I am plant fickle also. I'm in my second iris period, two rose periods, one with daylilies, two with hosta, one with ornamental grass etc. House plants have been the same thing...cactus, african violets, amarylis, orchids...etc. Now in the yard it is iris and hosta which I am still adding and a large rose garden which I just maintain. I'm getting to old to start over with anything again but some of those colorful new daylilies sure look good.

I did go through a minor hosta phase, too, but I don't have much shade. My mom got me to try some mini-hostas, and they've been fun. I do have an overcrowded hosta bed that was here when we bought the house, but I haven't done much but thin them when they threaten to break out of the bed. I think half my friends now have starts of my hostas, and I've planted divisions of them in every shady corner of the yard. Regretting that now. . .I'd rather have more varieties, rather than multiple plants of the same few varieties!

There are so many gorgeous hosta now its to bad to take up a lot of room with multiples of older varieties.

Angie, I always cycle back to irises. I have a lot of other plant loves, and every few years I get on a kick with one of them, but it always comes back to iris.

But what you said about daylilies.......I'm finding some of the new ones so attractive, I can't help but wanting to add some.

My only regret with my daylilies is that so many are unnamed ones. I have some real stunners, from a hybridizer in Iowa, but I can't add them to the database because they aren't named varieties. Every summer when I visit my parents, my mom and I go walk his fields. There is just nothing like seeing them in person, and having him follow with a bag and a shovel to dig a start of it right there on the spot! Then after they multiply, my mom and I trade starts with each other. I do love my daylilies!

One of my favorite NAMED ones, Canadian Border Control:


And my favorite unnamed, really ruffly daylily:


Sorry for hijacking the iris thread. Back to our regularly scheduled programming now!

Still interesting problem.

Iris were my first love and I always come back to them too. The heat and drought this summer killed off so many of my expensive daylilies, while the roses and iris held their own. I had around 200 hostas at the beginning of summer and I think most are dormant, not dead. Typical collector, I went through a hibiscus phase also and the heat killed the tropical ones so this winter I'm not bringing in nearly as many pots. The hardy hibiscus couldn't bloom in the extreme heat, but they stayed alive. The hoyas that I summer outdoors look great and they always earn their prime spot indoors for the winter. I only added around 100 iris this year, which sounds like a lot, but it was the worst gardening year ever. In a way it's comforting to know which plants will always be there for me when i can't take care of them--and they are the plants you see at abandoned farmsteads--the iris, daffodils, peonies and an occasional rose. In re-thinking my landscape to accomodate extreme weather and less physical stamina on my part, I see iris as my most treasured plant. Next year I plan to add many more as I take out daylilies and other water hungry perennials. I can't wait to see Dee's list for next year!

I actually made 2 iris beds this year. I took out a tree, which meant that the bed along the garage could no longer hold the hostas due to lack of shade. but is perfect for iris. So I moved all my iris to this bed, improved the soil, and planted all the dozen I had, plus a couple I purchased, plus the tons another forum friend sent me - and had too many! So I now have a second iris bed on the east side of the house!

Still need more rocks, will have to visit my farmer friends for some - although I have plenty in a rock garden I could also use. All my farmer friends have rock piles in a corner somewhere. Some years heaving has been a problem, other years not. But since many of these Iris were planted in mid - September, I am not willing to take a chance, when it is so easy to "rock' them.

I have many more daylilies, both heirloom and newer varieties - registered and unregistered. And you are correct, the newer ones are gorgeous. But there is something to be said for the older heirlooms. In fact, I have a couple of heirloom TB Iris also.

I grew up with Iris, and Peonies, and Daylilies. I guess that is why these are the ones I look to now, and am planting in my yard. In fact, I have just acquired my first ever peonies, and will be planting them today. They are the last things I need to plant this season.

My sisters and I own property in western PA, and although that is where the heirloom daylilies are that I grew up with (part of the property used to belong to a hybridizer 50 years ago) for some reason,my family never planted any of my Grandfathers Iris up there. So earlier this month, I fixed that problem, and planted about a dozen iris up there along the porch. They are all rocked, and will be on their own until May or so. It will be interesting to see how many (if any) survive. At least I don't expect the deer to get them!

