Favorite Siberian Irises????

i would like to add siberian irises (different colors and unusal ones) to the garden in the spring. i have dance ballerina dance, aqua whispers and jewelled crown. do you have a favorite? belinda

SHAKER'S PRAYER is my favorite. It's lavender with an intricate vein pattern down the falls. More importantly, it's an incredibly vigorous grower, impressively tall, and a reliable bloomer.

ROARING JELLY is another rapid clumper and reliable performer, though lacks SP's height.

REPRISE is a fairly standard violet purple color, but it's another very strong grower and reliable bloomer, PLUS it might repeat bloom, too.

PANSY PURPLE is very dark purple with slightly lighter shading around the rims of the falls and a spectacular velvety sheen. A blooming clump in full sun is a sight to behold.

ROKU OJI is fun with its flat, six-fall form and dark blue-purple color with brightly contrasting white signals.

You can see pics of all of these in the PlantFiles.

Laurie

Some of my favorites include:

Banish Misfortune
Blueberry Fair
Coronation Anthem
Fisherman's Morning
Over In Gloryland
Pansy Purple
Percheron
Roaring Jelly
Shaker's Prayer
Strawberry Fair
Sultan's Ruby


I have quite a few others as well, but they are all newer...so I haven't tested them enough to recommend them. However, if you're interested in the unusual, check out:

Creme Caramel
Drowsy Maggie
Emily Ann
Here Be Dragons
Lemon Veil
Neat Trick
Off She Goes
Salamander Crossing
Sarah Tiffney
Snow Prince
White Amber

Here's a couple of good DG links with lots of pics for you to browse:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/519562/

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/511077/

Have fun!

Laura

Oh oh oh! Thanks for the links Laura! I really enjoyed looking at them - I'm new to siberians too and I planted a bunch this fall. One I have that is two years old and did bloom last year is a double that I'm crazy about called RIGAMAROLE.

Here's a picture of the whole plant.

That's a beauty! Thanks for sharing.

I've become more interested in the sibs and hope to add some next year too.

thanks everyone for the help!! i have a long list, now.

banish misfortune
careless sally
cool spring
isabella
lady vanessa
lavender fair
lemon veil
mesa pearl
neat trick
ranman
reprise
salmander crossing
shadowed eyes
shall we dance
sky wings
somebody loves me
uncorked
emily anne
lorena cronin
candystriper
echo the wind
shaker's prayer
roaring jelly
pansy purple
roku oji
mysterious monique
rikugi sakura
blueberry fair
percheron
sultan's ruby
all oop
rigamorale
here be dragons
china spring

now, i need to choose the ones that i REALLY need!! LOL

belinda

Well, that list ought to keep you busy for a while! Just so you know, Candystriper and Mysterious Monique are Versicolors , Ali Oop is a Pseudacorus Cross and China Spring is some sort of species cross, but I can't recall which at the moment. Basically, they are all water types and would require more water than the sibs would. I grow Mysterious Monique and Candystriper in my garden. They're great.

That's quite a list, Belinda! Just so you know, though, CANDYSTRIPER and MYSTERIOUS MONIQUE are versicolors, not Siberians. Also, ALLY OOPS comes from unknown parentage but is presumably a species cross of Siberian X pseudacorus.

Laurie

P.S.

If you're looking for some good sources to buy siberians and many other kinds of irises, I recommend trying:

Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden at www.flowerfantasy.net

Joe Pye Weed's Garden at http://www.geocities.com/jpwflowers/

Snowpeak Iris and Daylilies at www.snowpeakiris.com

Mid-America Garden at
www.mid-americagarden.com

Eartheart Gardens at
www.eartheartgardens.com

EZiris.com at
www.siberianirisusa.com

Iris City Gardens at
www.iriscitygardens.com

Ensata Gardens at
www.ensata.com

Sans Souci Nursery at
www.irises.com

Wildwood Gardens (no website)
PO Box 250
Molalla, OR 97038

I'm sure there are others, but those should give you a wide range to choose from. :0]

You beat me to the keyboard, Laura!

