Irises growing wild in an old irrigation ditch

I have several large clusters of irises growing in an old irrigation ditch in a retired cranberry bog on my property. They have been there as long as I have lived on the property (1994), and I never paid much attention to them, but having found this forum and caught the iris bug, my interest in them has been renewed. I will post pictures of the flowers and the foliage, and if anyone can tell me anything at all about them, I would be very happy to learn! Most of the spikes are between 3 and 4 feet tall, and the foliage in the1-1/2 to 3 foot range. The roots are currently submerged, and grow along quite happily with cat o' nine tails, various ferns, and our native impatiens (jewelweed). At some point, when I am a little more comfortable with handling them, I would be happy to give away some of the rhizomes should anyone be interested, as the clumps are quite gigantic, having been left as they are for I-don't-know-how-long.

Another shot, this time of some of the foliage.

Another close up of a flower.

Yet another...

Some more foliage...

And one last snap of them..... if anyone needs more detailed photos for identifying, or if you just like them, let me know.... Camera is ready :)

That looks like Iris versicolor, though it could also be Iris virginica, I suppose. I am only familiar with the former as it is our only native iris in my neck of the woods.

Thank you, Laurie. I looked up pictures of both of those and they all look very familiar, one virginica type for sale on a website looking very much like a couple of the irises I put up, and a versicolor type looking just like the yellow/purple iris I posted. Unfortunately I lack the experience with and eye for irises to really be able to make any final determination, but I'll keep studying them. Thanks for the tip!

Gorgeous!

The 1:36 posting look like an old water color painting. I absolutely adore the picture and would love to have some of the iris. Could I trade with you for some of the Iris like shown in this trade thread?

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/520470/

Please let me know,

Judy

This message was edited Jun 15, 2005 10:32 PM

I would love to have some of those Iris, but I really dont have anything to trade except tulip or Amaryllis bulbs.I dont know the colors or names of any of them..please let me know if you are interested..
Karen

Judy and Karen, you've both got mail. I'd be happy to trade.

Greg

Greg are there two varieties or just the one.. I'm slow this morning.

Greg I have some old fashion purple iris if you want to do a trade. Let me know.

Lisa Moore