Looking for mainly wetlands type irises. Hardy to zone 5.

Any suggestions on where I can place an order now? I'm always busy and wait too late in the season to get it done in the spring. I have a flood-plain type area in which I'd like to add a bunch of iris.

Few people are shipping orders now. Way too late in most places. Joe Pye Weed will ship in april. While they have mainly siberians which are not 'wet place' irises, they do have some lavigatae which do in wet spots. www.jpwflowers.com

Take a look at Ensata Gardens for just about any type of wet or bog irises. Also, I think some of the forum members raise some for sale. Ensata ships in the spring and fall but you can rummage thru their on-line catalog and make your plans.

http://www.ensata.com/

Thanks for the tips!

I don't intend shipment now, I just want to get an order in before I get too busy. Iris City has a lot of choices, but the last time I checked they wouldn't accept a fall or winter order for spring shipment.

Also, Polly sells beardless iris.

Thanks, Betty.

I have looked around in her site, but it's been awhile. It's sometimes hard for a novice to find what they need in the time they have to look. More time available shortly; winter is coming up here really soon.

I sell many species iris which many will take wetlands

I do not except orders until I post the new updated site in Jan or Feb

D

Thanks, Dee. I'll check with you around the beginning of Feb.

Don't some of the pond plant nurseries sell Iris laevigata and other Irises suitable for bogs? I think I had some thrown in with my waterlily orders when I was first starting work on my ponds years ago.

I bought a couple of them when I ordered my waterlilies this spring. The only thing is, that place only carried two varieties. I'd like several different ones. Same thing with another place, only two to choose from.

I'm wanting this area to be an entire drift of Iris, dotted here and there with Monardas, Camassias, Astilbes and Eutrochium; with a few herbs thrown in for good measure. It's my next project area. It was begun 2 years ago and I'm ready to finish it, at least as much as anything ever gets finished in the garden.

One problem I have with spring shipping is that this area is flooded for weeks at a time then, so I'll have to hold the plants over 'til probably fall anyway. That's what I ended up doing with the others.

Chelle,

Does it flood over winter? If so, that's going to limit what irises you can get. If not, I have quite a few suggestions. And when you say it floods in the spring, how deep?

I hear Dee is going to have some neat species and species x next year........

many laev's, just more species that can take water if you wish i can send you a list of all species and not saying all will be listed for sell but give you an idea.

As Polly said not many plants can stay under freezing water most of winter
\
D

Or even for weeks in the spring, if the water is too deep. But I think Japanese could handle weeks at a time, as long as it's not over winter, along with some that Dee will recommend.

It actually drains quite well in the winter. It's one of those few places in our yard proper that doesn't have a hard-pan layer close to the surface. It's also rich bottom-land, as the spring runoff drops all kinds of lovely nutrients and leaf mold there. The winter winds blow hard through this area as well, so there's not much in the way of snow piles that have to eventually melt.
It just does this..


...and this


and this....


a few times each spring!

The water drains into the lake and it usually takes less than a week or so to clear in the areas that I intend to plant. Daylilies, hostas and junipers grow there now without any problems.
So.... I'm thinking that perhaps almost anything other than TB can go here(???)

Gorgeous area! I don't think I would do siberians either. Go with the Japanese, and some of the species crosses, like Dee has. She can tell you which ones.

Thanks, Polly.

I have a few Siberian and Japanese there already....just looking for more(];-) I'd love to have the clean and simple look of the species type(s) for this area. Staggered bloom times would be an added bonus, of course! Anything wanting to bloom last of April, through the first couple of weeks in May had maybe better be tall.

I know this is late in the game, would pseudatas work? How about versicolor, virginica and crosses?

I'm trying to grow a few of those from seeds, we'll see what happens.

Good luck! You may just end up with the best bog water loving iris garden around.

Thanks, Evan.

This winter the ground never really froze in that area, so I was able to plant -

Species Iris Katharine Hodgkin
Iris reticulata 'Spring Time'

also -
Camassia - leichtlinii 'Caerulea'
Camassia - quamash
Camassia - quamash 'Blue Melody'

so far. I'm working on another list to order soon.

It'll be interesting to see which ones manage to survive conditions there firstly, and secondly, manage bloom before or after the run-off water is present.

I also have Iris sibirica Double Standards and Super Ego, Black Gamecock Louisiana Iris and an unspecified purple Japanese Iris in along the edge. (I almost forgot these were there. ) They should bloom for the first time here this year.