JI from Ensata Gardens

Need some quick advice. Ensata has a collection of 10 JI for $39.00. Ships in spring and fall.
How far apart do you normally plant them? I could commit two 4' x 4' sections where water
runs off my sloping yard into the plots. I finally found out why most plants do not thrive there.
Forked 12" deep with sand and lots of humus added to yellow clay. Probably could handle
a generous dose of peat moss to keep the soil loose and add acid. Full sun.

I have no idea of which JI's to order individually so the "collection" appears to be right for me
plus the cost is about 1/2 of the lower cost ($8) plants in their catalog.

Ensatas collection is a wonderful value. That's how I got started with Jis.

Please do add the peat moss.

18 inches apart will fill in nicely quickly. 24" apart will give you more time before you need to divide.

Make sure the water will not stand and freeze over the crowns of the iris in winter. Mulch them well, and make sure they are well watered for the first year. No fertilizer at all until you see new growth, about 3-4 weeks.

Placed my order today for 10 JI collection. Too good of a bargain to pass. They should
compliment the oldies.

You will not be sorry, you will receive beautiful plants and they will go and compliament the oldies well.

D

And then you will be hooked, and have to order tons more.

I ordered several of the Ensata Siberian Iris. The site says to keep moist....so wouldn't planting among my daylilies be good since I don't have a pond ?

thanks

Planting among your daylilies will be fine. Just water them well all the first year, and mulch them. You don't want siberians in a pond in your area anyway. The water will freeze over the crowns and suffocate them.

Received my collection today. I planted them by using a bulb digger about 7" to the bottom
of the hole, put the plants in and filled with peat moss while holding the top of the root
section about 3" deep. Soaked the plot with water 4 or 5 times until it was saturated.
Crossing my fingers. Have no clue of the cultivars but the collection included:
Angel Mountain, Classical Charm, Bellender Blue, Izu No Umi, White Caps, Michio, Foreign
Intrigue, Pink Puffer, Jocasta and Tropical Storm.

Good selections! I have all of them, and wouldn't give up one. They gave you a nice selection of 3, 6, and peony type falls.

Be sure to mulch them really well, and keep them damp for the rest of this year, right up to ground freeze.

I don't know what Ensata says about fertilizer, some places say not to fertilize at all the first year, but I always do Miracle Gro as soon as I see new growth, and put composted manure and some granular down in the early fall. That's a huge growth period. JIs are heavy feeders. But of course follow Ensatas instructions, so your irises will be guaranteed.

Angel Mountain :)

Instruction sheet says "Plants will not require fertilizer until they establish their roots (several
weeks)."

They are emphatic about mulching. I seem to recall a particular type of bagged mulch has
a fairly high acidic level. Anyone familiar with it?

Pine bark mulch is acidic. Don't worry about the acidity of the mulch, you've done well by adding some peat in. Most peoples soils are slightly acidic. JIs can take neutral to slightly acidic soil very well. If you see a yellowing of leaves, which I doubt you will, Miracid will take care of it, but really I think you're just fine. Water is the most important at this point.

When they establish their roots in a few weeks is when they put on new growth, so we're in agreement on that point.

To my surprise, a couple of the JI's have put up what appears to be bloom stalks. I am
100% happy with the quality of the plants from Ensata.

Closeup.

Those are definitely bloomstalks. Good going!

Japanese irises have a heavy period of root growth in the early fall. I fertilize them then, and it seems I get greater increase since I've been doing it.

I am anxious to see how the ones Polly sent do here and already have a short list-6 I want to get from them next year if all goes well. They really have some beauties don't they.

They have the most beautiful Japanese irises, and the largest selection anywhere. The ones they hybridize themselves are just gorgeous.

I ordered their collection last year. They sent me Cascade Crest, Diomedes, Foreign Intrigue, Frosted Plum, Graceful Dancer, Greywoods Persian Dusk, Gusto, Jocasta, Prairie Twilight, and Royal Game. Most of them have tripled in size. I am hoping I will get blooms this year. It will be fun to compare our success. I went out to fertilize this morning but got rained out, again. The 2 Japanese Iris I bought at Home Depot in the fall of 2007 turned out to be 50% successful. The Pink Frost was exactly as the picture, but the Shiro Nohonkai, something else entirely. I have no idea what this is. It did quadruple in size.