CHINA SPRING is a Sib. It is SPRINGS BROOK X I. typhifolia.

Oh wowie! I was just wondering what some good iris sources were! I have ordered from Schreiner's, Ensata (for Louisianas) and Iris City. The siberians that I planted this fall have brown foliage now - is that normal for this time of year for recently planted siberians? (worry is my middle name - lol!) What a great thread daylily970.

thanks again! i can see that the list is going to get bigger.

i have ordered from aitken's samon creek, i got japanese irises to put along the stream i put in this fall. also, ordered from snowpeak iris, denise send wonderful irises.

this the stream, i planted louisiana irises in the stream and along the stream japanese irises.

do you plant the water type iris like louisiana irises?

belinda

belinda~

I don't grow Lousianna's. I wish I could, but I just don't have enough room to grow all of the kinds I'd like to. I grow Japanese, Siberian, Versicolors, TB's, BB's, IB's, SDB's, MDB's and a few Spurias. I love your water feature. It sounds like you planted your LA's and JI's in the right places! I bet they're going to put on quite a show! I've heard that you can grow versicolors in marshy conditions, so you could probably plant them in with your LA's. I just have mine in regular garden soil and add extra water.

laurie~

I was laughing because we posted almost the exact same thing at the same time. I must be thinking of some other species cross with "China" in the name.

lilyfan~

I have quite a few sibs that haven't put up new shoots yet. The foliage is just brown and they're kind of sitting there. I have them well-mulched and in the right soil, so we'll see what they do come Spring. I'm guessing it's normal for sibs planted later in the season not to show new growth until Spring.

Laura

Oh good - thank you Laura! :-)

It's normal for newly planted siberian irises to be brown above ground this time of the year, they're just taking a nap - they'll be fine in the spring. I'm dividing Siberian Irises here in central Alabama with the temps still in the high 60's and mid 70's. I cut them back at the same time. I recently bought 27 new ones from Homestead Farms in Owensville, Mo. Website is homesteadfarms.com, they have some nice pics of their products, and give you a phone number to call. They are a specialty nursery, and the owner will talk plants with you. I bought Eric the Red, Roaring Jelly , Butter and Sugar, and Gelber Mantel to add to the ones I already have. I think the root systems of those I bought look great. They should do well.
Ray

Thanks for the new website. I'll have to check them out!

Laura

i have finish my list. i need to cut it down to 20 siberians irises. which 20 would you choose?

creme caramel
sweet little veil
ally oop
banish misfortune
blueberry fair
candystriper
careless sally
china spring
cool spring
echo the wind
fourfold lavender
here be dragon
isabella
lady vanessa
lavender fair
lemon veil
mesa pearl
mysterious monique
neat trick
pansy purple
percheron
ranman
rigamarole
roku oji
salmander crossing
shadowed eyes
shaker's prayer
shall we dance
sky wings
somebody loves me
sultan's ruby
uncorked
blackberry jubilee
strawberry fair
lorena cronin
over in gloryland
pink haze
roaring jelly
dandy's hornpipe
emily anne
diana blue
pink pepper
super ego
soft blue
snow prince
berlin tiger
whodunit.

i need help!!!!!!!!

belinda

Well, if it helps, the 20 I'd choose would be:

Creme Caramel
Banish Misfortune
Blueberry Fair
Candystriper
Careless Sally
Echo the Wind
Here Be Dragons
Lemon Veil
Mysterious Monique
Pansy Purple
Salamander Crossing
Shaker's Prayer
Somebody Loves Me
Sultan's Ruby
Blackberry Jubilee
Strawberry Fair
Over in Gloryland
Roaring Jelly
Emily Anne
Snow Prince

These would give you a great variety in colors and they all have nice growth habits. All the choices you have down are nice, though.

