Question re: mail order rhizomes

As y'all know, I've been potting up all the rhizomes as they arrive and after so many of them, I've become accustomed to what is "typical" from the growers. I should mention, though, that this is the first year I've ever ordered rhizomes. Today, I received an order from literally the most expensive grower I found... a grower that has a top-notch reputation from what I've read both here and on GardenWeb. The rhizomes are large and healthy looking. However, about half of them have spent bloom stalks hidden in among the leaves, so I received mother rhizomes instead of the increase. Is this something that is an accepted practice or should I write to the grower about it?

Supposedly, the bloomed rhizome cannot ever bloom again. I have read
where, with time and patience, they can be planted and may put out new
increases. They are just as likely to rot. Unless they were attached to
good healthy rz's, which would not make any sense from a shipping
standpoint, I would say a major phone call was in order.

You are speaking of bearded iris?

Yes, I'm speaking of bearded iris. I was aware that the mothers won't rebloom... that's what prompted my question. Typically, you discard the mothers when you split out for just that reason. I just didn't know if it was acceptable in the mail order business to send the mothers as they will produce increases over time, which will bloom.

Do any of the growers who post here have an opinion? I don't want to offend the grower, but I was surprised to find the bloom stalks on these... especially considering the reputation of this grower.

Thanks for any opinions/advice. Ev

i sometimes send the mother rhizome with the increases attached, especially if they are bonus rhizomes, weight doesn't matter (near zone or flat rate box) or it's a variety that makes small rhizomes.
just sending the mother IMHO is not ok. i'd give them a call or send an email and see what they have to say. maybe they had help with digging the rhizomes that did not know about mothers.
remember this is a holiday weekend, they might not get back to you until the middle of next week.

The old bloomstalks should not be present--would there be new ones coming (rebloom). If won't bloom, they add to the weight & shipping cost.

These were not bonus rhizomes... in fact two of them were over $15.00 each. A few of them are rebloomers, but the majority of those that have the old bloomstalks are once-bloomers. IrisMA, these weren't extra rhizomes... they were the ONLY rhizomes sent of these varieties to fill my order. So, I don't understand what you mean about adding to the weight and the shipping costs. The old bloomstalks were cut off, I presume after bloom finished, but the bottom 6" of the stalks remain attached to the rhizome, which is how I know these have bloomed once already.

I've received mother rhizomes with two nice sized fans attached, and several more noticible increase pups showing. Normally get a good clump fairly quickly from these, and I am pleased when I receive them Some growers would have separated the two rhizomes, tossed the mother and pups, and counted this as two. Others cut most of the mother away and leave some of the increase that is close to the new rhizome. I have never received a plant with 6" of bloom stalk showing... that was rather reckless and unprofessional. You say you can see the stalk when looking through the leaves. Is there at least one nice fan attached? Can you post a photo of one?

Here's an example of mother rhizomes that have bloomed, but with fairly nice, but smallish rhizomes attached. These would be ok... I hope you received something similar. So sorry to hear this.

Dan

Hi Dan, It will be hard to get to them to take a photo for a few days. We've been putting everything in safe spaces in preparation for Gustav. It wasn't too easy to figure out how to protect 220 small pots of irises!!!!! I put together plastic shelving units leaving out every other shelf, put the small pots in carrier trays (10 per tray) and stacked them on the shelves. These are at the back of our storage area with many other potted plants in front of them at this point. We'll be pulling everything out after Gustav passes, at least provided everything around here is still okay. They're predicting Gustav will hit the coast at Cat 4, which will give us around Cat 2 sustained winds by the time it reaches us... which will definitely have a very negative impact around here.

Unfortunately, the rhizomes don't look like the ones you photographed. There are no large fans, but just nubs on the sides with growth just beginning to show there. The mother rhizomes still had fans, though browning (which I first attributed to shipping time). The fans on the mother rhizomes had been trimmed back to 6" in a V shape, and when I went to remove the dying leaves before potting, I discovered the spent bloom stalks within the center of the leaves. As these stalks are exactly the same length as the leaves that surrounded them, I have to assume that the stalks were clearly present when the leaves were cut just prior to shipment.

The old stalks should not be there. They can be cut down with the top level with the rhizomes even if the new increase are still nubbins. those are your next yrs. growth. Old stems can be a source of rot. I think whoever was doing the work was careless. Good luck about gustave. All those in the area are in our thoughts & prayers.

My thought and prayers are with you on Gustav... you folks have suffered enough. I hope your potted rhizomes come through without damage... as well as everything else!

It appears you got a bad deal on the rhizomes. The grower may have had inexperienced help who did not know the mother was bloomed out and thought it was a good plant. But I wouldn't accept that excuse. Barring unforseen circumstances the owner/grower should have been more involved, or provided better training to his help. I would definely contact him and explain what has happened. For $15.00 you should be getting a premium plant, and I would expect a full refund or replacement.

It my climate, the leaves have died off of the mother plant by this time. If I failed to remove a spent bloom stalk earlier, all that would be showing would be a dried up stalk and the naked rhizome, normally with several small increases... but no fan. The nubs will grow into plants, but... that is not what you payed for. I would suggest planting the mother and nubs in a very sandy, if not completely sand mix to get them started... less chance for rot that way.

ditto irisMA on cutting the stalks back.

If the grower does not make this right, I hope you post a comment on Garden Watchdog.

Wishing you the best... Dan