Blooming order? Also type of Iris question.

Is there an order to which certain types of iris bloom? I know I have reblooming dwarfs which have already bloomed and will bloom again in November. My tall bearded are blooming now. My dutch iris are just starting while the Japanese and Siberians have buds. Is there a typical order in which different types bloom? I do realize there are earlies and lates.

This was given to me as a Siberian. I have never been sure it is not a Japanese. It is around 3' tall but I have not measured. It does not seem to have the rhizomes like other Japanese yet it does not grow as dense as other Siberians. What is it?

It's hard to tell, as weather-battered as your plant is, but it's definitely NOT JI. It's either Sib (most likely) or possibly versicolor. It's easy to tell the difference between JI and Sib, even when they're not in bloom. JIs have a distinct raised rib running vertically down the center of each leaf. Sibs do not.

There is a general succession of bloom among various iris classes and types, but there can be considerable overlap and out-of-order blooming as a result of climatic conditions in individual gardens in any given year. Among the irises with which I am personally familiar, beardeds start the show in this order: MDB, SDB, IB, BB-MTB-TB. Sibs start blooming with the late TBs and continue after them. Setosa blooms with the early Sibs, while versicolor blooms with the mid to late Sibs. JIs end the season (exclusive of rebloom). I'm afraid I don't know where Dutch typically fit into the bloom sequence, as I've never grown them.

Laurie

Wow Laurie! Thank you for the info. I will go out and look at the leaves and see if that teaches me anything.

I thought I had snapped a pic the other day when the first flower opened. I had wanted to ask about this then, but didn't get to it. It's a bit blurry.

Looks like a diploid Sib to me - probably a bee pod seedling (doesn't look like anything anyone would actually register). I'm no expert on Sibs and species irises, though, so I certainly could be mistaken.

Laurie

So are you saying it is a junk Iris?

I don't consider anything that blooms in my garden to be junk. I even appreciate the bright yellow dandelions that are the first color I see here each spring ... before I tear them out of the ground, that is. I would be very surprised, however, if a flower such as the one in your pic was considered to be an improvement of its type and marketable as a registered iris.

Laurie

It is simply a gift from a friend and cherished because it choses to live and bloom each year in a trouble spot of my yard. :) I am not worried about registering it or if it is named, just curious to know if it is a Sib.

To my eyes it is a Sib.

All that really matters is that you enjoy it, which you clearly do. I have a similarly unremarkable Sib growing in my perennial border which a Sib-knowledgeable grower told me was probably an unregistered bee pod seedling. It hasn't diminished my enjoyment of the plant in bloom.

badseed it a Sib iris and name is ( Shakers Prayer)

This message was edited May 14, 2005 1:12 PM

THIS IS IT ( SHAKERS PRAYERS )when its not beat to death

I have to disagree. Badseed's Sib doesn't look anything like SHAKER'S PRAYER to my eye. Here is how SP looks in my garden.

well don't tell the judges because i had this one i every show since it came out and not once was it kicked out ? shh i guess we have dumb judges around OK . TX, Ark. Kass. mime is darker on cool days it been in the upper eighty's and reach 90 last week

Oh, I'm not suggesting that the photo you posted is incorrect, Tazzy. Yours does look like SP. Badseed's does not, IMHO.

I think Siberians are just too hard to identify with a photo. Some are so slight in differences it's difficult to ID them in person. I try to make it to the Eartheart Garden display every year to take photos and I have to be extra careful marking down the ID of each picture I take... otherwise I can't ID my own photos when I get home. Even then - I wonder if I make a few mistakes. With Sibs there are early-mid-and late varieties just like there are with bearded irises. Here the peak bloom time is about the 2-3rd week of June. Of course it would be earlier in milder climates. The Japanese peak is in mid July here... about a month later.