I have dutch iris coming out my ears! Well, so to speak! And no, I don't do anythin special with them, Just plopped them in over the top of the daffs when planting. I bought 200 "yellow" dutch iris from Flowerbulb.net and of course wouldn't you know it, they turned out to be Oriental Beauty and only yellow when the bud is opening. I started the season with white ones and then many of those turned pale blue on top, so had those first then the oriental beauty, way more then I have a market for! Next year I will try 100 each of several different colors. Each color seems to come on a a little different time then all of that color bloom at once.

Wonder if your winters are too cold up there near Mt Hood? I am only 300 ft above sea level here. We did have some long freezes this year but nothing below zero, or even below 10 degrees I think. And yes, my stems are tall and nice, particularly on the oriental beauties. They go so nicely with the alliums

Wendy,
They really prefer boggy, edge of the water conditions. And, they're a waste of productive growing space in the field. Growing them in a garden is totally different than field production. If you can have these before your competition, or before people have them growing in their own gardens, it's a good thing. It's what we have to do.

These bulbs are excellent grown in bulb crates; and, the bulbs can be forced. You can plant 60 bulbs per crate. For this reason, they are also great for hoophouse production in an unheated house or moderately heated (50 degree) one. Most likely this is what your competition (or their source) had done in order to have all of those colors blooming at once. Both Gloeckner and Ednie Bulbs are very helpful with forcing information. I think Zabo Bulbs said that you can expect three years production from the bulb crates. That isn't bad considering it's about a 14 cent investment. Bulb vendors will ship prechilled bulbs through March for forcing.

We like Yellow Queen, Yesterday, Blue Dream, White Magic, and Apollo (which is 30" tall). These are all taller than some of basic Dutch Iris which are around 20" tall. We had Purple Sensation, which was given to us by an elderly flower grower a few years ago. We had it growing on the edge of the woods where it stays wet all the time. An old creek ran through that area. Purple Sensation is only supposed to get 20" tall; but, I think it was at least 24-26" tall. Then, we decided to divide the plants. The experts said they should then be planted in a different area. They were not happy in the new location. They rewarded us by blooming 18" tall -- if that. If I remember correctly, the gentleman who gave them to us also had them growing along the woods edge.

Then, we started to experiment with growing in bulb crates. Love growing in crates. Love that there's no weeding involved. So, anyway, try the bulb crates. You're already growing lilies in crates. I think you'll be happy with the results.

Trish

Good post. I also tried just a few dutch iris a couple years ago, but not all re-surfaced in the spring, and they don't exactly look like they're thriving this year. It must be too dry of an area. I like the idea of crates now that I have a greenhouse. I'll have to find out if I have a market here for the iris. Thanks for all the info.
Cheryl

Thanks everyone...now to find more crates! And, rethink whether or not to grow these. I know everyone loves them, just don't know if its worth it without a high tunnel/hoophouse.

Wendy

I have a question, is it possible to grow these indoors in a vase with just water? I planned to have it as a center piece for my dining table.

IMHO, that would be no, you cannot. The bulb would rot.....

I just ordered Dutch Iris they came in May can I plant them now for next spring..