All of my Iris are newly planted this year. I have planted all Historic Iris. I'm curious to know how vigorous these cultivars
are in other member's gardens. So, if you grow any of these,
kindly share your experience with me ::
* Indian Chief
* Wabash
* Frank Adams
* Helen Collingwood
* Rosy Wings
* Quaker Lady
* Queen of May
* Dauntless
* Elsinore
* Mary Geddes
* Crimson King
* Her Majesty
* The Red Douglas
* Coronation
* Vishnu
* I. germanica
* I. pallida
* Rameses
* Maroon Damask
* Sultan's Palace
* Parthenon
* Prairie Sunset

I only have I. germanica and Crimson King that both grow and increase prolifically (sp?). A friend brings lots of Frank Adams to our iris sale every year so it must increase well here in KY. I. germanica seems to be very rugged and never seems to have rot or even leaf spot. I have several clumps of it in the worst soil and varied conditions of light and it keeps trucking along and increasing nicely as well as blooming every year.

Great growers......Indian Chief, Quaker Lady, Rameses, and Coronation
"average" growers.....I. germanica , TRD , I. pallida , Elsinore , Dauntless , Queen Of May , Rosy Wings , Wabash, Vishnu, Prairie Sunset , and Frank Adams
poor growers (so far I've had trouble getting them established).......Helen Collingwood, and Crimson King
The others , I either haven't grown long enough to stste an opinion, or don't grow at all

I planted "Helen Collingwood" in the Spring. It has done amazingly well and is quite large right now. I also planted "Wabash" and "Frank Adams" at the same time and all are huge. The only rhizome I lost that was planted in the Spring was "Alcazar" which (to me) was a huge loss. I did
plant "Beverly Sills" in March . . . . and she bloomed in May. Incredible!

Out of your list I grow Wabash and Quaker Lady. They both endure it all and continue to increase and bloom. I have thinned them both drastically this year and will see how well they do next year.

Quaker Lady is an insanely good grower here. And Helen Collingwood is a good grower too. I only have a couple others on your list but they are new to me this year. Indian Chief is really taking off though as a new one.

I have read on numerous sites that Indian Chief is indestructible and a phenomenal grower. I'm glad that I planted (2) rhizomes of this classic Iris !

It's been my experience that some iris grow well, everywhere.....some don't seem to grow ,anywhere.....and most, fall in between , someplace . Often, just moving the plant from one location, to the "other side of the garden", will be enough to do the trick....maybe more...or sometimes, less, sun, slightly different soil, more protection from winter winds....all these things can be the difference between ,"it won't grow , at all!, " and "It's a WEED !"
As you grow them, you'll soon figure out what each one likes the best.....even the old "rule" about planting depth needs broken, sometimes, and, while it's NOT generally a "good thing", some mulch, in some areas, can work wonders sometimes...and some seasons, as well.
The articles you see ,here, and on vendors web pages, and on the AIS site, concerning iris culture, are good "general" information....and a good *starting place*, but, each of us has slightly different soils, and climates, so things need to be "fine tuned" for OUR gardens.

Since acquiring over 50 Iris rhizomes this year, and initially potting them all up, I have noticed that each cultivar has grown differently - some have grown real fast and more aggressively, and others have grown rather slowly, if at all. The one variety that has taken off from the start was
"Solid Mahogany". Others, that were planted in March and April, like "Wabash", "Helen Collingwood" and "Frank Adams" also grew fast and have done very well here. However, the
recently planted rhizomes in the back garden are being "attacked" by a critter or insects and eating the rhizomes, so I am battling that problem at the moment. But for the most part,
I'm not seeing a lot of growth with any of the rhizomes in the back garden right now at all.
The side garden rhizomes are growing a lot right now. I guess it's all about location for me !

Indian Chief, Crimson King, Quaker Lady do exceptionally well for me.
Wabash is in lousy soil, so hasn't been great. I would expect it to do better under improved conditions. Quaker Lady also mopes in that spot.
the Red Douglas performed well, and had several increases over the year.
Helen Collingwood went in last spring. I'll expect that bed to bolt next Spring.
Alcazar bloomed beautifully in 2014, but not at all this year. A lot of us in California had fewer blooms than expected this past season, however due to two very mild winters with little rain.
Beverly Sills is beautiful, but not a strong grower for me.

One of my favorite historics that you might consider next year is Father Rigney. It's a really nice one that I got as a bonus a couple years ago from Exline.

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures in the Spring, Patrick. Love your enthusiasm for the historics.

