I was at a RoundUp and a friend of mine spotted this Iris when we were checking out at The Flower Factory. It didn't have a tag and I thought she said it was a Siberian Iris of some sort. She knows her Siberian Iris pretty well and it doesn't look like a Sib to me so I'm thinking she was referring to the other one next to it which was a Sib. I bought them both but this one didn't have a tag. Any ideas which Iris it might be?
You are the proud owner of what appears to be a lovely Japanese iris. JIs are easy to identify even when not in bloom because they have a raised rib that runs down the center of each leaf.
Hi Laurie, It's an aquatic Japanese Iris right?
I've done some poking around and here's what I've found so far-
This one called Dino looks like a possibility-
http://www.auldenfarm.co.uk/irisphotos/dino.jpg
And here’s another image I found that is a possibility although it is way too small for me to get a good peek at it-
http://www.victoria-adventure.org/aquatic_plants/gs_galleries/iris_ensata_cultivars.html
And this one called Parallel Viewing is a possibility too-
http://www.plants3d.org/photo/flowers/akashina0106/hanas02p-e.html
I'm not at all familiar with JI cultivars, so I can't help you speculate on possible IDs. There do seem to be quite a few JIs that look similar to yours, though.
JIs like a consistently moist-damp, acidic soil, but they do not have to be grown in water. In fact if JIs are grown in pots in water (such as in a pond), they should be removed from the pond and the pots buried in a regular garden area for the winter so that they don't suffocate and die under ice. They do very well at pond's edge or in a low spot that retains too much moisture for other garden plants. Mulch will help retain soil moisture and keep the plant roots cooler.
Japanese irises should be moved to fresh soil every 4-5 yrs or they may start to weaken and underperform.
Laurie
Lauren - I don't know a dang thing about JI's, but this popped up on the random image. Close?
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/96859/
My head is in a spin Al. I'd like to get an Id for this because I'm going to lop it in half next year so Maxine can have a chunk to take home.
The entry you posted a link to looks really close too, particularly the photo posted from flowerfrenzy. I'm afraid that right about now all of these Iris are starting to look alike to my untrained Iris eye. Oddly enough, I have hundreds of Iris but they are in waves of the same cultivars so it's not like I have a couple thousand over here representing 200 different species... more like a couple thousand representing all of about 12-14 different species.
So far, I am relatively confident this plant is Iris ensata but that was only after googling and looking at 20 some odd pages of photos. I keep ending up at this one bulb site that has really great photos but I am told my entry to the site is forbidden. I looked for a way to join to get access to their photos but I couldn't find it even if I was willing to pay to get in there.
At least we have it narrowed down to ensata and Laurie confirmed that.
Sorry to say it is just about impossible to ID most JIs. It is not Fractal Blue which is ruffled with blue/white style arms. Dino is said to grow very tall, like 5 or 6 feet. There must be at least a couple thousand registered cultivars and they are probably even harder to identify than unknown bearded irises due to their restricted color range.
Ensata Gardens has the most pictures of any site I know of, and this is only a small fraction of what is out there.
http://www.ensata.com/HTML/PlantPages/japanese_index.htm
Well, that rules out Dino because the plant I have is only about 2.5'-3' high.
I'll take a look at your site. Thank you so much for finding that link. I'm sort of afraid to go over and check out your link lest I end up with more of them jumping into my cyber cart!
These are really neat Iris.
Yeah well I just sent in an order to Ensata last Friday. Let me tell you it is HARD to choose!
You were a very very very bad DGer for giving me that link to Ensata ;)
Somehow I was expecting a response from you along that line:-) Considering that there are relatively few JIs out there in the nursery trade (for most you have to go to a grower like Ensata) I think your iris might be "Flight of Butterflies", one that I have seen in nurseries and general catalogs. Do a google image search on that one. It is not bright blue as some pics you see.
My advice to anyone thinking of buying a lot of these is don't-- get a few and get a handle on their culture first before diving in full bore.
Say pardalinum, please share with me what you mean by getting a handle on their culture.
I need to know and it's sort of your fault because I just ordered a few more. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeelp me. I so hate watching plants go to plant heaven.
I'll check out the cultivar you mentioned later on. The plant I have is beyond a bright blue though and the color in the image above is not doing it justice. I am also contacting the nursery where I bought it. Chances are pretty good they only stocked a few ensata so this hunt might get narrowed down pretty darn quick if my hunch to call them is correct.
Laurie made some important points about JI culture above. I'll add to that by saying not only do they need acidic soil, alkaline soil will KILL them. Alkalinity can sneak up on you if you don't keep your thinking cap on.
Example: one year I decided that mulching with mint straw would be a cool thing to do. Mint straw is readily available here and is what is left over after the distillation process. It is very nice looking and is very popular here as a garden mulch. So I dump a couple inches worth on my JI garden and within a few weeks they went into a steep decline. I tested the pH on a leach of the mint straw and it was close to 10!! OOPS!
The first year I planted them they went into an area that floods periodically during our rainy winters. Come spring only about a third of them returned. Lesson: They don't like their crowns under water during the dormant season. Can you tell I have killed many JIs? Now I have them up closer to the house where it is higher and I am more likely to spend time pampering them.
Ensata will include a culture sheet with your order. Hope this helps!
Ah, thank you very much for those comments.
pard--sounds like you are working on ways to NOT grow JLs. I have them planted in a few 'low" areas of my yard that hold moisture. They take a couple of years to 'set in:", but are startling when they bloom amid all my daylilies.
