I'm pretty happy with how the irises have done this year. Some are not done yet, but I can see the results. Only two of the old, rescued clumps were not up to producing at least one flower. Of the new cultivars, bought by mail order, only one ("Cheetah Cheese") produced flower at all. I had 2 rhizomes of that variety, and unfortunately the one of those that did bloom was something else entirely. I also had a new one, "Blatant", that I had bought locally and which was small, dried out, dead looking rhizomes, that I think I planted in October. I didn't have a big expectation that they would survive, let alone bloom. They did survive, are growing vigorously, so might bloom next year. I expect that next year, these new ones may have more flowers, and the stems may be taller because the plants will be more established.
Next I will want to cull a few that are really not worth the space and effort. In addition, I want to re-combine a few cultivars that are separated into more than one bunch, which will free up some spaces and look better.
I think I want the smaller cultivars together at one end of the bed. I also want the re-bloomers together, because they benefit from extra care during the summer while others will be dormant.
The main thing now is I get to enjoy these beautiful flowers, and the bonus is most bloomed this year, a year sooner than I expected.
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