Hey! Not fair!.... I've never nad more than five different irises bloom for me. I've planted only a handful, and those I did plant either had stalks and bloomed, but not again, or non-stalked rhizomes who simply have refused to put up a stalk. Now with what, 95+ more varieties added, my 2019 list may be wildly different!
I'll do the noids I have.
1 - Purple/white Helen Collingwood lookalike:
This is a close battle between this noid and my tan noids. Both, since our move in 2004 haven't been well kept and left to either propegate or die, and both have very much so propegated!
I love this noid because of three things -
1: Vigorousness
2: Colours
3: Blooms.
For one, the vigor of this noid is superb. In the 3/4 beds it was left in since 2004, in all three does the noid bloom, and prolifically in the fourth bed as seen here:
This noid seems to produce anywhere from 5-10 blooms, often giving me three blooms on one stalk at any given day. The photo above was at peak bloom, and the colours were stunning. It is pretty quick at multiplying, but not as fast as the tan noid.
I prefer this noid over the tan because of its colour; it is much more vibrant than the tan noids, but both together pose a very good contrast. Whenever I figure out the actual ID on these, I highly suggest them, if you can stand for an old historic.
Best show: 2018 season. There were just so many....
2 - Tan Sandalwood lookalike:
This noid is slightly more vigorous than the bitone counterpart above, but the colour is not as...showy.
Despite this, this iris sports strong stalks that can send up anywhere from 5-10 blooms per stalk, and in rare cases, 1-4. The noid multiplies rapidly, and it is the most common bloom in all four beds left in disrepair. I also appreciate the sort-of short, but powerful bloomtime. In 2018, the first bloom appeared on May 2nd(?) and ran to mid May (May 17th), with still a few stalks of this noid beginning to bloom. The 17th was the cut-off date because of a trip, but I suspect this noid bloomed until the 20th, or even later.
The form can be wonky at certain times, but I digress. I do highly suggest this iris too, especially if you pair it with the bitone above. Sharp contrast:
Best show: Five or six stalks from two rhizomes. Earlier than 2014.
3 - Lavender iris Pallida clone:
This is the only iris on this list that didn't come from the four beds. They came from two more, smaller beds strewn under trees. Even under the trees, they tried their best to bloom every year. They stopped one time, and haven't bloomed in those beds again, but, once I transplanted them, they've been a staple ever since. In a mixed tire bed with the tan and lavender irises, the lavenders put up a show. Seven-nine stalks in one tire. The tan irises even put up five themselves!
This iris usually lasts a long time. This season, the first bloom was April 28th, and into May 15th, they were just finishing blooming, with ONLY three stalks. This Pallida clone has smaller stems and tend to be a bit weaker, but the blooms go on forever. One unique thing that I've not seen on any other iris but a pallida, the bud sockets don't have the fleshy-green pouch. They have an almost papery/plasticy feel that is white.
They do have a slight scent, and send up anywhere from 6-12 buds per stalk.
Best show: Tire(s), 2016. I don't know how 11 or 12 stalks came up from a tire of that size.
4 - Yellow Sherwin-Wright lookalike:
All but one year did this noid send up a stalk in only bed four. They're extremely fast at multiplying. I can get two or three rhizomes from the small plot they're planted in and still have enough to get blooms the next season. Though the flower, for a possible TB is small, they give out a lot of blooms, which makes them worth it. The size feels more like a BB, or even IB, but they bloom right with the other TBs.
One thing: They're resiliant! There were a few iris rhizomes that got misplaced in near the woods, and since, they've grown and despite thorns and briars surrounding them, the variety tried, AND bloomed even after being subject to the thorns, and being transplanted prior bloom to a sunny and hot area. Bed four, where they also are, is filled with thorns and briars, and even rhizomes from other noids...and he still blooms anyways.
Best show: 2018. Four stalks, in three different places. One of which, at the woodside, and surrounded by thorns and even transplanted before bloom, and still bloomed!!
5 - White/tannish undertone Gay Paree lookalike:
Unlike the rest on my list, this iris isn't that vigorous and even then, is still indestructable it seems. I have only found one area where it blooms, and that is in bed four, and is very inconsistent at so, but this year, after a transplant of these many years ago, where there was a burst of three or four stalks, and a three year gap, they came back with two strong and sturdy stems bearing 6-8 blooms which lasted A LONG time. I attempted a cross with both, and one took, but got destroyed sadly, but it is at least fertile one way. I look to place it in a sunny spot and see if it becomes more consistent, if so, the noid portion of my list might be shuffled!
Best show: Several years ago, where there were three or four stalks in a relatively shady spot.
Honourable mention:
6 - Pink noid Cherie lookalike.
This is the last of seven noids that have ever bloomed in my yard on record, and bloomed again. There was this orange iris that bloomed many years ago, and has not yet since. This noid is considerably more fussy to bloom it seems. It is in all four beds, and years ago, it bloomed so much, but the tan and bitone noids above outperformed and multiplied by it, shrinking the number out. There have even been a few non-bloom seasons from it, but this year, it only sent up two stalks and was the last of my irises to bloom. It has less of a bud number, from 5-7, but the pink is still pretty.
I have moved it several times (with where I could find the rhizomes) and despite the transplants, I've not yet seen a bloom from this cultivar other than the four beds.
Best show: When we first moved here, a good season of stalks from this noid was upwards of 20.
, but as soon as this technical issue is resolved 
, I will post my favorites.
It continued to bloom, even after I (naively) set a pod on it.
