My Walking Iris

My walking iris is on the move. I remembered that it blooms in early spring so I checked. And sure enough I counted 6 buds today.

Here's what it looked like last year in bloom.

OHhhh, the anticipation! Are you growing in a GH or in your house? I love seeing your pics.

GH

GH, thank you! I have it in an east window of my house. I'm also growing seeds from Brazil that are a yellow one and an all blue one. No idea how many years they will take to bloom!

How large is the container they are in - do they take much room? That is so pretty and it sure is nice to have something blooming now.

It's just in a regular 6" pot and the babies trail down at the end of long leaves. So they need vertical vs. horizontal room. Here's a pic.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/125028/

Wow now that is really neat looking.I don't think I would have enough room even with it hanging from my ceiling.I love the bloom on yours boojum : )

Thanks, cedarnest!

They can become monsters. I find the yellow easier to bloom. Both are really cold sensitive. Even from seeds, they should bloom fairly quickly. Very pretty.

Do you have pics of the yellow? My yellow seeds came mixed (trimezia rupestris and martii). Which do you have or have seen, podster?

My starts came from plantlets (not seeds) I have the N. gracilis that you show above. I don't have any pictures on file of that one but I also have the N. longifolia which is the yellow one. I keep them both in hanging baskets. The leaf stalks of the N. longifolia are shiny green but the N. gracilis looks more like gladiola stalks ~ they are dusty green and ribbed. Right now they look raggedy at the end of winter. I should have provided more heat but they will recover.

This is a shot of the bloom from last summer...

Meant to link to my journal page on this one too... http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/110082/

....and now I see they are the same photo, sorry. Here is a closer shot.

Nice. Here are links to the trimezia. Not sure if they are related but they look a lot like neomaricas. http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/iridaceae/trimezia_martii.html
http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/iridaceae/trimezia_rupestris.html

The bloom sure favors but I am not familiar with the one in your links. We'll have to do the research. : )

Just found this:
"The main difference between Neomarica and Trimezia is that the axis ("stem") is flat in Neomarica and round in Trimezia. The sexual parts are identical."

Great pics all.

My walking iris is purple; I checked today and yes I do have some buds!

David

Boojum, I will have to look close and see which this is for sure... Thanks.

David, is yours solid purple? I'd love to see it when it blooms. Do you keep it indoors or GH?

The bloom almost looks like a large toad lily bloom....very pretty...both of them...I really like the yellow one!

Gorgeous, boojum!! And 6 buds!!

I grew a couple of these years ago and they never did bloom for me, so I traded them away.
Good growing on blooming them indoors!!

Thanks but I just water it weekly (with liquid fertilizer) and it sits in the east window. I just counted 8 buds! Keep em coming! They bloom once then a second bud appears below the first. That means I may have 16 blooms total!!

Can't wait to see photos in bloom!

podster,
Here's a photo of my mother's walking iris (mine came from hers) bloom:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/125027/

Both of us have our main plants in HBs; last year I rooted some pups in 6" pots so I will have maybe a few to share at the roundup in April.

David

This is mine in its HB:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/125028/

Aren't they pretty plants David. I love the delicate bloom. I understand there is a solid blue one also. Don't have that one yet. My only complaint is they get so big they are difficult to overwinter and can't take the cold here. They are a breath of fresh air when blooming. Nice!

Well, it never really gets that cold here on the gulf coast, so I bring mine in from the porch whenever there's a freeze and that's it.

Hoping for some nice blooms this year for all of us!!!!

David

I got this one when I went to the Florida plant swap 2 years ago. I had it outside last summer and it grew like crazy and but didn't bloom. I have it in the basement but it doesn't get alot of light. Hope it blooms for me this year.

:) Donna

Donna ~ mine seems to bloom when least expected. Yours will surprise you... but I seem to have better luck with the yellow one blooming.
David ~ I'm envious of your climate till hurricane season. It would be nice not to worry with moving plants to shelter.

Wow, this is a new one on me! I've never heard of a Walking Iris. I'm gonna have to get me one of them!

Well I can't wait to see it bloom again. Now I need to find the yellow one.

:) Donna

OK I love this.... so much ..a must have ... I have been collecting Iris outside for a couple years ..now to think I could have one as a houseplant.

That's what happened to me, gardengus.

I have all three walking iris. I am always pulling up the yellow, they really become weedy. I like the solid blue the best, gets up to 2', blooms every spring and it the only iris plant that looks like the German bearded Iris that I knew when I lived in cold country. Does great in the shade, in fact it prefers it (here).

Took a couple more pics of mine Saturday; man I really gotta get out there and repot the thing:

http://picasaweb.google.com/speckledpig/2007Gardening

David

A solid blue, Dale? Ooooh so now I have to look for a yellow and a solid blue.

David yours looks very lush in the hanging basket.
:) Donna

Wow Boojum, we have never heard of these either, it looks magnificent, that is the trouble with plants there are so many, you can never have a favorite and you always have to try the other colours, then thats when the problems begin, LOL, you have run out of space, but you always have to try some thing new, the trouble with us is we are addicted to all plants and there colours and beauty, kindest regards to you from Peter and Mary-Anne, we love all of the others as well, thanks for introducing us to them.

I kept seeing them on DG so when someone had them for sale locally, I bit and as you said I just had to have more!

Wow --- Walking Iris?? That is just way too cool!! I looked in the plant files from the picture on podster's link and found a couple of vendors but none of them had the solid blue. They were pretty expensive, about $12.50-$25.00 each but I have to have one. Does anyone know of a source that might cost a little bit less?

I think 12.50 is good! I'm having to grow it from seed here! I think Annie's seeds has plants, too, but they are babies.

The bestest, fastest way to do it is plantlets which form after the blooms.
I would offer but don't have any on either plant right now. Sorry...
I wonder how long it will take from seed. (I really didn't even know they produced seed...)