Question for any PNW LA Iris growers?

I'm just wondering if anyone in the PNW successfully grows LA irises? Do they even bloom here? If so, what's the secret? I have a few different ones that I've been growing for a number of years. One of them has been growing here at least six years and I've never seen a bloom on any of them. I'm starting to think they just don't like the climate here. I've tried everything I can think of. I've tried growing them in full sun and part sun. I'm growing them in large containers. This year I set their pots in tubs of water so they'd have continuously wet feet. They look great except there's no flowers. Nothing is working. If they don't do something soon, their outta here.

Joy

I have a clump of some I got from a DGer a couple of years ago, and they bloom, but I couldn't tell you how I did it. I just plunked them in a full sun, wet, heavy spot and left them alone except for cutting off dead leaves when they got ugly. But, they don't seem to be as heavy bloomers as "ordinary" irises. I've just divided the clump and moved them somewhere slightly dryer-I hope they'll be OK there.

Well at least I know it's possible for them to bloom here then. Now I just need to figure out why they're not? I don't have them in the ground so maybe it's the pots? Thank you Suzy.
Joy

:) Glad I could, uh, help... :) Maybe it is the pots-they probably have nicer soil and better drainage than mine do-and the soil could be warmer, too. That's all I can think of.

My understanding of LA Irises is:
soil should be rich, fertile, acidic & consistently moist
rhizomes planted with about 1/2 to 1" of soil covering them plus an inch or so of mulch
regular fertilizing (iris are heavy feeders)
full sun - at least 6 hours

I have not grown these, but I do grow germanicas, siberians, ensatas & reticulatas.
I think it would be good to get them out of the container & into the ground.
Usually, no flowering is attributable to lack of nutrients, or lack of sun. Container culture requires vigilant feeding as the nutrients are flushed out with more frequent watering.
I have wanted to grow them, but have not due to my lack of a site with a combination of consistently moist soil and all day sun.
Hope this helps!

http://www.water-gardens-information.com/japanese-iris.html

This is a good article on growing Japanese Iris.

Here's a great site I just found that's all about LA irises. This site is clearing up some of my confusion on the LA irises. I didn't know there were 5 specie irises that are all considered LA irises.
http://www.zydecoirises.com/index.htm
how to grow them
http://www.zydecoirises.com/Culture/CultureZydeco.htm

Thank you kindly everyone for your help. Armed with all this info and the websites I thinlk I might be able to see some blooms on these sometime.

I'm very grateful.
Joy

Joy, I agree that the pot is probably not keeping your LA iris damp enough to be happy. I will just toss one more thought in. I have only a couple of LA iris, and have found that the slugs find them even more desireable than the bearded. I had a clump that was getting bigger and bigger, but only one or two stalks...took me two years to discover that there WERE going to be more blooms but they were decimated by an army of baby slugs. If you were to have a slug family in your iris pot, that may be part of the problem.

Good luck!

Julie

I had to dig and pitch them as they not only grew well but became invasive in OR, blooms galore. NO POTS for them unless in pond.

D

Thank you. I think I'll have to find a place for them in the ground then. Or give them to someone who can provide what I can't. We live on a rock so moisture doesn't stay around for long, it quickly drains off the rock.
Julie, it could very well be slugs too. There are a lot of those and snails too. I battle them but there are so many it's impossible to win. I just manage to keep the populations down a bit.

Joy

I just found this thread and thought I'd throw in my two cents. I've been growing them for about 4 years in my pond, where they bloom but don't really thrive, it you get my drift. I can't decide if it's because I keep disturbing them or if it's that they just need more heat and sun than I have for them. I think it may be the latter because this year, a really hot year, they have done fairly well. I actually got quite a few blooms from them. I've found that they need to have their feet in the water all the time, at least their roots. I have mine planted in my gravel filter for the pond, and also some are in baskets in the pond. I've always had plenty of foliage, but just a few blooms.

Thank you Pixy. I've wondered if they would prefer more heat. Our summers are much warmer then they used to be but we still get down in the 50's and 60's overnight. Nothing like what they experience in the south where it seems most people grow these.

For now I'm setting my containers into tubs of water. Maybe I can fool these irises into thinking they're growing in a pond. :-)
What time of the year do they usually bloom? I'm hoping I haven't missed my chances for seeing some bloom this year.

Joy

Joy - I was going to do something along the lines of a bog garden so that I could grow Astilbe in full sun. I was told to dig out an area & sink a liner in it but with holes about 4" from the bottom so the excess would filter out. fill with soil & then water well. (I thought about using a child's pool.) Plants are set a height so that the roots have access to, but are not submerged into the water. So I'm wondering about how this concept would work for your LA irises. Of course, placing them in tubs is wayyyyyy less work!

How about a small water garden in a tub? A half barrel makes a good one, or even a good sized ceramic pot. Use plumber's putty to plug the hole. My LA irises have already bloomed, but that doesn't mean it's too late for yours. They may bloom late if you give them the right stuff. I'd plant in a rich clay based soil with the rhizomes barely covered and sink the pot in the water. Mine do fine with a few inches of water over the top. Someone mentioned Ph above and said they prefer acidic conditions. That makes sense considering where they grow, but my pond is definitely on the alkaline side with a Ph of about 8.2. They are blooming for me, but I don't know if they might bloom better in more acid conditions. The only other thing I would recommend is placing the water container up against a wall or some other heat sink where you can take advantage of a microclimate. The more sun, the better. I used to have mine on the other side of the pond where I get a couple of hours less sunlight. It made a difference when I moved them.

Kayte, The bog garden idea is a great one. Maybe a good project for this fall or next spring?

Pixy, I'll move mine to an area where they'll receive more sun then. Where they're at now, they get mostly the late day sun but are shaded the first half of the day. Sounds like that might be a problem too? I think I have the perfect spot for them though and it's up against the house which faces south/west. What I have there now (Lilies, in pots too) need to be watered too often because of the heat so they'd probably appreciate some shade for part of the day. I'll just switch them around.

Thank you for all your help. Maybe I can eventually get these things to do something for me.

Joy

Good luck, Joy! Funny how dedicated we can be to getting things to do well for us, isn't it?