So right Arlyn, but I can usually find something to say. Lol Suggest to your cousin that she keep your info sheet in a binder. So many new iris collectors say they had the information but lost it or lost the names or lost, lost, lost.... and now want to find out the names and history and where it came from etc. If cousin just put all things in a binder and does not look at it until next season the info will be there and they can add to it. It may help......

Too funny, Debra!!! ....another iris adventure, eh, Arlyn?

Well, if I were to have been the one to have done something like that, I think all the unmarked ones might have been the same thing. Iffen I had be the one...

Hee! I am going to be very careful following all the above instructions, and send spanking clean, well labeled rhizomes, wrapped in paper, in boxes with air holes.

I probably just jinxed myself!

I'm sitting here, finishing my lunch, with my "beverage of choice" in my new "Red Green " mug! It's just milk, so in that respect, I guess I'm more like nephew Harold, than I am like 'uncle Red"! Thanks Deb !!....Arlyn

You are very welcome, Arlyn.

Or you can do a wonderful job of packing and marking the contents only to have the box get caught in a sorting device at the post office and tear everything into shreads. The letter carrier brought such a box this spring, and she said, I can't believe they want me to deliver this. It was all shredded and broken. Funny thing is there were some day lilies in it that came out great, growing with no problem, and the some of the iris rhizomes were beat to death, but others were OK. They were all the same variety, so they should be fine. but it was a nasty looking mess all stuffed into a large plastic bag with a form letter included explaining that it got caught in a sorting machine, and they were sorry for the incovenience.

Yikes!!!

Sorry to hear that Tom. Hopefully that is not the norm for this year! Is it usual to get rhizomes in the spring??

Sending rhizomes is always a risk with shippers. I had one batch wandering some rabbit trail for over 15 days! My brother had one box he sent out with a taped-on label end up in a sort facility with the address torn off the box, but the return address still intact, and the USPS would not send it back to him without a lot of mess and paperwork!

My precautionary advice is to NEVER send a rare plant if it is your only one. Too risky. If you must then split it into two packages.

As to marking-I received a mixed batch last season where they had been well dried and several marked leaves came off while in shipment. So I ended up with 4 NOID's, but at least had the original list to compare to once they bloom, which did not happen this year. If the plants are dry and stand a chance of losing the fan then marking on the rhizome is best.

On the positive side, most of the time shipping works well.

..... and IF marking on the fan chose an innermost blade close to the rhizome because the outer ones will surely turn brown quickly..... IF marking on the rhizome initials will do if accompanied by a list of enclosures and no two irises share the same initials.

Once upon a time, I bought a box of tulip bulbs and iris rhizomes out of a storage unit in Maine. The box had been in storage for 3 years of hot summers and frozen winters. I got red tulips and Manhattan Blue Dwarf irises! They are tougher than we think.

As far as iris go, if you like Priority Mail, The flat rate envelopes get the least mangled and cost less than the boxes. Most rhizomes weigh under 4 ounces in an envelope, so I usually use 1st Class Mail.

Linnea! That envelope thing might work fine for shipping small numbers of rhizomes. Usually though, I have to work to stuff everything into a large or medium box! What always amazes me it that many vendors charge more to ship farther distances, and then use the flat rate boxes. Makes no sence to me!

Me too, Tom.

Hi Linnea!

Welcome, again, Linnea. Your information is good to have! Do you have photos of the Iris in bloom?

Me, either, Tom. Last job, we shipped hundreds of packages each week and I don't see any good reason why a vendor would use calculated rates, then ship FlatRate.

If the "calculated rate" is higher than "flat rate", they would make a little "extra' on shipping.....Arlyn

Exactly!! Unethical.

Welcome Linnea. You must be a biological powerhouse, after your namesake.

One caveat is that all the above shipping directions apply to bearded iris only. All of the beardless iris (Siberian, Spuria, Louisiana, Japanese and Pacific Coast irises) have to be shipped with their roots kept wet. They usually die if the roots dry out.