1st Iris Bloom in 2006!

I would guess that arils/arilbreds may go dormant in some places of the country during the summer months, but here they grow all summer long; and the summer monsoon rains haven't hurt them in the least. So - - it may be location, location, location (and good drainage). ;-)

I would have to agree with Laura that the pure Arils are harder to grow and keep going. Some arils - once they have become acclimated will do fine, other's won't. The arilbreds that do adjust easier in their new environment have TB's, BB,s and the like in their background.

Possibly somone who lives in the upper northeast may have tried growing them and could shed some light from their experience. Or (do you like challenges??).......... buy one or two varieties, do a little experimenting yourself, and then report back to this iris forum with your findings. So we all could be the wiser. :-)

~ Margie

You're probably right, Margie. You do tend to have ALL the luck in your warmer climate when it comes to certain types of iris. Here in the PNW, they're as likely to rot as not. I haven't had much success with them. Maybe it has a lot to do with the annual rainfall as well as when the rain falls?

A good source for those of you with colder, rainier climates might be Mid-America Garden. Their website is:

www.mid-americagarden.com

I would just recommend asking Paul Black before you purchased to see which ones are good for your particular situation.

This is a Dutch iris that was blooming in January. The white ones always bloom first for me. The yellow ones and blue ones have not bloomed yet.

This is a bearded iris that came up from seed, so it doesn't have a name. This is the first time it has bloomed and the first of my bearded iris to bloom this year.

Pretty! I love the shade of yellow on that last one.

Great information Margie & flowerfrenzy! Yes, I like to experiment, so I am willing to try 1 or 2 in an established bed in my garden, plus a few in pots too. I've never had problems with TB Irises rotting, so I'm going to try it and see what happens.

Have we had a separate thread on just Arils/Arilbreds? I afraid that all this wonderful information might get lost in this post. I think lots of gardeners would be very interested in learning more about these beautiful types of Irises. (just my 2 cents worth!)

Kelli: I love your picture of your Dutch Iris. Again, it looks so delicate & dainty. A priceless jewel in ones garden! Congratulations on growing a TB Iris from seed!

I can't really take any credit for the iris grown from seed. It just happened. Several years ago, one or more iris plants produced seed and I saved them and listed then in my trade list. No one was interested so after a while, I threw the seeds into the compost pile. Eventually some of the compost was used in our windowbox planters and an iris came up. I was curious to see what the resulting flower would look like, so I relocated the plant to the yard.

Margie had a great thread on arilbreds last year. Perhaps I can find it - if not, perhaps she can find it. We'll try to get it bumped.

Edited to say that it's done!

This message was edited Mar 20, 2006 8:20 PM

Terrific! Thanks doss!!

Here is Alpine Lace. It bloomed last month too.

Iris blooms? No such luck. Still cleaning off winter debris on warmer days.

That is one good looking iris Doss! I love those red beards!

~ Margie

Another beauty! You have so many lovely Irises in your garden!! I definitely have zone envy!!

This is 'April Jewel'. It was blooming a good month ago also.

This message was edited Mar 25, 2006 12:56 PM

I'm Sooo jealous! Spring fever here in chilly Iowa.

Ditto what Wanda said above!

Here is my first TB iris bloom of the season, 'Bethany Claire'

Your iris look so inviting. (still cleaning & grumbling in beds...)

Bethany Clare is beautiful - what a pretty blue. Isn't the first one great!

"Bethany Clare" is a lovely sky blue color.