This message was edited May 29, 2009 10:40 AM

Pink Frost at pondside.

Nice ones in the collection, Mittsy.

Pink Frost is pretty. Looks nice by the pond.

Oh wow Polky, Angel Mountain is beautiful. I know where I'm going to be ordering from within the week. I just checked them out about an hour ago and alot of the Irises they were offering in a collection of 10 have been sold out. So while I was there I looked at what they still had in stock and found more than one or two that I wanted. LOL

Now I'm bitten and going to purchase more plants that I really don't need. I can't keep up with the one's I already have. I have tons of weeding I need to do to the daylily beds. LOL Yet I''m still ordering more plants to go here and there and everywhere.

Happy Gardening, Marian

This is 30 days after planting. I counted 5 of 9 having bloom stalks & buds. Will probably
lose one, not the fault of the plant or Ensata. I had saved one wrapped in a wet paper
towel with the root section sealed in a zip-lock baggie and forgot it for nearly 2 weeks.
I planted it but the prognosis is not good.

You Never know. It may just be the best one of all in the end. Very Nice planting by the way.

They look nice and healthy. Remember what I said about fertilizing them in early fall. That's the period of heavy root growth, and it has worked very well for me to fertilize them then. The first year I wouldn't do anything more than Miracle Gro. I saw double the increase on the ones I fertilized early fall.

I gave them a generous shot of miracle grow 'tomato' liquid fertilizer today. 18-18-21 plus the
normal trace nutrients. I figured once they began to put up bloom stalks they may need
a boost. The all purpose MG is 24-8-16 which seemed to be a little out of balance for
flowering plants. It should take some time for the fertilizer to leach thru 3 inches of mulch
and another 3 to 4 inches of soil so I should see some results within a month.

It does sound a little out of balance, but it works terrifically for me. I also alternate every two weeks with Miracid.

I wouldn't use any regular fertilizer at all on them this year. Next sping some 10-10 -10 or equivilant in the spring is good. Japanese are heavy feeders, so it's hard to over fertilize.

But isn't it odd to know that the Japanese irises set their pattern for next years bloom in the fall?

Remember that the first number is nitrogen & can make plants produce more leaves than bloomstalks.

Also, for veggie growers, too much nitrate causes bitterness in veggies and, in tomatoes,
keeps the top or stem end green. I like 5-20-20 or 9-25-25 in the granular fertilizer but
they are hard to find locally. The MG is expensive compared to granular but the trace
nutrients are what makes the difference. Much like Scotts lawn fertilizer compared to the
old standard 12-12-12.

That's true, Lucy. But honestly, I think it's because the Jis are such heavy feeders. I have terrific bloom on mine, and I use 10-10-10 or the equivilant in spring, and then Miracle Gro alternating with Miracid every two weeks all spring right up to ground freeze.

Bellender Blue this morning. Camera does not reproduce the blue correctly. Deepest
blue-black I have seen. The yellow is almost fluorescent shading toward chartreuse.

Izu No Umi just ready to open.

Update of the bed. Sprinkled about 8 oz of garden sulphur yesterday to add acid to the mulch
so it could dissolve over time and leach down to the roots.

Izu-No-Umi

Pink Puffer

They're both lovely. Pink Puffer is heavenly!

I have buds.

Me, too! I have several that have opened but I'm waiting impatiently for more.

White Caps. Camera adds a bit of pink. I am posting these to demonstrate the value of
purchasing from a reliable grower instead of the typical bargain sources. These cost me
$4 each plus postage. I doubt you could buy them from WM or Lowe's for the same amount
plus you would have no idea of what you were buying until they bloomed.

Beautiful!

Tropical Storm. Strange looking but cute.

Nothing strange looking about that one. One of my favorites.