dependable rebloomers/north

can anyone recommend a few good reboomers for zone 3 to 4. I have a lot of reg. bloomers and a few re but would like a few more. The short season leaves me few options so don't want to wait 2 or 3 years to see if they will rebloom or not. thanks

"Dependable rebloomers" is an oxymoron. No iris is ever guaranteed to rebloom in any garden or climate, much less zones 3 and 4. Not only do the vast majority of rebloomers only do so in the climates with the longest growing seasons, but even then they are subjected to a long list of growing and climatic variables that can affect their potential rebloom performance.

In my zone 3b garden, I have grown probably 1000 irises with rebloom potential over the last thirteen yrs. During that thirteen yr period, six cultivars have rebloomed - five of them only once and one that has rebloomed twice (different years). I'd be very interested to know which irises have rebloomed for you "dependably" (or at all) in zone 4.

I know a gal in zone 2b Canada who has had rebloom, if I remember correctly, on the SDBs 'Forever Blue' and 'Blueberry Tart'. I grow both, and neither has rebloomed for me ... yet. 'What Again' is the only SDB that has ever rebloomed for me, and it has only done so once.

Laurie

laurief, I just planted some last year and more this year with no rebloom yet. The more I am reading the more I am realizing rebloom does'nt mean much. BOO-HOO. Why even tempt us newbe's with that word.my list:2007
PREGRESIVE ATTITUDE
FAST FORWARD
SUKY
BOLD LOOK
JESSE' SONG
MAGICAL ENCOUNTER
MORNING MOOD

2008 PLANTING:
DRAGONS BREATH
ZIGGY
BREAKERS
CONCERTINA
AZ-AP

2 CONTINUAS BLOOMERS:
COLOR GLORY AND NUETRON DANCE


WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THEM, THANKS

I'm in zone 4a and have never had an iris rebloom. Anymore, with the drought we've had for the last several years, I'm just happy if they survive and bloom at all the next year.

The drought has had a bad effect on most things green. we finally had some moisture this year and a few things actualluy appeared that I thought I had lost so was thrilled with that. Alas the heat and winds have hit the last cple weeks and I just lost Clemtis Patricia Ann Fretwell. I just keep trying to hard maybe.

Rebloom is wonderful when it happens, but there just aren't a lot of cold climate rebloomers yet. There are hybridizers working on it, though. Perhaps the most notable for those of us in the low zones is Chuck Chapman in Canada. He's come up with some rebloomers that are reportedly pretty reliable for him.

What happens with some of the cold climate rebloomers is that they will start to develop rebloom stalks in the fall. Unfortunately, those stalks often get frozen and are lost to early frosts before they have a chance to bloom.

From your list, I grow Fast Forward, Jesse's Song, Breakers, Concertina, and Az Ap. None have ever rebloomed for me.

Laurie

laurif, do you have a link to chuck chapman. I'm curious to see what Canada offers.

Here you go:

http://chapmaniris.com/

I wouldn't give up on rebloom. When I started buying rebloomers, I did a lot of homework and there's a lot of rebloom info out there on the web. I only bought rebloomers that would rebloom in zone 5. I'm supposedly in zone 6 but I think it's more like 5/6 here. I've had lots of success.

These are very reliable rebloomers for my zone and I get rebloom almost every year- after the plants got established that is:
Immortality
Clarence
Rosalie Figge
Low Ho Silver
Plum Wine
Baby Blessed

I've only had Fast Forward and Sugar Blues for one full year, and both are already reblooming right now. I have buds on Low Ho Silver and Immortality. All of these had bloomed well this past spring.

Rebloomers bloom on new growth so they need fed more often than once bloomers, and they do need more water as well.

Don't give up buying rebloomers. Just try to research which ones will rebloom in your zone before purchase.

Linda

When I travelled for work in northern NY, I would see Immortality blooming in the fall, in Z 4 and 5. Lots of people seemed to have it.

I've grown Immortality, Rosalie Figge, Clarence, Low Ho Silver, Plum Wine, Fast Forward, and Sugar Blues for years, but the only one that has ever rebloomed for me was Low Ho Silver (once). There's a lot of difference between zone 3 and zone 5, though.

Well, that's for sure!

Rebloomnut was looking for rebloomers for Z3 and 4. Not sure what zone he/ she is in, Montana just sounds cold, though! As does Deer River, MN.

I was really surprised to see Immortality reblooming so far north, Massena and Ogdensburg, NY, and up in the Adirondacks. They have little snow cover there, and cold drying winds Apparently it was a hot sale item at some nursery up there, or everyone is related and passed it around as it was everywhere.

