Dutch Iris
My favorite flowers are Dutch Irises and now Dwarf Irises. I’ve always loved the deeply colored ones, and every year am adding a couple more to the shady front yard. Last spring I tried a mix of yellow, white and purple Dwarf Irises, which grew tall behind my rosemary and lavender. I’ve moved half of them to a sunnier location and just added this one to the mix: Dutch Iris, Miss Saigon. It is suppose to be under two feet tall, so I planted the bulbs amongst the daffodils and behind the yellow coreopsis. I can’t wait for bloom time!
Last year at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum plant sale, I picked up several bearded irises that were a deep maroon. They were absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, my older black and blue bearded irises refused to bloom. Any ideas why? They are in partial shade for the morning, but get plenty afternoon sun.
2 Comments
Diana
Could your older irises be too crowded? Generally they should be divided every 3-5 years. Also, irises around here (Memphis, zone 7B) should be planted very shallowly — like with the rhizome almost exposed. As time goes on, the rhizomes may have settled deeper in, with additional mulch and soil piling up over the years. Then they get too comfy and don't feel a need to bloom and make seeds to perpetuate themselves. So they might benefit from being lifted out and re-situated a bit more shallowly, and you might find they bloom better.
paige.puckett
Diana, that could definitely be the case. We blow all our leaves on top of that bed in the fall. Should I dig them up and replant them?