Is anyone else growing any species Iris? I just realized I do have a fair
number of Species Iris growing in the garden (or in pots) right now .....
- Iris pallida
- Iris florentina
- Iris germanica
- Iris albicans
- Iris versicolor
- Iris virginica

The Iris virginica is in the ground and has tripled in size and already bloomed this year. Iris versicolor (2 plants) is also in the ground and appears to be growing very very slowly and has not bloomed yet.
Iris florentina (2 plants) had one of the rhizomes lose its leaves.
Iris albicans is also growing very very slowly and is in a pot.
Iris germanica I have not received yet but will arrive next week.

I. lutescens



I. germanica



neglecta



I. pallida var. "Odoratissima"



flavescens



swertii
a couple of these are not "true' species, but "natural hybrids"

i Florentina

Snork:: I can't help but notice the soil your Iris are planted in. I've noticed a lot that many people have iris that appear to be planted in the driest dirt I have ever seen. Yet the Iris flourish. I think all of my iris are
planted in soil that is to rich, with too much nutrient - I have all of mine planted in bagged "Garden Soil" which I think is a MiracleGro product. I wonder if my Iris will suffer from being in such a soil ?

Its possible. I think we tend to kill them with kindness, when all they really need is a little dirt, good drainage and lots of sun. My large garden is an old hillside cow pasture that is very rocky. Lately there has been too much rain and the weeds are loving it. I tend to give new plantings a dose of potting soil, peat moss and some bone meal. After that they are pretty much on their own. In the spring they get a light top dressing of triple phosphate, and every other year or so I spread la light layer of aged horse manure on them in the late fall. In general they do pretty well.

Usually if the soil is too rich you will have problems with rot or lots of green and little flowering. Maybe mix your potting soil with "plain old dirt" and see if anything changes. Good Luck!

I think mixing it with topsoil may be a good idea since bagged garden soil sometimes holds too much moisture. You have been having lots f rain, so I would definitely avoid mulch and such that would keep the ground too wet. With bearded iris it is better to be a bit dry and avoid getting your fertilizer of choice on the rhizomes. With Japanese keep the soil wet and fertilize and mulch. Species iris are tricky because they range from true water iris to those that like the garden soils. I would do research on each kind to see what will keep them most happy.

D'you actually mean the wild type species? 'Cause every Iris cultivar is cultivated from a species.

I myself have two: I. germanica (White Knight) and I. sibirica (Snow Queen).Oh-oh, there's a theme coming haha :p

I currently have planted Iris virginica (which is growing like wild and has already bloomed this year), Iris versicolor (which is barely growing at all).

I also have Iris albicans, and Iris florentina. I will be getting Iris germanica. I think the "bagged Garden Soils" from my experience are just to Wet. They are wet in the bag and they stay wet once you use them.
I actually created my own garden site by using Compost and Garden soil. I did not amend my existing soil
at all (I couldn't get access to it because of pachysandra and stones that were on top of the actual soil).
I think that was my first mistake. But I went ahead and planted some of my rhizomes. Many have actually
done quite well. I just think the 'bagged Garden soil' stays to wet and is to rich for bearded iris, and I really
don't know where I can find real "Dirt".

The "ideal" soil mix depends on who you talk to, and what kind of soil you have, in the first place, IMHO. Too "organic' holds a little too much water, and too "mineral" generally 'sets up", almost like concrete. A "mix' of the two types usually seems about the best, and, if drainage is a problem, raised beds.....or even planting on a small "mound" of soil will usually be all that's needed. Bear5ed iris seem to be pretty darn hardy, and adaptable , so ,as yiu grow them for a while, and can actually "see' which plants, in which areas of your garden ,do the best.....you can amend the conditions in other areas of your yard . One thing I would recommend that everyone do, is test their soil.....both for nutrients, and for ph. Test kits are fairly inexpensive, and ,IMHO, you can't add what "you need", if you don't KNOW what you need !

I strongly agree with what Arlyn just said. Adding supplements to your soil without knowing what you need is irresponsible. If your pH is off the plants cannot take up the nutrients you are buying and applying anyway. The fertilizer is just polluting the ground water. Most plants, if planted in a balanced pH, or in the pH they require to thrive, do not need much fertilizer to do what nature intended them to do. Become familiar with what your type of plant needs, and when it needs it, and feed accordingly. Too much is as bad as too little...... stepping down off the soap box now.

Hmmmmm.....I haven't added any supplements or fertilizer to my garden at all !

Many of the bagged mixes are infected with molds and nasty little insects, especially fungus gnats. Most people are avoiding Miracle Grow.

If you have to buy soil and you have a freezer big enough to fit the bag, freeze it to kill the live bugs.

The iris rhizomes that have been planted in my garden thus far, which is filled with Compost and bagged Garden Soil, are growing quite well. I'm very pleased with how they are performing. The other Iris garden area that I have does not have any compost or bagged garden soil - the iris rhizomes were just planted in the ground/dirt that I had in the yard - they also are doing very well - that is the garden that "Beverly Sills"
bloomed in !

We grow I. aphylla 'Prodan'. Found that they didn't have it in the Iris Encyopedia. Will have to get in touch with them.

It's there (http://wiki.irises.org/bin/vie...) and appears to have been added in 2010. It's listed in the IB section, which is how it is classified in the Checklist as well.

Lucy, do you have pics of it? There are none in the database.

We have a snapshot which has been sent to the person recording plants for the sale. I don't have the skill to scan it into our computer. Will look in IB. It was listed as an aphylla in our 50s check list. thank you for the information.