Pretty neat to see an iris reblooming in the fall. I personally have never had one rebloom, but I have not been growing bearded for long.

i'm back. we are in zone 3a but the past few years more like 4b, but you never know. we are county 38 and 38 below it can get here. ok i'll not give up, but I will be a bit more careful/huh. just bought a cple more i just had to have. this is a true illness.








steph

Surely you've had repeat bloom on some of your beardless, though, Polly. Coronation Anthem and Between the Lines both repeated here this year. First time for either of them to do that here!

Steph, you may want to reconsider rebloomers in your zone. As I mentioned above, sometimes they can send up fall stalks that get frozen out before they bloom. That's a problem since each rhizome will only bloom once in its lifetime. So if a rhizome sends up a fall stalk that gets frozen, it won't send up another stalk in spring, and you will have lost out on bloom from that rz entirely. That's why a lot of folks in cold climates stay away from rebloomers. They prefer to get spring bloom on their rhizomes rather than risking frozen stalks in the fall.

I know that Laurie said that SDB 'Forever Blue' doesn't rebloom for her, it doesn't do so for us either. A friend who lives in Lunenburg MA, west of us & higher altitude has it rebloom for her. It reblooms in Manitoba, so you might try it. Immortality takes time to settle in after planting but it has rebloomed for us (6a) but can also do so further north. It is nice but tricky. SDB 'What Again' was from Nebraska & is a parent of 'Forever Blue'.

I should qualify what I said about the irises that have not rebloomed for me. It's certainly possible, esp. with the SDBs, that something rebloomed that I didn't see. I grow a lot of irises here in several large beds, so it's entirely possible that there has been rebloom over the years that I've simply missed. What I should have said was that I've never SEEN those irises bloom in my beds.

laurie-I went on the chucks link and now I need more. I may have to sell my homne and buy a farm. did you see PIRATES AHOY-WOW. Gotta have it but can't afford it now. Hope he has it next year.,.

My rebloom charts may be somewhat out of date, but here's what I have for rebloom in zone 3:
Autumn Circus
Bountiful Harvest
Earl Of Essex
English Cottage
Feed Back
Harvest Of Memories
I Do
Immortality
Misty Twilight
Northward Ho
Queen Dorothy
Rosalie Figge
Total Recall
Low Ho Silver

I'm not taking this to mean that these irises will rebloom EVERY year in zone 3, but I think it means that there may be at least occasional rebloom in zone 3.

I keep adding rebloomers in zone 5 or lower to my beds because I love having color twice a year. And some of my irises are incorporated into my landscaping so fall bloom is a special addition to mums.

Igrowinpa, I have grown or am growing just about all of the irises on your list (most for >10 yrs), and none have ever rebloomed for me except once on Low Ho Silver. Queen Dorothy ALMOST made it to bloom one fall, but she got frozen out before the flowers opened.

Keith Keppel also has Pirate Ahoy & is closer to your area. Keep an eye on the Chapman plants as he is working very hard on rebloom, also irises which are cold hardy.

have to get the shop open but I will check kieth keppel in the PM. thanks irisma

Queen Dorothy in Zone 4, 5

'Pirates Ahoy' is very flashy, but I rarely add TBs to my collection anymore. Waaaaay too many of them just aren't hardy enough to handle my climate and growing conditions. I prefer to grow the much tougher median and dwarf beardeds, along with a variety of beardless irises.

Laurie

Median preference here also. Have bought a few TBs to try for voting purposes. Hal Stahly's plants do well for us & bought Silver Creek from Jack Worel after seeing it at convention, if it could do well at home in MN and in Austin, I figured it was worth a try. Our favorites are SDBs, but need others to extend the season.

In answer to Lauries question above. I had tons of rebloom on my sibs. In fact Coronation Anthem is blooming now, and Careless Sally just finished.

I planted several rebloomers in 2006. Rosalie Figge did not bloom the following spring but did in the fall. I wondered why it did not bloom again this spring. Of course, I did not understand the principles of iris growth that I have learned on Davesgarden. ""That's a problem since each rhizome will only bloom once in its lifetime. So if a rhizome sends up a fall stalk that gets frozen, it won't send up another stalk in spring, and you will have lost out on bloom from that rz entirely. " (Didn't figure out how to highlight a quote)

I am in zone 5 and Cantina is reblooming now. Poor Roslie Figge is doing nothing at all this year. I'm still waiting though because it was snowing the only time I saw her.

could it be Laurie, that rebloom in zones 2,3,and 4 is really not that possible? if you think of it, it takes my irises six to eight weeks from first spring growth to blooming.

When I lived in Idaho Falls ID for six years, our average last frost date was June 15 and our average first frost date was August 15. I was from here, but got used to mostly fall and winter - it just seemed like 10 months of winter! Was lucky to get daffodils and any veggie crops fast enough. Yet, the winter wheat and russet potatos just love it!