Laura

This message was edited Nov 29, 2005 3:20 PM

thanks, laura! it does help. i wanted a variety of colors. it's really hard to pick. my plan is start with about 20 this spring and add more later. belinda

Assuming from your list that you don't want just Sibs, I'll start off with the 4 that aren't Sibs so you'll have representatives of some other species and species crosses:

Candystriper
Mysterious Monique
Berlin Tiger
Alley Oops

Now for the 16 Sibs ... hmm ... I'll start with the ones I grow and particularly enjoy then add some that I'd like to grow in the future.

Shaker's Prayer
Roaring Jelly
Pansy Purple
Lemon Veil
Roku Oji
Percheron
Echo the Wind
Isabelle
Mesa Pearl
Somebody Loves Me
Over in Gloryland
Strawberry Fair
Here Be Dragons
Emily Anne
Blueberry Fair
Salamander Crossing

Laurie

Well, Belinda, if you're anything like me~good luck on limiting your list to only 20! LOL! :0]

thanks, laurie!

laura, my dh will tell you, i have self control and i will only order what's on the list. LOL that's is a lie, i always order more. with your list and laurie list, there's 27. i have plans to add more smaller irises, japanese irises and a few spuria.

again thanks for the help laurie and laura

belinda

The Sibs and JIs can be grown under similar cultural conditions, but whereas they need acidic soil, spurias need alkaline. You're going to have to do some specific amending to create the appropriate soil pH for the irises you wish to grow.

Hmmm. I only have 10 colors of Sibs & I'm not at a Saturn waiting room computer, so I can't even access my database.

Anyway, I like my Illinis Charm and Limeheart the best so far. Some DGers donated a few new colors this year to my garden---I'll let you know if I like them next summer...

Thanks SO MUCH flowerfrenzy for all the wonderful Iris links! Now I've got new websites & Irises to look at & have lots of fun spending my $$$ at!!

Always happy to help a fellow "Irisholic".....

So glad to see Snow Prince on the top twenty. I couldn't be without it!
The websites make me want to rip sod and try louisianas. They didn't do well for me at my last 2 homes. Is anyone growing them in zone 5???
Here's Snow Prince.

A closeup.

I just love 'Snow Prince'. Even though the form is species-like, it compliments the coloration (in the way that it's not overpowering, with tons of ruffles) and makes it look so delicate. I don't know of any other sib with that coloration.

P.S. Nice to see you around again boojum!

This message was edited Dec 19, 2005 9:23 PM

boojum, i have snow prince on my list to get, very pretty! do you have any favorites? belinda

I love many. Especially Summer Sky, Kobana, Summer Revels, Sparkle, Over in Gloryland, Pleasures of May, Floating Candles, Here Be Dragons, and Reprise which is average in color but it rebloomed PAST the Japanese last season. I have species crosses like Ally Oops which is very unusual and many others-Sibtosas, lactea, graminea, and pure species ones. If anyone wants to see pics from the garden, let me know. Beardless iris are my favorite flowers but don't tell my beardeds, daylilies, peonies, or roses!
Here's Summer Sky opening.

boojum, i would like to see pictures of your garden. i will have to check out your favorites and the two wanda like. i'm going to order the ones laurie and laura recommended.

belinda

Belinda~

I may have already shared this, but try these links for Siberian pics and info. The second and third ones have a lot of boojum's on pics in them.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/519562/

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/511077/

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/527940/

Thanks, flowerfrenzy! Guess I've posted most of them already on these threads, belinda.

I thought I might save you some work! ;0]

I'd say a ton of work!!!

thanks laura! i checked them out. my list is getting longer. i added 200 irises this fall. i would like to add more smaller/medium irises around the edges of the beds. should i start a new thread or can i ask here. what's everyone favorite iris?

If you start a new thread, you'll probably get more responses related to the smaller (I assume bearded) irises.