So pretty! Do you think any planted from last years swap will bloom this year or will it take a couple of years for blooms?

Isn't it fun!

I've had one lone flower on my dwarf dark purple iris, 'Black Suede', but a couple other "buds" that were starting to form were duds--I think they got "too cold" at the "wrong time"--so I'm waiting to see if more buds develop or if the cold temps put the kibosh on that particular one for this year. Have my fingers crossed! I haven't noticed buds on any of my full size ones yet.

Skybird

I think there is a very good chance you will get some blooms, mmmm12. As far as how many, that's up to mother nature. But I have always had some that bloomed first year after planting.

Also I think I may have been wrong about the name. This could be Sapphire Gem.

These were the first blooms on the hill. My old roommate has some buds on taller iris so hopefully they bloom soon. I can't wait.

Thanks popmama, that gives me something to look forward to with the iris. I have ordered some plastic stake style labels so am going to label them after they bloom as I forgot what went where. My husband put them in and may have shifted them around a bit. I'm hoping like stayed with like.

DeZi, thanks for the pictures!

Labeling is something that i continue to struggle with. Sometimes I think I am very organized and then something goes wrong. Planting two blue iris varieties next to each other was one of my not-so-great ideas. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

I just looked in the Iris wiki and now I am even more convinced this is Sapphire Gem and not Blue Chip. I think I got both at that iris swap but this one matches the description of Sapphire Gem.

Early bloom. Sapphire self; white beard.

https://wiki.irises.org/Sdb/SdbSapphireGem

There is actually nothing called Blue Chip. There is Blue Chip Stock and it doesn't match at all. I will probably make a new label.

Early bloom. Standards light to medium blue, darker midrib; style arms light to medium blue; falls dark violet blue paling toward edge; beards blue, old gold in throat;

A few of mine are starting to bloom - my unnamed blue violet, Cat's Reign, Dew Buzz Bye, Drawing Straws, and Sapphire Gem. For some reason this year, my Sapphire Gem blooms are really tiny!

Pictures please!

popmama,

One of the iris from the swap is setting a bloom! I don't know if it is a white one (Immortality) or a pink one (Lois Ranier?) as it is right on the border of where we planted those two.

Woo hoo, mmmm12! That's awesome. You'll know soon enough which one it is.

I noticed a lot more buds today.

Love the iris pics. I have a Blue Chip Pink that is more pink/lavender in color. Only a few have buds so far, nothing showing. No buds on last years swap plants yet, but am looking forward to seeing so many of them.

Very pretty! It's waaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for iris to be blooming here in Colorado, Black Forest. My daffodils have just started to bloom.

I count 5 buds on my newly planted Iris from the swap. 4 appear to be from Dezi Lo's white Immortality and one from an unknown. The whole west side line got alot of frozen fans with the two late snow storms but the east side is doing better. My husband just barely got them dug in the ground, no bulb food, no enrichment of the soil etc so I wasn't too hopeful but it looks like these are very hardy iris.

That's great news, mmmm12. Iris, in general, are very hardy. I think the hill is a prime example of them being able to withstand just about anything. They really don't need much to thrive and they put on quite a show. Immortality is a reblooming variety so you may get blooms from it later in the season as well. Let us know when the "mystery" one blooms and maybe we can help to identify it.

Thanks popmama. Yes the hill was a great encouragement because we tend not to pamper the plants. I'm guessing that they mystery one is Celebration Song because I think I would have put that one next in line after Lois Ranier. I also have Champaign Elegance and Metaphor in that area so won't know till it blooms. I put Sugar Blues and Wabash further down the row (I think). But I didn't make a map of where things went. Luckily on the posts about the swap alot of people posted pictures of what they brought with the names.

more...

Wow! I'm so glad you posted these. I'm tempted to go by and see them again but if the park is anything like ours they are packed nowadays. At least more people are getting to enjoy them.

I have 8 buds, 6 of which are the white Immortality. The other two are likely the same variety as they are on adjacent plants and if my husband followed my planting instructions each type of iris had their own row. But what they are I will have to wait and see. :-)

I think only a few are medium height, the rest are dwarfs and at least one miniature so, you will have to hunt for them. There are a lot of buds peeking out, I can see lots of purples. I split a lot last year to try and mix up the locations so, I'm not sure how many will bloom. I have lots to add this year. Nancy sent a bunch from Texas that sadly don't look like they are going to bloom in pots.

That's the same dwarf I have that's currently in bloom! I got it at one of our more recent swaps and forgot what it was called. Love it.

Finally, I got my first bloom. I have been very patient (or impatient) at the same time and drooling when others showed their blooms. This was an intermediate from Tomatoz1 from last fall swap and it's sooooo pretty. (Thank you!) She thought it could have been named "Pretty Print". Someone suggested this may be "Rare Edition". What do you guys think?

Gardenchloe, considering how many iris you planted last year, this is going to be a banner year for you! Like an iris parade!

Yes, I did plant A LOT last year and would like an iris parade. I hope more of the buds will open up this week. Can't wait!

I actually went and squeezed one of my buds to see if it was just an empty shell as it has been a bud so long that I was thinking it would never open and had maybe been damaged by the cold weather. But it felt like there was a flower in there so I guess I have to continue being patient.

gardenchloe, it’s quite obvious that Pretty Print could not be the name of your iris. Rare Edition looks more like it, but I’ve never had that name. I bought the rhizome from the Iris Society about 20 years ago, so I could have made a mistake in my beginner years.

Cant wait to see the rest of your iris in bloom.

mmmm12, I do worry that my buds would have been frozen or damaged as well. I just get so worried this time of the year.

tomatoz1,

I have tons of buds and will be posting more pictures this week or next week. So excited!

I stopped at the hill last night and there are a lot more buds! The white ones smell so delicious.

De Zi, You are amazing. Thanks for everything you do.

Ah! Those should be the beautiful white ones that I have in bud form. Bloom!!! I want to see them.

That lemony yellow one is gorgeous! Anyone know what it is?

Here are my first bloomers.

Blue Chip pink

Circus Stripes

Capricious

Red at Night

I am still patiently (impatiently) waiting for my other buds to open up.

My first iris from the swap has bloomed! Thanks DeziLo for the gorgeous Immortality!

In total I have 16 buds. Most on Immortality. What a fabulous Iris!

Is there an iris in that picture? All i see is a cute doggie! :-)

Thanks popmama! I couldn't resist posting that picture because of how he has his nose buried in the flowers.

@Mmmm
Don't forget to feed/fertilize them after they are finished blooming so you have a better chance at seeing a 2nd round of blooms in September.

Thanks DeZi Lo. I was surprised that the bloom was so short lived. It curled up today and went away. So was only open for 3 days. Hopefully it was due to the cold weather or something and the other blooms will last longer.

I am so excited - my Jungle Princess iris bloomed today! I was afraid I had lost it or had given it all away by accident, but I've got several clusters of them still :) It has been one of my favorites for its color and size, but especially for its wonderful scent.

It's a very striking iris, Mstywoods!