My website

Howdy doo, I just wanted to give you all a link to the website I've written highlighting the challenges and strategies for growing bearded iris in the South. This is an effort that definitely couldn't have been possible without the help of soooo many people who corresponded with me giving advice and feedback as well as photographic assistance. I'm almost completely finished with it... there's still a small number of pages in the diseases and pests section to be uploaded, but overall it's ready to be "published" so to speak. I've got a lot of info on there that would help gardeners in other regions too, such as a chemical rotation chart, pics and treatments for pests and diseases, and a lot more. I couldn't find another website that had all the info I wanted in one place, so I just decided to create my own! Here it is:

http://eveysblissfulgarden.com

Thanks to all of you who helped... and to those who will help me improve it in the future! Ev =)

I just visited your site and and found it great. I ,too, have been overwhelmed by the amount of info out there and how it applies to my garden. I found your explanations excellent. Everything in one place. Thank you again.
I just wish I had room for all the Irises I see. Good luck with growing yours. Jean

Thank you, Jean! I'm so glad somebody took a peek at it! I hope you can find at least part of it useful during your gardening. Ev =)

I have a problem here with a heavy clay soil , but strangely , it does drain reasonably well unless we have had days of rain. This seems to be a thing of the past now as we have had little rain this Winter. The soil does dry to a cement like hardness , but the Iris seem to like it. I have about 145 now but am always tempted by that next pretty one.
I will definitely try your technique for potting early.
this is one of my favorite Irs. 'Thunderstick"
Jean

Thunderstick is absolutely gorgeous!

I was told 'Thunderstick' was hybridised by Stribley if you want to look for it. it may not be available in US.

I did a google search for it but didn't find it on the internet. Of course, not all iris farms have a web presence, but on the whole the only irises I see on the internet are by Barry Blythe and Graham Grosvner.

I bought mine from a local iris nursery here in Australia . Yarrabee Iris nursery.
You may find a similar Iris over there. There are certainly a lot of lovely dark Irises.

Here's the 411 on it from the AIS Checklist:

THUNDERSTICK
(Sue Stribley, R. 2004) Sdlg. 00-PGB02. TB, 37" (95 cm), M
S. and style arms deep purple; F. velvety purple black; beards blue; slight fragrance. Palace Gossip X Blackout. Yarrabee 2004/05


BTW: Has anybody else looked at my website???? =))))))))) (Comments, please!)

Also... Yarrabee's email is iris@yarrabee.net. You might be able to find a US grower by writing to see if they have an American partner or someone in the U.S. who bought Thunderstick as an intro in 2004. Ev

It is possible that someone has imported Thunderstruck from Australia. We should definitely email the breeder.
Blyth routinely sends stuff to the US. What's hard, nowadays, is getting iris into Australia which has recently made very strict rules against bringing new plants in, even innocent little irises. Blyth rails against the rule and recently it has been proposed that the same rule be added in New Zealand and the US. Let's hope this can be stopped.
Blyth says it now costs multiple thousands to import iris to Australia, so he comes here to make hybrids in the fields of his American friends such as Keith Keppel. They are invited to come to Australia to make hybrids there. Nice arrangement, but it seems smarter to go back to the way we used to do things, where you must purchase a phytosanitary certificate to import iris or any other plant, but that's all. The plants are inspected before they are given the certificate and then shipped merrily along. A phytosanitary certificate on a box of irises is about $25 or $30. Expensive but affordable for those who are determined. Multiple thousands are beyond the reach of even commercial growers.

This message was edited Aug 29, 2008 7:08 PM

Funny things, customs regulations.
They allow in some plants and ban others often in the same families.
If Iris are allowed in , why the ridiculously high cost of quarantine .Makes me wonder who is making the money
Surely a certificate and proof of freedom from disease from the registered grower would be enough. As pajaritomt says, the phytosanitary certificate idea worked before.
I find it odd that I can import seeds of Brugmansia Candida but no others. Is Candida a 'perfect' plant while all the others are dangerous ?
No Epiphyllums allowed in either. Boohoo.
Iris seeds are no trouble but you can't find anyone to sell them. everyone wants to keep them.
Surely there could be some reasonable decisions made about all this.
Oooops, sorry. Did I mention the word reasonable in regard to a government agency?
Sorry about that. What was I thinking ?
Maybe in the next millennium things will improve.
Happy gardening Jean.

Nice website. I loved your story. I think I am the only one on my father's side that kept one of his mom's old irises (tried to kill it for a couple of years ignoring/forgeting it out in the shed) and one day hope to share it with any of my cousins who want it. It's a strong grower/bloomer. Quite a list of links there. I've placed one last order this year from one of them. Thank you.
Laura

Thank you, Laura. I'm so glad you found it useful. I saw your note on another thread about C&T... they do have quite a few cultivars that you just don't normally see on the commercial lists. I loved that about them! I ordered a few of their historics as well.

Hopefully others check out my site and find parts of it useful too. Ev =)