I have no true blue irises and want to know YOUR favorite. Mine are yellows and purples and a few pinks and red. Batik is my only blue and I really don't like it all that much.

What do you like and is it a long bloomer, rebloomer in the north, tall or short, bearded or not, early or late?

My favorite blue Iris is one that I bought from Schreiner's in 1977. It's name is Blue Reflection:

Oh -- it's a tall bearded, not a rebloomer. I think it's a mid-season -- not positive about that. What I like best about this Iris -- besides it's beautiful form and color -- is it's robust nature. It increases and blooms profusely, tolerates weather extremes -- and is just an all-around wonderful Iris.

That is very pretty. So delicate. I had a chance to visit Shreiner's last summer. The gardens are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the pic.

Barbara Jean--- I got this one a couple years ago. Nice light blue with dark beard. I measured it's height at about 35 inches. Grows well here.

I like 'Inside Job' also. Not a reblooming tall bearded, but it has double flower sockets so it blooms for quite a while. Blooms early and well into mid season. It has an interesting wild grape like smell also.

Oh, I like those, too. Inside job would go with daylilies Innocent Bystander and Substantial Evidence I'm attempting to grow from seed. IB already has one sprouted.

Thanks, Ken. If those will do well in MI, they certainly will do well here.

If you want a re-bloomer, and can stand a plicata, Earl Of Essex is one that seems to do real well here in zone 5. This pic is from early October, last year....Arlyn

I think Brilliant Idea is one of my favorite blues, or it's look alike Revision.

Rainy River is one I like a lot too

Of light blue iris, I probably like the following the best:

Absolute Treasure -Tasco


Through the Clouds - Ghio


Abiqua Falls - Schreiner


None rebloom, but they all bloom over a nice long period in the spring. Absolute Treasure is a little taller than I like (42 inches), but it seems to stand up to wind a lot better than you'd expect for an iris that tall. Through the Clouds has a reputation for being a fussy grower, but it's always done great in my garden.

It is hard to find a true blue dark blue iris, most have at least some violet. Lake Taneycomo is probably the closest to true blue I've seen but, to my surprise, I found I didn't like the color very much.



These three, which all have at least a bit of violet in them, are my favorites:

Donaghcloney - Richardson


Adriatic Waves - Keppel


Rippling River - Schreiner


None of these are rebloomers either, but they all put on a nice show over a relatively long period in the spring

Thank you all for the great suggestions. Earl of Essex and Rainy River both instantly caught my eye. I have to look for both of those.

I saw one in Shriener's catalog I like called Willamette Mist. Anyone have that one?

Best Bet


NOID. I suspect it was part of a co-op sale of historic iris, but don't remember.

I had Willamette Mist for several years, but gave it away last summer. It's a nice iris, but there are similar irises that I like better. That's obviously a personal thing, though. What, in particular, do you like about Willamette Mist?

The name caught me first. I have a brother who lives in the Willamette valley. It's such a soft color and would show up well against the darker colors of other flowers I have.

A lot of blue irises lean toward violet, which is a color I like. But I also appreciate those that are more nearly true blue. One of my favorites there is Queen's Circle:




One of my favorite horned irises is Blue Fin:



There are also some nice historic blue irises. Here's Tango:



And Tyrolean Blue:



All are tall bearded. Tango is a midseason bloomer, and the other three are mid to late season bloomers. Blue Fin is listed as a rebloomer, but I don't know how dependably or how far north it reblooms.

Thanks for sharing the photos, there are some real beauties shown here.

Iris pallida. Really like it because it smells like grape Koolaid.

I've got a NOID that I'm sure is one of the I. pallida types, and like you say, the aroma of grapes is really great.....Arlyn

I'm with underthesun. So, so beautiful.

Zencat said:The name caught me first. I have a brother who lives in the Willamette valley. It's such a soft color and would show up well against the darker colors of other flowers I have.

Ah, that's as good a reason as any. Like I said, it's a nice iris. Grows well, blooms well, flowers have good substance and pretty good form. If you want to see other varieties that are similar, say the word. It's a color and pattern that I love, so I have more than a few like it.