Never hurts to ask!!

I stopped of by a strangers house and knocked on the door. I told her how beautiful her irises were(she had hundreds of these), and asked if she knew the name of them. She said she didn't know. I then asked if she would be willing to part with some for a trade, and she said yes. It never hurts to ask, does it?

I returned with 5 dozen red spider lily bulbs, and she loaded me up with all these irises. It was a great swap. I think these are gorgeous. I normally am more picky about names, but these were just so pretty, I didn't care.

They sure look a lot like 'enchanted one' to me, but she says they don't rebloom...

close up

old pic of enchanted one

Yeah, ...I guess on closer inspection, they are not the same. Hers have a more pinky lavender fall, and enchanted one starts out bluish at the beard, and then true lavender for the rest of the falls.

Also hers are more bright canary yellow.

I just love them. :0)

Where's Dee...any guesses?
-T

oh, yeah...one more thing...they smell wonderful!

what a great day for you!

and a great trade.....I'm sure she'll love the spider lilies!

Darn! You got there first!...

Jackie-
You are not that far from me(I'm 20 mins north of dallas), and I could show you where she lives, lol...(I even have her phone number, lol...)

She literally had hundreds, and her hubby is going to "thin" them soon, she said. I got mine right away, though, because she has mixed some in here and there, and I wanted to be sure to get them in bloom, so I got the right colors.

I'll bet if you caught her hubby digging, and spared him a few spades, or two of work, he'd be willing to get rid of a few more. :0)

Beautiful iris--good trade!

Not a bad trade, at least you saved them from the ditch or woods. We all know by now what usually happens to thinned out irises....... They are pretty.

Girl... I am 80 miles North of Dallas just off I35........but I rarely get back South since I moved here from Dallas, will soon be 4 years now....if you come to Winstar Casino I live about a mile east of it.....call me and we will compare gardens, you'd be welcome here

Wanda- Thank you! I know you know your irises... Any guesses to the id on this one?

Zinnialover-These weren't going in a ditch...she had some places she said she had intended to put the extras. These weren't going to be trashed...in fact, I had to sweet talk her a bit, and bring her a bucket full of bulbs :0)

Jackieshar-
I'll have to remember that...are you anywhere close to Ada, OK? I will be travelling up there in the very near future...maybe even in the next few weeks...
-T

I think you have enough to remember me when you divide them next year ! Just a couple - they are beautiful.
Kathy

yes, I think Ada is about 30 miles north of here.....I would love it if you could stop by...

Shihtzumom-
Let me see how many are left after I fill a few spots, ok?...then, I'll better know how many I have leftover.

Jackie-North?...then, I'll be passing right past you! :0)

Here is a picture of a clump I just planted a few minutes ago. They are looking a bit ragged, and I should probably stake those front ones up somehow, but I really like them.

I'm thinking definitely not a TB, because they are so short...maybe IB, or BB? The blooms barely clear the boulder and it is only about a foot, or so, tall.

I have about 3 or 4 more clumps this size, still to plant.

and here is a broader picture of them in my "gutter garden". They are the ones pretty much in the center of the picture:

That is beautiful ! Your neighbors apparently don't share your curb appeal. That looks great.

See, you're right, it never hurts to ask. I'm like you, I'll stop and ask about plants, it's the addiction you know.

Kathy

Kathy-Yes, gardening is an addiction, alright, but a good one to have!!

I can't tell you how many times I've knocked on a strangers door about a particular palnt, rose, iris, lol...you name it.

I have made a lot of good friends that way, and done lots of in person trades.

It's fun!
:0)

kathy, they will do better if you go ahead and cut the tops off.

Jackie -
I think you sent me bunches didn't you - about 2 years ago? Blue and white? You are a great lady and I know I owe you white zinna seeds - I'm bad, bad - there isn't enough time in my day. I'll get you those seeds. You've always been so good to me.

Seedpicker,
I agree about making buddies from asking about plants. Nothing makes a person as happy as someone asking or commenting about their garden. There's a newly remodeled house on my way to work. They have done so much with the outside that I plan on stopping, thinking about it almost every day, and telling them how wonderful their yard and house looks. It's like a home makeover show. I will do it the next day the temps are above the current 40s - cause I know how wonderful it makes you feel.

Girl, I am sure we are way more than even......I appreciate your friendship.....if you get intresting iris to trade..remember me..if I have any you like I'll do the same

Sweet little Violet Harmony from a good friend.....historic 1948.

She is beautiful ! I'll keep you in mind with the iris, mine are starting to bloom and will take pictures as they do - it was 32 this morning and I covered up a few things last night. I hope my newly planted roses from Palatines make it.

