All my dwarf iris have died. They don't seem to do well here, so I won't be buying more of them.

Wow, they usually grow like weeds here.

DaisyDo said: All my dwarf iris have died. They don't seem to do well here, so I won't be buying more of them.

I have Zaa Zaa Zing and am looking forward to blooms this year! Love your picture, Leslie

Yes, the wild violets.Impossible to get rid of with the huge area I have and the large amount of iris I now have.I have kept them out of my yard,but unfortunately not out of the iris bed.
I would have to dig up all the iris and replant at this point,and at my age that isn't going to happen with over 600 iris and increases of many.
At least the bees enjoy their blooms.

I have Zaa Zaa Zing as well. Aparently it appealed to several of us.

Derylin, I am turning green over here, just thinking about having that many new intros blooming at the same time!

DaisyDo said: All my dwarf iris have died. They don't seem to do well here, so I won't be buying more of them.

Daisy, You are not the only one with that problem. I was just discussing the poor performance of SDBs here in Santa Clara County, California with other members of my local iris society. I think that our growing conditions are quite different than yours - we have horrible alkaline clay soil and little rain between April and December - but the same problem, which is that the darn things just don't thrive here. One year I bought ten SDBs from Mid-America and they just fizzled out. I've given up on them and I am not alone.

That's bizarre. I wonder of it has something to do with the ocean, Daisy.

We are in the "same zone" and my littles are prolific. Better than the TBs by FAR in terms of vigor.

I love my little ones, they make a mat for me. Lots of blooms!

It's well known that the little ones need a cold winter chill period to thrive.

Tom, Aha. I did not know that well-known fact.

My Zaa Zaa Zing is blooming too. But it is still in a pot.

Derylin, you exhaust me just reading about your orders!

Curious, Andrea, that your soil is alkaline. My clay soil here is all acidic, probably due to the tons of oak leaves.

Agree that the SDBs don't do well in my garden, tho TEAGAN seems to hang in there and bloom. It gets a lot of shade tho so maybe that cools it down a bit.

On the one hand it's a pity as there are so many pretty SDBs, but on the other hand they get swallowed up here unless right atop a stone-walled raised bed (therefore more visible), and the bud count isn't all that high. Plants gotta earn their real estate!

Tom, do the IBs and BBs have similar cooling requirements? Mine aren't doing all that great.

Right now I am only buying PCIs, I. japonicas, and TBs.

Picked up TB His Royal Highness at a local plant store. Applied for a job there, so

TB His Royal Highness

It has a stalk so hopefully it blooms well here.

I wonder if some of Tasco's MTB's would do well in Calif. since they are developed there?

Dunno. Not going to try one because I prefer big flowers on tall stalks.

Polymerous said:
Curious, Andrea, that your soil is alkaline. My clay soil here is all acidic, probably due to the tons of oak leaves.

I've never actually had my soil's pH tested, to tell you the truth. My understanding is that soil in a dry climate like ours most likely is alkaline. I know for sure that it is horrible clay!

It's horrible clay alright, but I'm betting acidic, because at one time your property would likely have had oaks too, unless soil was imported from somewhere with a higher pH. Ours for sure is acidic, but I don't remember what the pH meter said the last time I used it, years ago.

I tried to be good!
However,everyday I have done nothing but look at iris since I last ordered.
And of course it has consequences after so many days of looking-
So I ordered:
From Iris 4U
1.Purplicious -24intro 2.Vanishing Point-24int.
3.Boom Shakalaka
4.Dreamliner
5.Upper Crust
6.Double Kick
7.Awesome Wonder replacement
8.Wealth-replacement