Hello,
I have bought quite a few fancy reblooming iris from brecks last fall and this spring. I have not seen any blooms at all on them. is that unusual? Do they take awhile to bloom. I'm sure I won't get reblooms when they haven't bloomed at all so far and it's getting kind of late. We have had tons of rain here, so maybe that affects blooming.

Thanks, sue

Sue, some of it depends on the condition of the iris when you got it. If the rhizomes were really dry then it might take until next spring for them to bloom. Also depends on how they were planted. You didn't say if they were bearded iris or not. If they are then make sure the rhizome isn't buried. It should sit on top of the soil with the roots in the soil. The blooms get their nutrients from the rhizome so it is important the rhizome is exposed enough to get sun. And no mulch on top either as it can cause rot. Other than that, well just be patient and hopefully they will put on a show for you next spring.

As for reblooming - you will get better results after they have settled in. But don't despair of you only get spring bloom. Not all will re-bloom. Depends on lots of factors.

Hello Sue,
Your rhizomes may have been too small to flower. Even if they were flowering size, sometimes irises just don't flower in their first year after being planted. It is always disappointing when they make us wait another year.

When they bloom depends too on when they mature enough. I often have reblooming iris that don't bloom in the spring, but bloom in the fall. Although in your zone, I wonder if your season will be long enough for rebloomers to show up.

thanks everyone, this has been very helpful

I attended a lecture by an American Iris Society judge yesterday. She has over a hundred varieties of irises and wanted to grow rebloomers. She had complained to the hybridizer that one he had sent her had not rebloomed. It turns out that unlike most bearded irises, rebloomers need to be watered throughout the summer. When given sufficient water, the iris rebloomed. She also recommended an extra dose of fertilizer after the first bloom. Like all irises, blooms occur on new growth.

it rained 26 out of 30 days in june where I live They should be pretty moistened.

I will have to say that Brecks is noted for not really sending the iris that is pictured. I was sent a reblooming collection by a friend from Brecks and out of the whole bunch only two were true to name and only two rebloomed, Feedback and Harvest of Memories.

The speaker recommended that rebloomers be purchased from MidAmerica, Shriners or Sutton's for the best chance of getting an accurately labeled rhizome. She said that even then there might be ones that were mislabeled.

I hate to pop your speakers bubble, but I have gotten a couple wrong ones from Schriener's over the years. I think there are others on here who have also gotten wrong ones from them. I have never gotten a wrong one from Keith Keppel, Mid America, or Joe Ghio, although they are human, so it could happen. I got one wrong one from Suttons but they corrected it right away. Breck's on the other hand are notorious for sending mis-labeled plants. Of course they are very cheap, so a lot of people get plants from them and don't care what the name is. If you check them out on Dave's Garden you see there are 3 negative reports, and no positive ones.

Brecks is a Quantity vendor verses Quality vendor. This makes their accuracy record "suspect" at best. Food for thought.

I agree that Breck's could definitely work on selling items true to name. They also need to work on shipping items at the correct planting time. I bought a bunch of daylilies last season from them and 75 percent of them died. They shipped them way too late. A good experience I have had with them, though, is I e-mailed and complained. I got a full refund. Be sure to contact them if you are unhappy.

Yeah, Shriners has shipped me some mis-named ones as well. And their customer service is not nearly as good as many other iris vendors. I think the best practice, if one is seeking rebloomers, is to look for ones hybridized in your section of the country. For instance Winterberry gardens, a Virginia (I think) vendor, sells irises that perform better in my warmer southern climate.

The speaker did say MidAmerica was one of the best. The only iris I've ordered this year Batik from American Meadows. I've had good luck with other perennials from American Meadows and I miss Batik. I accidentally gave all my rhizomes away one year.

How did you manage to do that???

I did that too with Before the Storm, thought I had some left, but it was another one that had grown into it.

There would not be a lot of rebloomers that rebloom in Zone 5a. From Sutton's https://www.suttoniris.com list of iris that should bloom in Zone 5 and above.

Autumn Circus
Autumn Rain
Bolder Boulder
Double Shot
Golden Immortal
Lord of Rings
Masterwork
Raspberry Frost
Summer Waltz
Sunset Punch

Others I know of available at Winterberry Gardens http://www.winterberryirises.c...
These are often mentioned as reliable
Daughter of Stars
Feed Back
Immortality
Rosalie Figg

I am just starting to get into rebloomers, There are a lot of smaller iris that rebloom as well.

But the extra fertilizer and water are very important.

@suzysparklesalot I have a volume listing rebloomers and where they have been reported to rebloom. If you send a list of the varieties, I can look up and tell you if there are reports that they will rebloom in your zone.

All good advice Sue!
Breck's and others like WalMart have rhizomes that are well dried out so will take longer to produce anything. As has been said there is a very high error rate in the correctness area with those type of mail order and big box stores.
A second shot of light fertilizer is usually needed with rebloomers, plus the climate can play a big role as to whether a particular one will rebloom. Some rebloomers like to be moved every 2-3 years as well.
Winterberry was mentioned; they specialize in rebloomers among other types.
Check with the people at Pickle Barrel House Iris Garden in the UP; they know a lot about growing irises there [Grand Marais], see http://gardeninggonewild.com/?... for some info.