Kathy

jackie is right - transplanted while blooming is going to be hard on them - they'll expend energy trying to make seed instead of roots. Consider cutting off the bloomstalks and brining them inside to enjoy! that way they'll settle in before seriously hot weather. hope you added just a touch of bonemeal or the like for their new little roots!

Thanks for posting your pictures, it will be awhile yet before we see any iris blooms. Have to be patient a bit longer. Love looking at other folks pics.

LOL! I love it.

I've been driving by this one house close to my neighborhood with a beautiful yard and tons of irises (not hundreds though), but what I want from her is the snowball bush! I've thought about writing a note and leaving it in her mailbox, asking for cuttings. I'm going to do it now that I've read your post.

Lilimercer,
Now you are talking. My daughters neighbor has a huge snowball bush and I have been begging her to ask for a piece of it. I love them.

My neighbor across the street has those. She loves them. But her it got overpruned by a man in her family who is not really gardening savy, and I've not seen blooms on it for two years. He REALL cut it back...:o(

She was just sick about it.

After the blooms are spent, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be interested in letting you make a few snips. It might turn into a great trade for you.

Now, see, those of us with then iris virus DO look at other plants, occasionally! A snowball bush is what DH has been begging for for two years. We had one two houses ago, he loved it. I keep meaning to get him one! LOL

WOw.... I would name those LUCKY DUCKS! I need to find more iris..my latest obsession. Not related but could anyone tell me why my newly planted iris that were just about to bloom suddenly died? the top portion of the bud stem just wilted and drooped...so sad. Could it have been too rich soil? too much manure?

Hi-
It sounds like your iris just are showing signs of stress, which is perfectly normal when they are first planted.

I've heard it takes about a year, for them to balance back out, but I'm certainly no expert. Maybe somone else will say otherwise.
-T

1. what type of iris - where you are it may be TB, but where I'm at it's JIs blooming now

2. are you experiencing the heavy rains we are? TB irises like lots of water but hate being wet, as it promotes two types of rot in them.

I lost a lot of Iris to rot last year and with all the rain we are getting this year am beginning to get worried that more may be lost. So far not seeing any signs.

I'm losing a great many - out in iris beds every night looking for signs of stress and finding lots of signs of crown rot.

This weather is crazy. We had a frost last night. I sure hope the buds I do have will open.

For those of you who may still be interested in the iris, Sue has one that is really similar, if not the same one here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/852928/

Jackie-If you really like this one you may want to check out "sunset sky". Bluebird nursery lists them for sale. I intend to buy some today, so I can grow them out and compare...

seedpicker, you are going to drive yourself crazy trying to identify it! LOL. It is beautiful though. I would like to know what it is, so I can buy one. The color is very pretty and I haven't seen another similar to it, especially the soft lavender, hint of pink falls. I love it and want one.

Lilimerci-
I think you are absollutely right about driving myself crazy, but at least I am actively trying my best to id it...

I called bluebird yesterday, to make sure they had sunset sky available. She asked If I were the same one that inquired about it a few days ago, and I told her no. Someone else must have seen this post, and like it, too, lol...

I plan to fill out my form and have it mailed today, before too many other people see it, and she runs out, lol...

No one else has it...

I plan to grow both my noid, and it, to see if they are the same. Also, another person has some that look like it, too and she is swapping with me.

I'll either end up with three that are the same, or three similar but different ones...

Either way, I just love my noid. It smells so good, and is so bright and cheery.

If you love these colors, you will probably also like Tink...it is basically the same colors, but in reverse, and has a gorgeous orange beard. This is the picture from Superstition iris gardens:

and here is a more faded picture of tink I collected off the web:

I can't really grow TB irises in houston but like reading about them. We can do LA irises and I was lucky to get on the new coop, which is now closed.

anyway, I just wanted to chime in how I love to play the "reverse color" game. For example, T, planting Tink together with your mystery one. I think that is so cool!

Yeah, I think would look great together. I haven't gotten Tink, yet. I ordered it around the first of the year, but I don't think Superstition iris gardens mails until July.

When it gets here, I plan on planting it on the opposite side of the boulder, of my noid, in my curbside garden. I don't know if they'll bloom at the same time, or not, but it would look nice together, if they did.

I'm also going to stick the traded one on the other side next to the smaller boulder, so they can all grow together(but separated), and then maybe I can compare better when they bloom. I will certainly have to tag them well, too. :0)

So, in the end I'll have Tink, Enchanted one, the noid, and a trade for a similar one(http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5006873), the new sunset sky(http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5019878) I just ordered, and my brown lasso. I'll either end up with four varieties in that curbside garden, or up to 7 different ones. Time will tell...

I'm just hoping no one likes them enough to dig themselves some, since they are so close to the street, lol
-T