too small of container, so I can tell they need dividing. Someone who knows more will come along and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the clump will start to die in the center when it really gets too crowded. I think that would be a strong indication that you waited too long. I don't know what would be the sign it's time to divide. When you dig 'em up and wash off the rhizome, it'll be obvious where to break 'em.

Cheri'

midsgarden, I'm in luck because I have all of the plants you mentioned. I've been sending all my needles to be recycled.
shuggins, welcome to DG. It's the best garden site on the web, and it's so easy to get help from people like midsgarden, sundry, and tazzy.
I think LI were a great choice for your yard. The pic you posted is beautiful.
Chad

Thanks Chad. They didn't seem to last that long, but they were great. I am hopeful for next year. This year all the beds are new in the back, so everything is too small and kind of empty looking, but I have the vision in my mind of what it will look like next year. My DH is completely unimpressed this year, but of course, he can't see the vision in my head. I have a total of 20 LI, 4 rose bushes, 4 different kinds of daylilies, 3 different types of shrubs, 2 Hibiscus, more petunias than I choose to count, star jasmine, hostas, sword ferns, ,marigolds and a butterfly ginger. Geez, when I list it all out, no wonder I am so tired. I tried to look at my neighbors' houses and use things that weren't in their yards. One thing I will say about Houston is that if some one ever figures out that something grows well, everyone in town gets one. Now I guess we will see if all my experimenting pays off. I did try to stay will things that were hardy for my zone or more exactly, things that will tolerate the oppressive heat that we are going to be getting into. So wish me luck...

shuggins, You can look forever on DG following some of these threads and links and get so many ideas and see so many beautiful pictures that you won't be able to decide WHAT to do.

A pic . of small arbor over one of my small ponds ,
that i grow Louisiana's in and in back ground
is of part of my jungle ? LOL
No grass grows under my feet on this small city lot ?
no room its all flowers

Attached are some pictures of my iris plants. These are typical of the plants that I am looking to divide this fall. I know it's hard to tell from the pictures, but with the wide spread and very few leaves in the center (just the rhizome). Do you these look like they need to be divided to you guys?

Thanks,
Sheila

Here is another picture from a different view.

Thanks again.
Sheila

for midsgarden in Port Neches, Zone 9a

What a lovely and interesting pic of your Louisiana Iris! I'm so anxious to know how you were able to get an excellent shot at an angle? LOL

I don't dare try to guess!

I have several of these buties and plan to expand my Louisiana Iris bed!

By the way, when is best season (month) to visit Sea Rim beach?

Thank you, & stay safe down there near the Gulf!

Tazzy, I like the idea of no grass. I am getting there myself. When I moved here there was only a row of azaleas across the back of the property, and the rest was all grass. Now there is about half as much grass, and I just keep on digging.
shuggins, I am not too great on when to divide iris. I do mine about every other year in the fall and they seem to do well that way. I have a lot of shade here and I think the next time I divide them, I will dig a new bed and move them. My back yard has 5 tall pines and some smaller oak trees, and a young redbud.
Sudie, there is no telling how I arrived at that angle. I sometimes wonder about those things myself. As far as Sea Rim Goes, I really don't know. I guess the summer would be best. I have not been there in a couple of years. There was so much seaweed the past couple of years. I am sure that they would clean the beaches at Sea Rim though as is is a state park.