Bonnie-That seems strange. "Lavender Moonbeams" is a 2014 introduction. Superstition Iris Gardens would have revealed it in January of 2014 and shipped it to a customer in July or August. Kind of hard to imagine that you found it at a plant sale in the Summer, 5 or 6 months after it was introduced. What is "MG"? This seems fishy to me. Hard to say anything until the plant blooms, but the set of circumstances makes me think that the plant you bought was mis-identified.

MG is Master Gardener and I do not know its name. It was said to be a purple winter blooming shade loving iris. The foliage is right but I am sure it is not the same one they are introducing. It is an older variety of winter blooming iris. Sorry I inferred I owned this particular plant.

Whoops!

Sorry about the confusion. I see now that I could have read that differently.

When I grew I. unguicularis, it received morning sun until about 11a.m. Then it was bright light the rest of the day, not deep shade. The blooms can sneak up and in the one I grew tended to be down in the foliage a bit. They don't make stalks like bearded iris. I think after the first bloom, some people cut back the foliage so the blooms are above the foliage with no detriment to the plant. I've often wondered how they would do in a container.

Mine seems to be happy and has doubled its size this summer.

Bonnie - so yours grows well in partial shade? I have many partially shady places around my house, and would love some iris to grow there. I planted iris cristata last fall, but have yet to see how it will do. It may have too much shade.

I grow cristata in dappled morning shade and complete afternoon shade. I also have to make sure is does not get too dry for too long during the long days of summer. It seems to like it where it is.



I am looking for the white variety now. I was recently given some Japanese Roof iris and still have it in a pot. I am going to move it about until I find a place that it likes...... just not on the roof.

Because then you would be climbing up on the roof to see it...no, no roof places, please.

She means I. tectorum. ☺

I've grown I.cristata in mostly full sun before, and it did amazingly well. The clump bloomed much more heavily than they do in the wild. I need to go raid the creek bank and get some more of those, I miss those sweet blue cuties!

I.tectorum is the only Iris I've ever grown from seed. 3 germinated, and 1 made it to maturity. It formed a nice clump and I divided it in 2013, so it didn't bloom last year- fingers crossed for this year. They're now in a spot I can see and appreciate them.

I have both tectorum and cristata. My tectorum is still in a pot waiting for placement. Not sure which colors I will have. Duke Gardens didn't label the cultivar name.

My cristata is planted in an area much like yours Bonnie. Glad it doesn't mind afternoon shade!

Cristatas are usually fine with shade.

I.cristata grows wild around here, usually on the banks of streams in dappled shade. In the garden they will form a thicker clump with more blooms. They don't mind more sun, but in the wild, competition from larger plants typically doesn't allow it.

They are native in this area too, Neal. The blue is the only one I see growing here anymore.

Sky blue is all I've seen around here too. Did you see other colors in the past?

Blue and white were prevalent here when I was a child. My Mamma took me with her when she picked native herbs, Poke Sallet in the spring from our pastures and along stream beds. I learned how to identify a lot of native plants but I was fascinated with wild violets, Sweet William, native irises and Johnny Jump Ups. Now when I meander through woodlands the only blooms I see are around old abandoned farms. Where have all the wildflowers gone??? The old ones had the most wonderful scents.

I'm trying to get both i' cristata, and i'missourienses started here, but I'm not having very good luck with either ! I had rhizomes of both ,but I think they had been "out of the ground" too long to "take", so, I planted seeds last fall....we'll see if THEY take hold !

What is a Johnny Jump Up? Love the name.

Years ago when there was wild pasture, many of the wild flowers could compete with the grass as the cattle ate that. Now wild pasture is a thing of the past. We used to go out into a swampy area and pick wild blue berries in the pastures. We could sit among the wild irises growing there in the marsh.

Its a viola with yellow in it, Leslie. Native violets are two shades of purple with the deepest shade being almost black and velvety. Johnny Jump Ups come a little before and take more sun. One day you will not see them and then the next day they make a little happy carpet of blooms. I guess that is how they got the name they seem to jump up over night.