Look for a place to get Iris

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good place to purchase Iris from. I have a large area that I am wanting to plant flowers in. I am thinking that I would like to do mostly Iris since that was one of my grandpas favorite flowers. So if anyone knows of a good place I would really appreciate it.

Melissach - I'm not sure what type of iris you're looking for, but, Nina Morgan is having an iris sale at Daylily Haven Iris Gardens. I haven't gotten my order in for the irises yet, but, was extremely pleased with the daylilies she sent and for these prices - I think it was a great deal. On the daylilies, she sent a lot of extras and bonuses even though everything I bought was on sale. I got some tall bearded irises from ebay last year from the seller "tymespast" - she sent some VERY nice irises.

There are a huge number of iris farms. You can find them on the internet. One important distinction to make is whether you want to know each variety's name or whether you just want "a lot of iris". Lots of places have grab bags for very good prices.
A few of the big names in Iris growing are:
Schreiners'

http://www.schreinersgardens.com/

Cooley's

https://www.cooleysgardens.com/Default.aspx

Mid-America

http://www.mid-americagarden.com/

Aitkens

http://www.flowerfantasy.net/


Keppel

no web site

Superstition (to order you must request a catalog)

http://community.webshots.com/album/33886846xPCZqE/1

Malevil

http://www.malevil-iris.com/

Blue J ( extensive selection, very reasonable prices.)

http://www.bluejiris.com/

And many more. Check these out. If you want grab bags with unnamed iris, I can only think or Rainbow Iris Farms on line. Any iris purchased at big box stores is likely to be almost anything -- even if it claims it has a name.
Anyhow, this will get you started. There are lots of iris growers of all kinds out there. Enjoy!


This message was edited May 11, 2007 12:12 PM

How come nobody mentioned Snowpeak.

http://www.snowpeakiris.com my US favourite.
inanda

Melissach:
I would recommend you try BlueJ for 3 good reasons:
1. most important - they are in Nebraska and iris that come from your area have the best chance of growing well for you.
2. Large selection and inexpensive. If you have never bought or grew iris, places like Schreiners have huge rhizomes at high prices. Not really a good choice for beginners. Huge rhizomes? sometimes they go thru some kind of environmental shock when they go to the east or midwest; 'big' does not usually mean 'better' unless you live on the West Coast.
3. You don't have to wait for a catalog. All rhizomes are on line and the vast majority have pictures.
Good luck,
Laetitia

Sorry for not mentioning Snowpeake. I have heard they are excellent but have never ordered from them myself. I plan to order from them this year, however, because so many of you have recommended them.

Thanks for all of the info! I, too, am pretty new to irises and appreciate the help. I went to one site (Schreiner's) and had heart failure at the prices!! I think I'm going to be a 'grab bag' kind of person to start! : )

I'll put in my 2 cents for Blue J iris. They are here in the midwest, have an excellent selection and great prices. They were also recommended to me by members of a local iris club. Happy Gardening!

I have never tried a grab bag, but I bet you would get some good iris if you ordered them from a reputable iris farm. I am sure lots of them lose their tags and no reputable place would send out an unknown iris in anything but a grab bag. Schreiners' prices are very high but if you buy a collection you can get a lot of iris for less. I think a lot of places have a deal where if you buy a certain amount's worth, you get half price.
Also, try asking your friends with iris if they will be dividing and getting rid of any iris. They may very well have extras. I do most years. My friends are furnishing their gardens with them and are very greatful.

Susie,
I've placed two orders with Blue J already this year because they have very reasonable prices. Lots of selections too. :)
Laura

I just checked prices at Blue J and Snowpeake. They have an enormous assortment of rhizomes for $2.20 each. Snowpeake has Tall Bearded as low as $3.00 per rhizome. And remember iris usually multiply. In 2 or 3 years each bulb will probably have grown 2 or 3 more. Also, I don't know if your local Iris Society has a rhizome sale, but if they do, you can probably get some good buys there. We can even buy named Iris at the farmer's market for $1.50 -4.00 each.
There are some really beautiful iris that are old and therefore inexpensive. The big prices are for people who want the latest thing.

diamndsnjns,

I have always wondered how buying iris from ebay worked out. I am glad for the recommendation on the seller. Did the iris turn out to be correctly labeled?

I've never ordered from Schreiner's, but I have received some from Snowpeak. Not ALL rhizomes in the west are huge, but they've bloomed well for me anyway. You can't beat Snowpeak's prices! I just compared some of their's to Schreiner's and Schreiner's charges more than twice what Snowpeak charges!

Schreiner's provides very large rhizomes and many newer iris. That is why they are so expensive. But there are other iris growers who provide large rhizomes and who charge less than Schreiner's for newish iris. Still, for one stop shopping for the latest and greatest iris, Schreiner's is excellent. I suspect a lot of their price comes from the huge beautiful catalog they send out and their magnificent web site.

I didn't see Iris City Gardens mentioned in this thread. If it is, I missed it. I really like them also.
http://www.iriscitygardens.com/

Yes, and Schreiner's is covering the cost of the MANY workers they have. LOL

Funny you should mention eBay. The iris go for high prices when you compare them to places like Blue J. I e-mailed a couple of people about buying some "mystery" iris. One lady wants $2.50/rhizome and will give me one free for every five I buy. Compared to Blue J and knowing what I'm getting, it doesn't seem very attractive. She does have some beautiful iris but it's not a good deal when you compare. One person on eBay does have a dutch auction for four rhizomes for what is now at $1. They are mystery rhizomes but the price cannot be beat!

I haven't seen any "grab bags" yet but it's probably because I was committing two of the Cardinal sins (lust & gluttony) on the Blue J site (LOL!). Have a happy day!

Susie

I think I have seen grab bags(Surprise Packages of recently introduced rhizomes) in Ghio's catalog but they are $35 ( or more if you want) each plus $10 for shipping. They are recently introduced cultivars, In return he promises to send you rhizomes worth approximately 3 times the list price of what he sends you. Not cheap, but probably a bargain.
Rainbow Iris Farm has a Mixed Bag of Iris order for $25:
http://iris.stores.yahoo.net/growersspecial.html

I have never tried either of these offers but they are a way to get started quickly.