Jan,
I don't know why Merchant Marine is blooming for me now either. It is supposed to be a mid season bloomer, but it is blooming with my early season iris.
I'm four hours south of you and also not on the coast; I am in the Santa Clara
Valley. I'm in the rain shadow of the coastal hills, so I am sure I got much less rain than you did. It will be interesting to see when MM blooms next year.