Seems like y'all are lucky to get the first bloom in, there's just not another six to eight weeks available for rebloom.

Ah, but there are five or six different categories of rebloom. Not all rebloomers wait until fall to initiate their second bloom. There are rebloomers that bloom again shortly after completing spring bloom. And then there are the supposed "everbloomers" that can bloom at any time during the growing season. With these rebloom scenarios, it certainly seems possible to hybridize irises that can and will rebloom in even the coldest climates.

Laurie

interesting to learn

Possible but a long way to go. I think Chuck Chapman works the hardest for cold weather. Other people farther south have an easier time, although the nasty little plants won't always perform. Then there is MDB 'Velvet Toy' which is really a species cross (pumila & aphylla) when has been reported blooming in MN, but not the south. It should be interviewed to gain its secrets, but I'm afraid it will say "no comment".

Velvet Toy is problematic for me. Not only has it never rebloomed here (that I've noticed), but it isn't even a reliable spring bloomer for me, unlike just about all the other MDBs which are very reliable here. I don't know why VT hates my garden so much, but it's certainly never been happy here.

Plants can be very annoying with a mind of their own.

I have been thinking about adding some rebloomng sibs. I don't know what to expect. What exactly is rebloom on a sib like - lots of scapes or just a couple? And are there some that are reliable and you see regularly twice a year? Or is it more like reblooming beardeds - you just never know if you'll get rebloom? Any names you could share?

Linda

Siberians actually repeat bloom. After they are finished with the first stalks, there is a short wait then new stems appear. The only one which repeats for us is an older McEwen plant,Chartreuse Bounty.

Here's a list of siberian rebloomers from the reblooming iris society.

CARELESS SALLY Shafer/Sacks 96 white over reddish violet
CHARTREUSE BOUNTY McEwen 83 white over greenish yellow
CREME CHANTILLY McEwen 81 pale cream
DANDY'S HORNPIPE Shafer/Sacks 99 pale lavender over pale violet
EARLY BLUEBIRD McEwen 70 blue self
EVER AGAIN McEwen 92 dark violet blue over dark blue
GLOW OF HAPPINESS Miller 94 white over light yellow
HARBOR MIST Waite 83 light violet blue
HARPSWELL PRELUDE McEwen 94 medium violet blue over darker
HELICOPTER Shidara 88 violet - 6 falls
HELIOTROPE BOUQUET Hollingworth 86 light mauve over light mid-mauve
LUCKY LILAC McEwen 88 lavender pink with white signal
MY LOVE Scheffy 48 light blue-violet
OTEPOPO HONEY Harris 97 white over pale yellow
PINK HAZE McGarvey 80 pink self
PURPLE SAND Miller 91 light violet with falls veined darker
REDDY OR NOT Aitken 01 wine red with white signal
REPRISE Warburton 87 violet with darker fall vein and white signal
RUBY RUBY Worel 99 dark ruby red with small yellow signal
SLIGHTLY ENVIOUS Miller 95 creamy white w/ green lines over creamy white
SEA OF DREAMS Shafer/Sacks 00 blue with darker veining
SPRINGS BROOK Warburton 88 white over dark blue violet
SUMMER REVELS Shafer/Sacks 99 light canary yellow over yellow
WHITE PRELUDE




Of these Careless Sally, Reprise and Summer Revels rebloom well for me. Coronation Anthem is my best rebloomer, though.

Reblooming sibs normally just rebloom with a few stalks. There is pretty heavy rebloom on Coronation Anthem about two weeks after the first bloom, then it shuts down during the hot summer months, and then sporadic shoots after.

Thank you for posting the list pollyk and for explaining sib rebloom, irisMA and pollyk. I was wondering what rebloom looks like because I had a few secondary flowers on Big Blue and Steve this year a couple of weeks after the first bloom. Both plants are in their third year here. Steve bloomed once last year, and Big Blue, although a very nice sized clump last year, bloomed for the very first time this year. I was very surprised to see the extra flowers on both plants. I had previously grown Caesar or Caesar's Brother, not sure which one it was, and Butter and Sugar. Both plants never bloomed again after the spring bloom.

What zone are you in irisMA?

Linda

zone 6a The repeat bloomers were not worked on during the time of
Caesar's Brother etc. Harbor Mist has rebloomed for my daughter in northern Ohio, zone 5. We don't do very well with bearded rebloom either. We are in NE MA at the base of Cape Ann & cooler August nights seem to affect the plants. Not really cool yet, it of course varies from yr. to yr..

does anyone know who thought of dave's garden. what an inspiration!!!!

Pink Attraction is reblooming for me right now! What a gift, just as the daylilies are winding down.