Compairing Ocelot and Prague

Here's another compairision. I saw Ocelot pictured on one of the threads and loved it. I looked it up in the search box at Schreiners and both Ocelot and Prague came up. I guess they recommend Prague too since they look similiar? While I thought I wanted Ocelot, now that I see them both, I think I want Prague instead.

Both are beautiful TBI, but if I could afford it, I'd go for Prague. It has a spicy fragrance and blooms a little later. Naples X Ocelot are it's parentage. BTW, Naples is a beauty also!

I have Naples, but neither Ocelot nor Prague. Would love to have either or both. So you see where iris virus leads. People like Dee and irisMa will tell you the characteristics of each -- and why you might need both. They grow a lot more than I do. Naples, however, has been vigorous and beautiful for several year now. Good ancestor, I am sure.

There's another I just saw at Schreiners that looks very similiar to Ocelot and Prague, its Foreign Legion. I have to say that from the picture at least, it looks like the most dramatic of the three. They call it a gold and purple bicolor while they call Prague an apricote and purple bicolor.

I wouldn't be surprised that if these two were planted next to each other that I would not be telling them apart.

I don't remember who hybridized Naples or Ocelot. Ocelot is not growing well for me here. But most any hybrids coming out of Mid America do quite well for me, so I've also ordered Prague.

Naples is by Tom Johnson and is a very good grower for me. Ocelot is by Ghio. I have never tried to grow it, but Ghio's cultivars can be difficult to grow.

I got both Foreign Legion and Prague when I ordered. I know I said I was not going to get two that were similiar but I could not resist these!

Now you are a true iris lover!

I am afraid to plant them side by side because I am sure I would not be able to tell them apart if they got too close too each other. But I simply could not deleate either from my shopping cart. I kept looking and there are differences enough to want both. And so it goes down a slippery slope.

I am planning my 7 foot square brearded iris bed and wonder how long it will take me to fill it up. I honestly don't know if the iris I have on order will do it or not. I go for the least amount of space and divide sooner on my plants rather than the place them sparcely and wait for them to fill in method.

hmmm I would not call Foreign Legion and Prague that similar that you would mix them up under any circumstances, newyorkrita.

Well, don't foreget that I have never actually seen them. Only going by the pictures at Schreiners. It was hard to tell the differences from those pictures but enough that I could see there was a difference and wanted them both. I will be doing the safe thing and not planting them side by side.

foreign legion is lovely, but more beige over black purple tones. Will be an awesome iris in an arrangement, and a good backdrop iris for other brighter colored ones in the garden. to my eye, prague has more red in it.

Different soils can intensify colors or fade them a bit. I would suggest planting them nearby, but not next to each other. However it's not my garden.

I am going to be making a 7 foot square bearded iris bed for my iris coming in july. I probably will plant them at opposite ends of the square. But since I haven't even started making my plans for what goes were, that might change.

I need to look up exact height and bloom time of each ordered as I did not pay much attention to if it was early, medium or late at time of order. I just picked based on blooms. Was going for newer, fancier more ruffles mostly.

If I can, I think I want to do a section of early, then medium and late around the edges of the square. Don't know how I will arrrange the middle.

My believe is that Prague, though very beautiful is not one of the stronger growing iris. I haven't grown it myself, but have seen it in many convention gardens. Comparing it just to other irises of Tom Johnson's, it isn't that great a grower. Not abysmal but not great. I know little about Ocelot, but I doubt if it is a great grower either -- just a hunch. I have seen it in convention gardens and seem to recall it wasn't a great grower either. I think you did the right thing by not buying either one. There are many fabulous growing irises out there. I always check Plant Files before I buy an iris if I don't know if it is a good grower. I do grow Naples by Tom Johnson which is a very good grower. I suggest that one for next year -- if you want something like that.

I am too new to TB iris to know exactly what I want or how the newer intros will do for me here. Just from looking, I find that once I get over the fact that I seem to want everything and really get serious about choosing, I like the big flowers with lots of ruffles which, to generalize, the older iris don't seem to have.

I think I have ordered a nice selection to start off with and then after I get them all planted, I will see if I need more to fill my intended bed areas. Then if they struggle or die over the winter, that will be another issue. I have a lot to learn.

We all have a lot to learn. Iris hybridizers have been producing large flowered TB's for at least 10 years -- probably more. I always want the latest thing, too, but it actually makes more sense and cents to go wait about 3 years to see what is a good grower -- and by then you can get some info on which are good growers and which aren't -- even in your own area.
Now if only I would practice what I preach!

Since I don't have any, to me anything from 2000 on is new enough. Actually, if I like it enough the date of intriduction would make no difference. But what I see is that if I look at a picture of a flower from pre 2000, just to generalise, and keep looking, I find a very similar colored flower thats much newer and just more striking when compaired to the first. More ruffles (love them) or just an improvement in color. Thats only my taste of course and I will not be able to have that many as my space is limited. So I would rather spend more money for fewer iris that really will nock my socks off rather than go for volume to fill up beds that I don't have and have no room to add.

Same thing in daylilies. Know lots and lots of people who say why spend the bigger bucks for newer daylilies when there are so many older beautiful varieties that are very reasonably priced. I am to the point were I want to buy my choice of the newestest intros because my daylily beds are almost full. Don't need volume.