I finally got my first Iris... whoo hoooo

Well I have been back home in Ohio for a short month and finally was able to find a Iris for a new bed.. My BIL ook me to a garden club meeting and plant auction and would you belive my luck I ended up with a bag of freshly dug historic site Iris.. The blooms were so dark purple they were almost black ( they brought some in a vase).. i quickly got them home and re-planted them very carefully as there are a few bloom stalks starting.. I would love it if they bloomed but I lso know my chances are slim...

What do you think might they bloom?

Irises are tough. The stalks already appearing should have a good cance of continuing to grow. They might be shorter than usual.

I truley hope so .. I woul dlove to have a bloom even if it is a shorter stalk.. I was thrilled and only wish I could have afforded more than what I got. When all was said and done I recieved a total of 6 fans for $3.50.. There were 4other clumps but they were pretty mangled and since I had never grown them I figured I better not chance it..

Thanks for answering me..
Donna

hey Donna! fancy meeting you in the iris forum!

well, usually irises are planted in the fall, but the historics are really hardy - so planting them now won't hurt them at all. if they were potted, they might bloom. figure them blooming next spring. unless they had already thrown up stalks?

check on www.irises.org for culture questions. you are in an area that gets iris borers, so check on that, too. You may need to invest in a bit of spraying.

irisMA is more knowledgable than I, but if they brought irises in a vase to show you what they looked like - - then they have already bloomed this year.

there are several dark purple historics, some of them are reblooming. from what I saw at nationals, it's a bit early in your area for Tall Bearded irises, so yours may be Intermediate Bearded. The IBs bloom a bit earlier and shorter and the flowers are smaller. Those are the ones I really love! don't know why, but Eleanor Roosevelt really enchants me.

Be careful Donna the iris fancy may bite and you won't want anything else. hee hee. IrisMa is very helpful.

They may have brought in stalks from a plant which started blooming. Are the stalks which are still on the plants showing buds? It sounded like they are. If not & the buds or flowers have finished, then they will bloom next year. At least you know what they look like. You seem to have a start of a good clump which is good for future bloom.

Hi Bon Yes yes fancy seeing you here. lol i saved the ink and will be reading over it as I can.. Didnt realize the TB wasnt what I got I guess I have more reading to do..

Jumper I think I have already been effected.. lol I stop and star at all the blooms around town ..

IrisMA thank you for juming in as well... Nice to meet all of you...

Okay details.. 2 have stalks wih buds and today they are very perky and looking like they are happy where I put them.. On 1 it has a stalk started but not yet budded.. The blooms they brought were cut a few hours before the auction along with digging the ones I got out so they were only out of the soil for a few hours.. I will take pis if ~ when they bloom.. I was tol dthey came out of an very old homesite that was over 00 years old so Im hoping they are the really older ones..

well, next time I will read more carefully. If you have stalks, then you may well get bloom this year. but don't expect too much. transplant will effect them. Knowing your green thumb, they'll be just fine.

Just think! you can add irises to your garden! peonies will do well, too, as companion plants. not like your FL garden, to be sure....maybe better!?? these may be TBs - I'm just thinking you are north of Kansas City and they are just getting their bloom now.

after they bloom, keep the bed clean. Cut the stalks down to the rhizome, all the way down. They will go dormant when hot weather hits. (foliage doesn't die back) While they are settling in, for about 3 weeks or so, keep them damp - NOT WET. we don't get borers here, so I can't help you on that.

do post photos - would love to see these oldies! hopefully they will have wonderful fragrance.

Will do Bonnie.. All the rhizomes were very solid but I will eep an eye on them for sure.. Im glad I have shade here and will be able to do alot more..

My neighbor has a peony and its getting ready to bloom.. But is stretching out to the sun since its in shade... Do they root well I wander?

well, the iris and peony both can take a bit of afternoon shade, but both want full sun around here. and I wouldn't mess with the peony until late summer to fall - that's when we plant them, too.

check on that AIS website I posted for you and locate your nearest local iris society. chances are great they'll have a summer rhizome fundraising sale, often of plants grown locally. you can probably buy the best quality, like the ones you bought, there.

well, I know what to send as pressies come July, don't I?