Iris Blooms

[DTS]

Does anyone else have irises they want to share?

[aztropic]

Not mine,but an assortment of colors I took pics of on a walk through Salt Lake City,Utah.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Silas_Sancona]

While tough to grow in the valley, ( easier in the foothills, just outside of town where it is a little cooler ) Bearded Iris were the first " collection " of non-native plants i grew years ago ( Back in California )

Haven't tried them -yet- but have heard some of the " Aril / Aril-bred " Iris may be easier under our conditions ( in the Valley ) than standard bearded..

Boyce Thompson ( Arboretum ) has a pretty decent collection of both types..

Can't remember the cultivar names but here are some of the Aril Breds they have in their collection.. Have to find the shots of the ..more standard  bearded varieties they have in their collection.

As much as i like Beaded Iris, Aril / Aril bred take " exotic looking " ( for an Iris ) to the next level..  Many of the cultivar names evoke Desert-esque themes / places..












...Then, for the west coast, we have "Pacific Coast" Iris ..a group of cultivars / hybrids between all the native sp. out there.  If i could, i'd be growing them.  I can't think of a group on non- tropical flowering plants that can look ..quite exotic. 

If you can think of a flower color combination, except maybe Green,  it probably exists within this group of plants.  Imo, only Cattleya would come close to the kind of color palate offered Flower-wise.. You can literally pick -at least- a dozen or so hybrids -in any color / combinations of the same color-  to suite a particular color coordinated landscape idea.

Overall, the entire family contains some of the more exotic, but not necessarily " tropical " looking flowering plants across the Globe... Tigridia, Crocus,  Sparaxis, Freesia, Geissorhiza, Cypella, Herbertia.. just to name a few..  ..They're all in the Iris family..

[Rivera]

The bloom is over now, but it's my favorite clump of flowers in the garden. 

The irises below are from San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden.

19th century depiction of a kingfisher over  Japanese water iris by Hiroshige ga

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/30/2023 at 1:28 PM, Rivera said:

The bloom is over now, but it's my favorite clump of flowers in the garden. 

The irises below are from San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden.

19th century depiction of a kingfisher over  Japanese water iris by Hiroshige ga

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Interesting you posted the Iris from the Tea Garden.. My Photography class wandered through the garden on a trip to San Fran. back in '94.. Not totally out of the question i photographed the same flowers on the same clump while there..

[DTS]

This isn’t related but red moon lol. looks so much more unnatural irl

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/30/2023 at 8:59 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Interesting you posted the Iris from the Tea Garden.. My Photography class wandered through the garden on a trip to San Fran. back in '94.. Not totally out of the question i photographed the same flowers on the same clump while there..

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@Rivera Found at least one of the pictures i'd taken that afternoon.. Thought i had a couple others ..one i'd enlarged.





Rainbow / Hartweg's Iris, Iris hartwegii  San Jose Family Camp / Rainbow Pool / Falls  area outside Yosemite along the 120. 1993 ..or 4..  @Josue Diaz You're probably very familiar w/ the overall area.   Appears an Inat observation was made of a specimen from the same area in '19.

[Josue Diaz]

  On 6/6/2023 at 9:02 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

@Rivera Found at least one of the pictures i'd taken that afternoon.. Thought i had a couple others ..one i'd enlarged.





Rainbow / Hartweg's Iris, Iris hartwegii  San Jose Family Camp / Rainbow Pool / Falls  area outside Yosemite along the 120. 1993 ..or 4..  @Josue Diaz You're probably very familiar w/ the overall area.   Appears an Inat observation was made of a specimen from the same area in '19.

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Thats a very pretty color. I have a seed grown iris (presumably hartwegii) that I collected seed of from around Bass Lake, which would be similar in elevation to the area you mention along 120. It has yet to bloom for me. 

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 6/6/2023 at 9:18 PM, Josue Diaz said:

Thats a very pretty color. I have a seed grown iris (presumably hartwegii) that I collected seed of from around Bass Lake, which would be similar in elevation to the area you mention along 120. It has yet to bloom for me. 