I do have a few hosta - and yes, most are the usual mass produced variety. But I do have a couple that I purchased from a grower a couple years ago - awesome plants. But I doubt I will ever get addicted to them, like my TB Iris and Daylilies. Thank goodness! ~Jan

We are addicted to median irises. I never knew about them as childhood neighbor had TBs. But hubby's grandmother grew them. They were the old species dwarfs as the modern SDBs were invented in the 1950s & she didn't grow miniature talls or intermediates.

I really love those old species dwarfs!

The modern ones are the standard dwarf (TB X I. pumila). We get such magnificent colors with them.

My favorite SDB is a baby blue whose tag I lost. I have a big clump of it, and every fall I plant sky blue pansies in front of it. The combination is one of my favorite sights in spring. ( Why do some of the older SDB's bloom down in the foliage? Is it because I have not kept up with dividing them?)
It's too bad more people aren't out touring gardens in early spring so they could see how lovely medians are. Years ago, I drove by a cemetery every day on the way to work. The miniature iris planted in front of the headstones were so beautiful. I finally tracked down the caretaker who put me in touch with a local man who had donated them to the cemetery. Amazingly, he had names of all of the iris, and started my collection with 20 or so different SDBs. That baby blue one is one of his, and it has moved to 5 different houses with me.

philljm said:
I do have a few hosta - and yes, most are the usual mass produced variety. But I do have a couple that I purchased from a grower a couple years ago - awesome plants. But I doubt I will ever get addicted to them, like my TB Iris and Daylilies. Thank goodness! ~Jan

Exactly! I have a few obsessions, and I consider everything else "companion plantings" for my beloveds.

I think it's just natural they bloom further down in the stems, Cindi. It must be a trait they try to breed out. I know I have some that do that. Lucy and Dee would know that. I can't believe it would be a desirable trait. A few of my older sibs do it too.

I tend to get addicted to way too many plants, so I have to limit myself. This year it's been daffodils. I've never even kept the names of daffs before, but I finally put tags on until I can map them. I got 3 each of 40 varieties in a co-op to start.

But, it all comes back to irises, and for me lilacs.

Jan, Cindi and Angie, do you grow any irises besides bearded?

It is genetic, dividing can help, however.

I just got a few Siberians this year. I think I got 3 varieties, just to see how they'd do. I think it was Polly who mentioned that they were planted deeper, and could be mulched, which encouraged me to give them a try. Looking forward to seeing what they do next spring!

I don't even know of any other varieties beyond the bearded, and the Siberians. How many others are there?

I grow Siberians, Spurias, pseudacorus, arils, ensatas, LAs, virginicas, versicolors, cristatas, reticulatas and a few junos and species crosses. I've killed rooftop iris, crysographs, setosas and some species iris that I was warned would be iffy in this climate. The iris clubs in my area are really strong and do a great job bringing in speakers and hybridizers. Our club has 3 shows a year! There's lots of serious growers in this area and up in KC.
Dave Niswonger and Helen Reynolds and Judy Keisling come to our meetings a few times a year--what great teachers they are! The regional people put on really good conventions and excellent judges training. I wish I had enough time to do more with the organizations. I've joined clubs that are 3 hours north of me in KC and 3 hours south in Oklahoma, and I try to make it to the sales, shows and regional meetings. I see many of the same people at daylily and iris meetings, and some of the hybridizers do both.
Angie, there's so many kinds of iris it would make your head spin! They range from teeny tiny 2 inchers to 4 foot tall water plants!

Yes, Angie, tons of different kinds to try. You definitely should try Japanese in your area.

Wow, Cindi, quite a collection there!

I don't know! I got bunches free from forum friends, and have not looked them all up. I believe most of mine are TB's, but I know for sure that there are a couple of medians and a space age or two that I planted, and a couple of teeny tiny ones. I am too new to Iris to understand all the different types yet. But as my iris bloom, and I see them in person, I will get them figured out. So next spring should be exciting! I can say for certain I have no Siberians though. ~ Jan

You might want to try some siberians Jan. They are just my favorites.

Can't wait to see everyone's pics this year.

Here's sib Concord Crush.