Almost Done With Iris Care

This is a bit of an experiment. These were close-out, and not too special looking. Maybe different enough from my existing irises to add to the variety, a little. For a couple of dollars, hard to lose. Obviously much, much more dried out than the mail order rhizomes. Advantages of the mail order places that I used: better selection, by far, much fresher rhizomes. by far. Disadvantages, more costly. I think some of the mail order houses will send just as dried out selections as these store-bought rhizomes, as I recall from past orders. Those were from budget mail order houses, not the Iris specialists.

"Orange Harvest", listed as a rebloomer. I've had so few re-blooms, I won't count on it. Schreiner's describes Orange Harvest.... "Reblooming Iris Society has identified Orange Harvest as a very dependable rebloomer throughout most of the country". Developed in 1988. Several sales sites describe Orange Harvest as "slightly fragrant".

"Red Hawk". Developed in 1995. The differences in color, for illustrations of this iris, are amazing. It must have colors that don't photograph well. Commanche Acres Iris Gardens states "Pronounced sweet fragrance." Good.

I chose the largest, most plump rhizomes from the store bins. It's interesting that they can be so dried out, and still grow.

Here they are, planted. I took a lesson from orchids, and planted with the old end / cut end next to the container edge, and the growth end / fan toward the center. This gives some room for a little growth, at least one season. Which is all I am interested in here. The growth medium is a fast draining wood-compost-based medium that I used last year for garlic, with great success. After watering-in these rhizomes, and inserting labels, they are set for the fall.