My First Japanese Iris Bloom

I have a JI bloom!!!! I am so happy!! It is really beautiful. It is supposed to be Crystal Halo but it doesn't look like the pic at Ensata. Oh well it's still very pretty!! The pic is showing too much blue it should be a little more purple.

Here's a Pair.

No it doesn't look like Crystal Halo. Did you get it from Ensata? If so, I've never had a wrong plant sent from them.

It sure is lovely, though.

No I did not get it from Ensata. I got it from a local business that does not have the greatest reputation for shipping correct plants.

Question: I have at least 4 or 5 JI that are struggling. The plants are very small and one died (butterflies in flight). These came from a reputable company. Should I try moving these to a different spot?

Now's not a good time to move them.

When did you purchase them? Are they muclhed well? Try putting some Miracid on them. Are you keeping them moist at all times?

I purchased them last fall. They are very well mulched and very moist. Can they be too wet? I will try the miracid. These are planted just a little ways from the one above which was also planted in the fall. They have not increased at all since last fall and may have actually got smaller. I dug a deep hole put in manure and osmicote in bottom then soil and plants. Can they have too much fertilizer?

After seeing the JI above bloom I sure hope that these will survive. They truly are spectacular!

If it is of any comfort to you Butterflies in Flight has been the hardest one I've ever grown and I've yet to see a flower on it. Maybe someday...

I doubt they can be too wet. Have you tested the PH of the soil? How much sun do they get?

I haven't tested the soil but it is usually acidic. Hydrangeas bloom blue in the area. They get at least 6 hours of sun. Maybe shaded from 2:00 or 3:00 on.

These are the ones not doing so good.
Cascade Crest
Electric Glow
Pleasant Sandman
Pink Dimity

Are there any that are fool-proof :)

They can't get too wet, as they grow in ponds, right in the water. And they are heavy feeders, so I doubt you overfed them. Sun situation should be fine in your area.

Do try the Miracid, it won't hurt them. In fact if you have Miracle Gro also, alternate every two weeks with the Miracid.

Like Pirl said, Butterflies In Flight is one of the slowest to multiply.

I'm not familiar with Pink Dimity, but the others are quite good growers for me. I think the Miracle Gro and Miracid will help.

Please take a photo of some of the problem ones so we can try to give a guess as to what could possibly be going wrong.

Did all of your JI's come from the same nursery? If so, give Ensata a chance next year or Siberian Iris Gardens who sell JI's as well: http://www.siberianirisgardens.com/

I will get some Miracid today and rotate with miracle gro. Thanks so much Pirl and Pollyk for all of your advise.

These came from Aiken's Salmon Creek. They sent really nice plants wrapped with moisture pellets. I will take some pics when I get home from work.

I love their plants!

WHATEVER THAT ONE IS i LOVE THE COLORING. iT IS A HEAVENLY bLUE.

Here is mine that is labeled Crystal Halo

Yes that is what I thought Crystal Halo should look like. Mine doesn't have any of the white on the edges it is more of a solid bluesh purple. My Crystal Halo did not come from Aitkens, I just wanted to make sure everyone understood that. None of the ones that I received from Aitkens have bloomed.

I took some pics of the JI that are not doing well but my camera batteries are dead (can't load to computer). I will post when I get batteries charged.

Beautiful picture of Crystal Halo.

I never would have even considered you got the wrong iris from Aikens. I have ordered from them from years, and never had a wrong one. While it may happen very occassionally, you normally do not get wrong plants from any of the beardless iris growers.

Here are the pics of the JI that are struggling:

Another

And 1 more

As compared to these:

And these

Daylily

May I ask a question if you can recall. How many fans did they send? Reason I ask one year they just sent me two and it took them 3-4 years to get to clump size and bloom. Most of the time I receive 3-5 fans (rhizomes) from them

D

i think that they were at least 4-5 fans each. They look worse now than when I received them. I think I said that cascade crest was not doing well but I was mistaken it is one of the ones that is now a nice little clump.

Is this the first year for them?

If so are they getting enough sun, water, and fertilizer as JI are heavy feeders.

D

Nope, Dee, she's got a problem. It looks like thrips to me. I would spray them with something recommended for thrips. If it's not thrips, it could be another insect, but thrips is the most common, but what ever you spray them with should help.

A systemic insecticide is best. I don't know how to recommend things on here as so many are against chemicals, and of course if you have a pond nearby you need to be careful.

I thought the first two pictures were suspect, but the third one cinches it.

Miracle Gro and Miracid will still be good for them. The stronger they can grow the better they can fight off the thrips. But get something for the thrips too. Spray your healthy ones also.

Do you have any pseudacorus or versicolor nearby? If so, spray those too.

Thanks so much pollyk!! I will spray away. I really don't want to lose anymore. I am going to have to do some research on thrips.

Since you got them from Aitkens, I would recommend also, you send pictures there, and ask what they think.

Update on my JI. I applied Miracid and sprayed for insects. They are looking much better; greener and they look like they may be starting to grow some. Thanks for all the advise!!

The second time Crystal Halo bloomed it looked much more like slcdms pic above. Maybe it is the correct plant but just needs some time to settle in.

Yay. I'm so glad they are doing better.

Keep them well watered all up to ground freeze, and use MiracleGro alternating with Miracid every two weeks, and I think you'll see tremendous change next year.

Often times the first flowers are different.