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Depending on how long it has been since germinated of course, I've heard they can take 3-5 years before you start seeing flowers on -at least- some of the native iris in this part of the world..  Pac. Coast hybrids might start flowering faster ( personal assumption of course )
 

Wayy too hot here to try any but i would like to seek out supposed observations of a population of Rocky Mountain Iris / Western Blue Flag from the Huachuca Mountains / couple spots near Sierra Vista area down south. 

Curious if that population would have more tolerance of summer moisture compared to our sps in CA. which aren't always happy w/ extra water at that time. 

[JLM]

Mine didn't bloom this year, I'm very bummed about that. 

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 6/7/2023 at 2:13 PM, JLM said:

Mine didn't bloom this year, I'm very bummed about that. 

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Bearded,  or other? .. IE: " Dutch " Iris ( ...actually a cross between a sp. from Spain < Spanish Iris >, and another from Morocco. ...or, more properly, Iris tingitana X xiphium, ..which is also sometimes referred to as Iris X hollandica  ), ...Siberian, and/ or Japanese Iris, ...etc..  Each group has it's quirks..  Some are absolute weirdos in what they require to grow / flower -at all-

If Bearded, some cultivars can take a break in flowering sometimes ..Why that happens i'm not sure,  but saw such behavior in a few of mine,  some others in other people's collections.  If you can, give it.. / ...them ( ..if you have others )  a couple doses of K ( Greensand / Langbeinite ) over the summer / early fall..  That should bulk them up a bit and help encourage flowering next year.

Also, if your family consumes Rice, ..or greens like Asparagus / Artichokes,  ..after it cools,  you can dump the water from cooking those things on the Iris ( ...and anything else you might be growing as well ) 

My mom would do this when she made the same stuff, and the Iris went nuts..  Plants were impressive enough that they caught the attention of a passing professional photographer who parked down the street ( lived on a very busy 4-lane road at that time ) and walked up to the house to take some pictures. Not sure if he used them in anything, but, he was quite impressed by how vigorous the plants were looking / flowering.

One final thought:  some of the bigger collectors out in CA i knew of / gained insight from recommend that, after a few years, Bearded Iris clumps should be divided, which is pretty simple ...Slice, N' Dice... and replant.  ...Toss any old, or sick looking Rhizomes ( ...often in the center of a clump )  Though i'd sometimes hang onto smaller pieces that had eyes on them. 

Fattest / chunky " Fans " would be the ones that were most likely to flower the following year after being cut up / replanted, Smaller pieces might take a year or two to bulk up before having enough energy stored up to flower.

[Silas_Sancona]

More Iris:

Standard and dwarf standard Bearded Iris germanica cultivars ..Can't remember which though.. Boyce Thompson Arboretum:











2 ..of dozens.. of Pacific Coast Iris hybrids..  These were among several batches of un named hybrids i'd get in when ordering them from a local whole sale nursery..  Blue and white one went home w/ me that day, lol. May be  Iris douglasiana X " Finger Pointing " ..but, there are several similar hybrids produced by the breeder, a gentleman in Santa Cruz who produced numerous jaw dropping hybrids.

[DTS]

  On 7/9/2023 at 7:37 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

More Iris:

Standard and dwarf standard Bearded Iris germanica cultivars ..Can't remember which though.. Boyce Thompson Arboretum:











2 ..of dozens.. of Pacific Coast Iris hybrids..  These were among several batches of un named hybrids i'd get in when ordering them from a local whole sale nursery..  Blue and white one went home w/ me that day, lol. May be  Iris douglasiana X " Finger Pointing " ..but, there are several similar hybrids produced by the breeder, a gentleman in Santa Cruz who produced numerous jaw dropping hybrids.

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those are some nice colors

[DTS]

Im gonna get ready to revive this soon, as the Irises are coming back up again!

[DTS]

First bloom so far.