New to Iris...can I purchase/plant now?

I was passing thru Wally World the other day, taking advantage of their incredible low prices on 2 cu ft MG potting mix, and saw the Iris display....now that I have a place with some sun and lots of space to plant it occurred to me that Iris might be an interesting diversion from my obsession with tomatoes. I remember fondly the plantings of my mother and my aunt....

....so I bought 4 packages - 8 rhizomes of the bearded ones. took them out today to plant, and they are almost certainly dead, I think. anyway, stuck them in the ground as directed. if nothing happens in 10 days (is thatt long enough?) I will pull them out and return them to WW.

so, my questions:

1. is it too late to plant bearded or Siberian Iris....zone 7b/8a, my tomatoes are 2" and the roses are just starting to bloom, the azaleas are finishing, the camelias never did anything this year!

2. what is a good place to buy on the web at this time of year, if it is not too late. looking for good bulbs cheap, nothing special at this point....though I have 45 varieties of tomatoes the Iris obsession has not hit yet...

Michael

Beware the iris obsession will probably hit.

Michael , I too have bought a couple iris at WW. One was labeled correctly, two were not at all. I try to avoid it now. Save your tags and receipt you may need them. I too cant help but look at them but the ones at my WW sure did look dead yesterday !

I think this is a great time to look at and purchase bearded iris. The suppliers will start shipping in June I believe. Many places are recommended here, www.iriscitygardens.com is fairly near us.

good luck
charlotte

Michael,

It is more likely that they are not dead, just dormant. Unless the rhizomes are shriveled, they will most certainly survive. If you planted them correctly (with the top either barely covered or not covered at all) they will put down roots and you will eventually see the little green blades coming up. You'll have to wait longer than 10 days though and they won't bloom for you this year, but by next spring you should have wonderful iris. Be patient, they are certainly worth the wait. And move over tomatoes, you'll be bitten with the Iris bug in no time!!! LOL

Oh yeah, the questions:

1. No, it is not too late to plant either Tall Bearded or Siberian Iris. In fact, for some of us in the colder climates, it is rather early. My Sibs are starting to come up and my TB's will bloom soon and then I will plant more....hehehe.

2. I'm sure that someone here can give you lots of online sources. I personally like www.snowpeakiris.com here in Oregon but there are many many excellent suppliers. Best of luck and welcome to this forum.

Michael,
I doubt they are dead. This is definitely a good time to plant siberians (my favs). You are probably already in trouble. You have the collector gene. Irises are what started me on this whole mess!

Welcome Michael,

Are you in for a treat. As long as your Rhizomes aren't mildewed or rotten, then they have a good fighting chance. Put them in, don't disturb them or drown them and see what they do. You could put some 5-10-10 or some bone meal near them - but not directly on them. Beware of bone meal if you've got critters.

Bearded Iris are really tough.

And now is the time to order Iris for the fall. If you go to the Garden Watchdog you can see all the Iris vendors and their ratings. Many who aren't rated are still good, just haven't had a rating yet. But be aware, Iris browsing can be catching. :-)

http://davesgarden.com/gwd/advanced.php?search_text=iris

The problem with buying irises from the "marts" at this time of year are two-fold. Firstly, these large retailers have a horrible reputation for selling misidentified irises. This isn't a problem if you don't care about growing named irises ... or even irises that necessarily look like the ones on the package ... but it is a problem if you actually want what you thought you were paying for. Secondly, the irises available at the marts right now were probably dug and packaged last summer. One should expect them to be badly dessicated ... perhaps fatally so ... by this time.

Sibs, being beardless irises, should never be allowed to dry out when out of the ground. If you purchased them bareroot and dry, they are almost certainly dead.

The best place to buy irises is from a specialized commercial iris grower. They will guarantee their irises to be freshly dug, healthy, and true to name. Many of them also sell their irises quite inexpensively. You can find a listing of many of the most popular commercial growers on the links page of the AIS at:

http://www.irises.org/links.htm

I don't know anything about your climate, but if your temps will be rising into the 90s within the next month, I suggest you wait until after temps have cooled in the fall to plant any Sibs. Beardeds can be planted now. If your temps are really hot, you might want to give them some afternoon shade for the first month or so until they are well-rooted. Or you could pot them up and keep them in a semi-shady spot until they're rooted before planting in the garden.

Laurie