One of my re-bloomers is October Surprise. So far I see no evidence that I may have an October Surprise. Is there still hope? I bought these at the local nursery or hardware store and planted it last fall.

One thing I have noticed about rebloomers is that the amount of rebloom varies and some only rebloom depending on what weather zone they are planted in. The Garden.org iris database lists the rebloom weather zones if they are known. There is an example of this for Autumn Circus
Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Autumn Circus')

It takes a couple of years for a new offset from the mother rhizome to mature enough to bloom. You might start to see some rebloom on October Surprise when you have a clump of it.

Robin. I have several others I planted last year that I got at Costco that are also supposed to be re-bloomers. Maybe they need to be pampered with extra fertilizer for bulbs/rhizomes?

You have to remember that rebloom isn't really "guaranteed", for any iris..anywhere. It can be "highly likely", under most average growing conditions, for some of the most reliable rebloomers, but still, not "guaranteed'. I grow a lot of Re irises, but only "know" what works in my zone 5, Northern Illinois, garden, so, what works in your climate is new territory, for me.
I feel that, for the best rebloom chance, the plant can'r be allowed to go dormant during the growing season....irises want to take a "rest period" after spring bloom, and that is when we usually are doing the digging, dividing, planting, in our beds, so everything is ready to "take off" when that dormant period is over. In a "normal" year, that means fertilizing right after spring bloom is over, and maintaining the moisture level in the beds (never letting the soil dry out deeper than , maybe 2 inches deep....the rhizomes set in the top inch, or so of soil....which can...and should, be dry, but the roots are all in the 3"-8" depth range), controlling weeds, and leaf spot, to keep the plants growing at "maximum efficiency ". That can be hard, in some areas , in some years. Also, the plants chosen should be ones that are known to do well in your area...some irises take a longer time to mature a rhizome, so, in my "short season", there just won't be enough "year" for them to ever rebloom. Check out the "Reblooming Iris Society" for some information, and some tips.

http://www.rebloomingiris.com/

We were amazed that my border iris 'Hi Buddy' reblooms in parts of Texas, certainly not anywhere else.

So my October Surprise has sent a stalk up like it could bloom. What do you think? It's almost Christmas, and dipping into the 30's (so far above freezing) with rain that our area has needed since we've been in a drought.. Do you think it will actually bloom? If it does, I will try to post a pic!

Yea, Hi Buddy my BB rebloomed in the convention gardens in NM. So it only does so in a climate with a very long growing season.

My daughter grows IB Champagne Encore in norther Ohio. However, it grows so beautifully it has outgrown its bed with now no room for rebloom. It will have to be divided and some plants taken out & sent elsewhere.

around here in MA the rebloomer in gardens Is TB Immortality, although when I had IB I Bless, we also had fall bloom.

Rosemary,. It is possible. I have had a historic that sent up and bloomed on Christmas Eve. It was a dark purple. Temps were down in the 30's.

Thanks for the ray of hope, Richard!

I too have had blooms when the night temps drop to below freezing but not too much below freezing...Maybe down to 28 degrees. Blooms seem to survive light snow as well. So there is always hope. However, here we have warm days and the cold night temps. The warm days may help keep things moving along. I am not sure about your Sacramento whether...Do you have warm days?

Our days are mostly in the 50's, Elsa. Does that qualify as warm? Saw that My Friend Johnathan was blooming at my daughter's. Christmas Eve. It was planted in the early Spring, but is blooming now for the first time. My Oct. Surprise now has two buds. It could snow this coming week, which only happens very rarely, like once every 10 years or less.

The double bloom of My Friend Jonathan taken at 7 pm Christmas Eve in Citrus Heights. suburb NE of Sacramento, at 7 pm with my cell phone: After brightening:

Rosemary ~ Can you, brighten up that photo, and then re-post it?

I would actually rather that my rebloomers not try to bloom this time of year because it's too cool for me to go out there to see them. I would rather they save their strength and buds for a magnificent spring show when I can be outside enjoying them. With this aim, I do not pamper them during the summer dormancy period other than givng them a low nitrogen feeding after bloom just as I give all my iris.

evelyninthegarden said:Rosemary ~ Can you, brighten up that photo, and then re-post it?

Evelyn, it's now retroactively brightened.

Surprise, surprise. The label actually said October Splendor, not October Surprise, although that was also one that didn't bloom last year as well. Also, the surprise is that it is probably the rebloomet His Royal Highness. It is pleasantly fragrant, and this stalk has 9 buds/blooms! What do you think?

So what do you iris gardeners think? Does the above pic look like a typical His Royal Highness? Also, since it is now blooming and spring is officially just a bit over a month away, I assume it would count as a super-early spring bloom and if the next time it would bloom would be next fall?

reh0622 said: Surprise, surprise. The label actually said October Splendor, not October Surprise, although that was also one that didn't bloom last year as well. Also, the surprise is that it is probably the rebloomet His Royal Highness. It is pleasantly fragrant, and this stalk has 9 buds/blooms! What do you think?

Ha! that looks exactly like the iris I received labeled as Feedback! that now I believe was just mislabeled ...

I bought this at Costco. Does anyone else on this forum have His Royal Highness, and if so, does it look like this one? I have some other purple ones planted at the same time, including Ozark Rebounder, which I believe is much darker, and Victoria Falls, which I think is lighter. I have a second one blooming now also, same color as this one. Thank you for any other Feedback.

Hi Rosemary, Sorry I can't help with the identification. There are so many purple/violet TBs that it is going to be pretty much impossible to figure out its name. It sounds like a keeper, though! Pretty, fragrant, lots of buds. I would just call it "Costco NOID Purple" and just enjoy it!