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Avatar for piksihk
Aug 12, 2017 10:26 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Betsy
Texas (Zone 9a)
In the beginning GOD created ...
Amaryllis Region: Florida Hummingbirder Irises Lilies Master Gardener: Texas
Native Plants and Wildflowers Region: Texas Plant and/or Seed Trader Daylilies Cottage Gardener Container Gardener
Self-will was gone - ordered a left-over box.
Here's what I got:
farewell
parturient
gondolier
white light
cut crystal
dalmatica
blue gown
casque d'or
step nicely
latin lady
gypsy rings
carabella
forty winks
and one NOID

Now, what do I do with them now? Can I plant or wait till fall? What's the best way to keep them alive till fall if I wait?
I'm a novice to this iris thing. Don't have bed for them. Help, please!
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Aug 12, 2017 12:35 PM CST
Name: Lilli
Lundby, Denmark, EU
Irises Roses Bulbs Hellebores Foliage Fan Cottage Gardener
Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Seed Starter Winter Sowing Bee Lover Dog Lover Region: Europe
Pot them up and they should do quite well until you have room and time to plant them out. The bigger the pots the longer they can wait. Just remember to water them in well and that they will dry out faster in pots than in the ground. Good luck! Crossing Fingers!
Of course I talk to myself; sometimes I need expert advice!
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Aug 12, 2017 2:18 PM CST
Oklahoma (Zone 7a)
Keeps Horses Irises Region: Oklahoma Keeper of Poultry Roses Photo Contest Winner: 2016
Yay congrats!!!!! I'm excited for you what a fun way to start with historics :hurray
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Aug 12, 2017 2:50 PM CST
South central PA (Zone 6a)
Irises Region: Pennsylvania
Quite a haul. Lilli has the right idea [with 2-3 gallon pots]. Some even put the pots outside in the ground so they get the normal seasonal temps and rainfall.
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Aug 12, 2017 2:58 PM CST
Name: Nancy
Bowling Green Kentucky (Zone 6b)
Nice! Looks like you got a good assortment of colors/types. You know, I'm lazy & would go ahead & get the bed ready & plant. No big rush, iris are resilient & can be out of ground for quite a while. Just store them somewhere cool. I've told the story before, but one year I dug a bunch of iris & had a family emergency so I didn't get them planted. Didn 't really need them anyway, left them on a glass top table on my deck, full all day sun, from July til March the following year. No, not every one survived, but at least half of them were putting out new green growth, kept me busy planting them. I didn't have the heart to toss them after they had gone thru so much.
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Aug 12, 2017 2:58 PM CST
Name: Richard
Joshua Tree (Zone 9a)
Birds Herbs Irises Ponds Plant and/or Seed Trader
I'm jealous.
Avatar for piksihk
Aug 12, 2017 6:02 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Betsy
Texas (Zone 9a)
In the beginning GOD created ...
Amaryllis Region: Florida Hummingbirder Irises Lilies Master Gardener: Texas
Native Plants and Wildflowers Region: Texas Plant and/or Seed Trader Daylilies Cottage Gardener Container Gardener
It's so hot here, so I'm thinking I'll do what @alilyfan suggest and wait till fall.
Some of the rhizomes are small but most are fairly good size. How long before the smaller ones bloom?
Soil suggests? Admendments?
Thanks y'all.
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Aug 12, 2017 7:09 PM CST
Name: Nancy
Bowling Green Kentucky (Zone 6b)
You say you are a novice to iris? I looked up your plants earlier & I some are SDB iris & MDB (standard dwarf bearded & miniature dwarf bearded), those will have smaller rhizomes than the tall bearded ones. Even some tall beardeds have smaller rhizomes than other. Coming from an iris society sale, I would think all would be of a blooming size, & since they are older varieties you are more likely to get bloom next year than not. Still, there is no guarantee that a particular plant will bloom the next year. I have a few that only bloom every other year, it is a huge clump so you would think there would always be at least a few mature enough to bloom, but Edith Wolford seems to be persnickety. At least in my garden. As for soil, iris do need well drained soil. I don't tend to fertilize much & get good blooms from most all my plant. My soil isn't the greatest, but the iris are planted on a slope where water drains off.
Avatar for piksihk
Aug 14, 2017 12:22 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Betsy
Texas (Zone 9a)
In the beginning GOD created ...
Amaryllis Region: Florida Hummingbirder Irises Lilies Master Gardener: Texas
Native Plants and Wildflowers Region: Texas Plant and/or Seed Trader Daylilies Cottage Gardener Container Gardener
@alilyfan,
I started with blue flag iris from a friend and then gotten a few more irises through trades. I don't have a 'iris bed' like many of the serious iris growers (but hopefully one day very soon); I've been placing them wherever there's a spot available. I've not been a good iris grower...losing many of them. Some have never bloom.
There was a white historical iris - the trader said it was from old cemetery - it was lovely but haven't seen it for 2 years.
Many I transplanted to our new home and they didn't make it. (Probably need to update my listing)
A friend and I ordered some iris a few years back from a group sale - those we are trying to save (she had it in a very dry baked soil and they were left defending themselves). Anyway, I would like to keep these happy. Been reading up on iris growing. Thanks for your help.
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Aug 15, 2017 7:49 AM CST
Name: Lilli
Lundby, Denmark, EU
Irises Roses Bulbs Hellebores Foliage Fan Cottage Gardener
Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Seed Starter Winter Sowing Bee Lover Dog Lover Region: Europe
Well, sounds like you have come to the right place! Good Luck! Thumbs up
Of course I talk to myself; sometimes I need expert advice!
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Aug 15, 2017 12:04 PM CST
South central PA (Zone 6a)
Irises Region: Pennsylvania
I am not as hot and dry as you are, but I put all rhizomes into the ground after a short soak of the roots in water. Then I water those newbies about 3 times a week for several weeks to encourage root development. No storage and no pots for me. I'd let the pots get too dry and forget about the stored ones.
Irises don't like a high nitrogen fertilizer so use one with a low first number, and only sparingly, usually in the spring only [and after first bloom for rebloomers]. If clay type soil plant a little high in a hill to encourage drainage.
Good luck with them.
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