I did -- and was astounded to see Irises being sold, right now in the middle of December. Some of them may be legitimate (?) -- people selling historics for reasonable prices.

But one seller -- ID *rachel4mom* -- is selling $15.99 rhizomes of such rarities as Before The Storm, Stairway to Heaven, Dusky Challenger -- and you can get them by December 24th!! Wow!!
What a deal.

I especially like her "amazing mix of 15 Tall Bearded Iris, $150.00 value", for only $75.00!! Sign me right up!!!

buy them on Ebay or from someone in the plant business (like "Snowpeake", "Winterberry", or "Stoney Creek")? Hmmmmmmm. Tough decision! NOT!!!!!!

Ebay is right up there with the "Malt" stores & "Improvement Centers ). If you are going to throw your money away, then either send it to ME or buy a lottery ticket.

There are some VERY good sources, that sell on Ebay!BUT, there are a lot who aren't so good! If you read the "feedbacks", and watch the forums, here and on other sites, you'll soon get to know the "good" from the" No-good".I guess if a person absolutely want's to be sure that they're not "taken", don't take the chance....Arlyn

Any more on Ebay because Ebay is charging the seller so much in fee's the prices are not like the old days, and there seems to be more and more bad sellers than good anymore. I know there are at least 4 sellers I would trust, but I only buy from growers and never in the stores or auctions at all. I go thru the club, the region, Nationals and some that I trade with that I have for some time.

D

Another thing if the person is shipping now, what you are more likely to receive are ones from the mart stores all dry and more than likely wrong when they bloom.

Dec is NOT shipping month and any person in iris knows this.

D

Right & nothing 'rare' about those irises. Go to Dee!

Y'all did understand that my post was tongue-in-cheek -- right?

I happen to know this person on ebay and I personally would not buy because I know what she sends.

People seem to try to take advantage of gardeners all the time, I know an ebay seller that would advertise nice iris and what did you get crocus daffodils or other bulbs. She knew what she was doing she just decided she did not care how she got the money or what she sent.

What worries me are the new people that really do not know much about iris or bulbs and see a pretty flower and get the worse in the books, turns off the person.

Yeah we knew it was tongue in cheek this time of the year when we are all down and need a pick me up in the garden even my amaryllis are doing nothing....

Like the guy who though I was serious when I talked about having chickens trained to do my weeding. Thought I'd split a gut laughing over that one. I guess the world is filled with givers and takers. The sad news is that the takers think they have it made, little do they know that it's the givers in life who find the real joy in life. By the time they figure it out, (If they ever do) it's often too late, and life has passed them by.

And I just ordered a bunch of chickens to have you train for me

let the dogs train them.

One year (back when I trusted people) I ordered sixty dollars worth of Irises from an Ebay seller. She listed individual Irises, showed beautiful photos, etc. I think she wanted four or five dollars each. I emailed her and asked what she would charge for three of each variety, and she responded ten dollars. So -- I ordered six sets of three.

When the rhizomes arrived, they were completely stripped of roots and fans -- they looked like skinny potatoes. I'd never received Irises in that condition before (prior to that, I'd only ordered from Schreiners). So I emailed her and asked why the rhizomes were stripped. She emailed back and said that that's the way that her Grandmother had shipped Irises, and that that's the way that Irises were shipped from overseas (I think she mentioned Holland). She said that the rhizomes would be more vigorous for their form, and that the following Spring I would have beautiful blooms.

I felt uneasy about it, but accepted what she said -- and planted the rhizomes. Well -- they weren't very vigorous -- it took two years for them to bloom. And when they did, they were ordinary lavender ditch Iris, and not the Irises that I'd paid for. Lesson learned.

I still occasionally buy an Iris on Ebay -- but over the years I've learned which sellers are legitimate, and restrict myself only to them. I ignore every one else. Which is a shame, because there are honest sellers there who have Irises to share, but everyone is suspect because of the few thieves.

And -- sadly -- feedback is not an indicator of whether or not you're dealing with a honest seller. With Irises, it takes a year or two for the truth to be discovered -- and feedback has long since been given on the order, usually for prompt shipment, good communication, etc. Ebay does not have a way for a buyer to go back and retract good feedback. In fact, Ebay has no way at all to resolve the issue because after that length of time, they no longer even have records of the transaction. Or so they say.

So it truly is a matter of *let the buyer beware*.

Yes, I understood you had tongue in cheek. Ebay & December are a bad combo for Irises. Just trying to get that message accross to the new folks as Dee expressed.

Wait....you bought Chickens to train. Oh my....I thought you were supposed to buy eggs; to get Chickens, to train. What do I do with the eggs?????

Just save them till easter, Greg, maybe you can hatch out an Easter Bunny!!...Arlyn

LOL! You guys.................

Greg, not to worry, the best training is pre-natal, so if you set up a recorder that repeats the directions for weeding while the eggs are incubating, your chicks are hatched fully trained. You can also train them to eat the iris borers so that problem is solved too. There's a SLIGHT chance that some of the chicks will be lower IQ so that they might need remedial training after hatching, If they don't respond to that, they can always be put into a pot of soup. I have developed several high IQ lines for this purpose, and will sell some of the roosters for a gazillon dollars, in case you find that you have much more money then brains and want to be relieved of some extra cash. Here's a pic of a few of them. Notice the big rose comb, that should make them especially effective in a rose garden I'd think????

Handsome dudes -- as well as useful!!

What type are the white and tan ones, not familiar with them. My chickens NOT the roosters would eat alot of bugs and a few weeds when we had them and I miss them but the food is too heavy now for me to lift.

Had sexlinks, anaconda's, barred rock, and rhode island reds, which where the worse for pecking holes in the eggs they laid.

Now if I ever get some more chickens I will need to borrow your trading tape and can not afford the gazillon dollars but how about a trade of iris:)

LOL

D

These are Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. I ordered 25 of them last year from Foleys who are leading breeders of them. Out of the 25, there were five hens, and 20 roosters! These are some that are the next generation that I hatched this spring. When you cross two Blue laced Reds, you can get Black laced, Blue laced, and what are called Splach laced Reds. These are still a developing breed, and not yet recognized by the poultry world. They are a larger breed, and a bit slower to mature. If you do a search for Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, you will get some nice pictures of them. I don't have good pics to share. These are also available from some larger hatcheries, but they are not of the quality that you get from a reputable breeder. They are fair layers of medium sized eggs, and will go broody and hatch their own chicks at times. I like the rose combs, they tend not to freeze in the winter like the straight combs sometimes do. I only have about 10 of these hens now, the rest of my flock is made up of mostly cross breds. These roosters (all but one) are slated for the freezer! They make wonderful chicken soup for the winter months ahead.

Hey! You guys are having fun without me. Yes, I took it tongue in cheek, Mary Ann.

So many people will get ripped off from this seller, then never buy irises again, saying that irises don't do well for them. That's so sad.

Too bad we can't send an email to all ebay users that it's not a good idea to buy irises in December.