California has it's own issues, and drought is one of them, which appears to cause all sorts of problems with iris growers from what I hear from a few people out there. We don't really have drought problems here on the East coast. So, I definitely would expect that Iris rhizomes will perform differently here than in California.

Right now I'm having a problem with something eating my rhizomes (I have infact posted a thread addressing that problem). So I'm not sure at this point how many of the Historic rhizomes
I've planted will infact be intact enough next Spring to bloom. Whatever blooms I will for sure post photo's of to show you. Thank you for your interest and Thank you for your reply to my thread.

Denman55 said:All of my Iris are newly planted this year. I have planted all Historic Iris. I'm curious to know how vigorous these cultivars
are in other member's gardens. So, if you grow any of these,
kindly share your experience with me ::
* Indian Chief
* Wabash
* Frank Adams
* Helen Collingwood
* Rosy Wings
* Quaker Lady
* Queen of May
* Dauntless
* Elsinore
* Mary Geddes
* Crimson King
* Her Majesty
* The Red Douglas
* Coronation
* Vishnu
* I. germanica
* I. pallida
* Rameses
* Maroon Damask
* Sultan's Palace
* Parthenon
* Prairie Sunset

The only two above that I have had for 40+ years are I. Pallida and Dauntless. They are both VERY hardy, good growers. I have planted a bunch of the others above and we will see how they do.

Henhouse said:Indian Chief, Crimson King, Quaker Lady do exceptionally well for me.
Wabash is in lousy soil, so hasn't been great. I would expect it to do better under improved conditions. Quaker Lady also mopes in that spot.
the Red Douglas performed well, and had several increases over the year.
Helen Collingwood went in last spring. I'll expect that bed to bolt next Spring.
Alcazar bloomed beautifully in 2014, but not at all this year. A lot of us in California had fewer blooms than expected this past season, however due to two very mild winters with little rain.
Beverly Sills is beautiful, but not a strong grower for me.

One of my favorite historics that you might consider next year is Father Rigney. It's a really nice one that I got as a bonus a couple years ago from Exline.

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures in the Spring, Patrick. Love your enthusiasm for the historics.

Unfortunately, I lost Alcazar to rot this Spring. I do not know Father Rigney, so I will take a look at that. I have planted The Red Douglas a few weeks ago, so am looking forward to that. I have planted (2) Quaker Lady, and (2) Queen of May. I got a lot of doubles and some triples from vendors that I ordered from. I also planted Indian Chief. I'm excited to see that bloom.

As indicated, right now I'm fighting a battle with Insects and/or rodents who are eating my rhizomes. I've had to resort to home-made remedies to combat the critters and keep them away from the rhizomes. We'll see if any of them work. I have put a lot of time and money into these
Historic rhizomes, and I don't want to lose them.

All Good Things to You, Sherry, I hope the Fall brings you good things.

~ Patrick

Oh, you should get Alcazar again.. It's lovely!

Yes, Sherry, I was really upset when I found Alcazar had succumbed to rot. That was one Iris that I definitely wanted to see bloom next Spring. I had so many other Iris coming in the mail, I said
to myself that I had enough so I didn't re-order Alcazar. But I may get it next year for sure.
I just won't plant it in March ! LOL.

I don't have 'Lent A. Williamson' (yet), but I've heard it's pretty vigorous.
I started getting historics hoping to find the purple one my mother grew. There's a good chance it may have been 'Wm A. Stechell', which bloomed for me this past spring. It's another one that's been passed around a lot through the years.

I don't know 'Wm. A. Stechell', so I'll check that out along with 'Father Rigbey'.
Thanks Sherry!

Sherry, I found info on 'Wm. A. Setchell' but it only reported that the flower size was huge;
and there was very little info on 'Father Rigney'. I always like to try and find Reviews on Iris
from people who have grown them, so I know what they growth habit is like, and it's vigor
and hardiness. I will add them both to my Wish List for next year.

I have William A. Setchell. I've had it for years, and its a good grower. The large flowers do, however, fall over if there's wind, so it usually needs propping.

Lent A Williamson is the most vigorous I have ever had, almost in the weed category. Indian Chief and Iris Germanica come in at a close second.
Helen Collingwood, Apache, Joy, Mary Frances and Gypsy Queen all grew great on the NNE side of my former house, getting only morning sun for a few hours in the summer. Edenite, Prairie Flame and Prairie Sunset were less vigorous in that location but did blossom and increase. Needlecraft did poorly there.
Others were in the low average to poor range of growth even in the full sun while their neighbors grew great, so location, sun, soil and everything else surely makes a difference. Each iris variety seems to prefer specific conditions, so what we want growing next to each other may not work out well.