Pacific Coast Iris - Tis the season continues

The old thread was getting long - but there are beautiful PCI photos there.

So here's a new beginning:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/493877/

PCI "New Blood", Ghio 05

Very velvety looking. I see you have the same "guests" crawling on yours as I do. ;-}

You mean the ones that put the sparkle on them? LOL I've got it Sluggoed but that only does so much.

Gorgeous~even with slug "sparkle"! :0)

Laura

So, photos George?

Rats! the image didn't load.

Here's 'New Blood" again.

And here's a seedling from Ghio's landscaper's special.

Wow, doss! Ghio wasn't kidding when he said that his unnamed seedlings in the special would be as good as or better than the named ones. Beautiful!!!

Laura

Yes and you can't beat just over $1.00 each. I shared my buy with a neighbor from DG. Thought 50 might be just a little too much.

Yes, 50 is a lot..although, I don't know if you can ever have too many irises! If it were me, I probably would have hogged them all! LOL!

Gorgeous Doss................. aaahhh. Wish we could grow those here too. I tried - - but they just didn't live. Guess I'm just going to have to move to California. :-D I hope all your seeds germinate form Ghio's pack of seeds. I'd love to see them all.

~Margie

Those are beautiful, such rich color. I doubt if they would do well for me either-the northern part of California's Central Valley-just too darn hot.

We've had an unusually wet and cool spring, but I expect we'll be hitting the 100's before too long.

Taking pictures of daylilies is the only fun I have in the summer. :-)

Sandy

Not near as pretty as yours, but this is Idle Chatter that has just bloomed for me in Tennesee. I have to grow them in pots. They can't take the summer humidity here and just mildew. So they come in for the winter and again for the summer here.

Neil

You are totally dedicated. And it's a beautiful color!

Here's 'Bowl of Fluff'

Sandy I don't know if they will be happy here either as it is their first year in my garden and may not make it through the summer - especially those in full sun.

Another Ghio seedling

This is Multiplicity, another Ghio 05 intro.

Doss and Neil, those are lovely. 'Idle Chatter' is my favorite shade of pink.

Doss, how hot does it get in Stanford?

Sandy

It's very mild here really. We do tend to get about a week of weather in the summer that is in the high 90's. It doesn't go above 100 and we generally have a breeze no matter how hot it is. Otherwise it's stays in the 80s in the summertime in the day but gets very cool at night. It's a very nice place to live, but the roses sure don't like the changes in temp. Mildew city here.

I used to live very close to the ocean up by Eureka, CA. I really prefer the coastal climate over the valley heat.

Sandy

Me TOO !!!

Wait a darn minute! I want some! Where do I go to get some of these beauties? Just what is PCI's?Will they grow here in Arkansas?...slobber..snot...drool!

P

Hi Bigred-

You would probably have to grow them in pots in Arkansas. They can't take the freezing temps in winter or the humidity in the summer. They are very tempermental here and are easily killed. There are a lot for sale at www.allthingsiris.com.

Neil

I'm glad that there's someone from the South who knows about them. I bought mine from Bayview Gardens. You have to write for their catalog because they don't have a website though. It's only a couple of dollars. You can email them through the Watchdog:
http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/520/

However, Louisianas are just as gorgeous and I'd guess grow pretty well where you are.

Here's a snail free image of "New Blood". I actually think that it was water on the petals being picked up by the camera after looking at other photos - not that it matters. :-)

And this is "Soledad Mission". It's also a Ghio cultivar.

Ooooh goody! I ordered 'Mission Soledad' for this Fall! I'm really enjoying your pictures, doss! Keep 'em coming pretty please! :0)

Laura

Soledad Mission is spectacular. I think that the colors are more intense than the photo. You'll like it a lot. When I was entering it in the plantfiles I called it Soledad Prison but caught it before I posted it. LOL Quite a mistake. It also holds it's flowers up. I've found with some of the others like "New Blood" they tend to droop but it may be just that it's their first year. They don't have much foliage at all but are blooming their little hearts out.

oh they are all so beauitful new blood awesome.. mutipl to all them

I made a collage of the ones in bloom today. The Iris douglasiana is a native of the Northwest coast. Here is a neat virtual tour of some in the native environs http://virtualguidebooks.com/NorthCalif/NorthCalCoast/PuntaGorda/LostCoastIris.html or http://virtualguidebooks.com/NorthCalif/NorthCalCoast/PuntaGorda/LostCoastIris_FS.html for the full screen version.

Beautiful George, and thanks for the link. I'm so pleased that they are blooming this first season. I just read the catalog and he says that they should be in filtered light. I hope that the ones I put in full light will be OK.

Yerba Buena Nursery (in our area) is selling blooming cultivars this next few weeks but I don't think that they are as good as what I'm seeing from the seedlings.
http://www.yerbabuenanursery.com/

Notice that the "native" iris are in full sun at the coast. There are some in town that are in the median strip =full sun. I think they are adapted to our temperate climate, so full sun as far east as the east bay is fine. Go over an other set or two of hills inland and they would likely be toast in very short order, even in shade.

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm used to losing plants but I hate to do it.

Here's another Ghio seedling PCI. They are little wonders. I may buy more for this fall. They are every bit as wonderful as the named cultivars.

That is beautiful, doss! I sure am enjoying seeing your pictures.

I'll have some to add to this thread soon. I went out and checked, and 7 of mine are going to bloom this year. I am really surprised because I just planted them in the Fall.

These were all planted in the fall. Can't wait to see yours!

Weren't you shocked to see blooms on yours? I wasn't expecting any until at least next year. Talk about a pleasant surprise! I can't wait to see them. This is my first year growing them.

Is the bloom size about the same as a Siberian?

They are quite small (3") but even this year I'm getting quite a few blooms at one time. I probably should have planted them farther apart.

Here's Multiplicity in a bunch and it has lots more buds. It was planted in the fall.

Really nice, such vivid colors!

Sandy

I've got that one ordered for this Fall. Glad to see it's so nice!

WOW! I can't believe your getting so many blooms the first year. That's great! :0)

Doss, New Blood is the prettiest most unique iris I have ever seen!
The rest of the photos are beautiful too. Nice to get a sneak peek before mine start blooming.