Walking Iris

This is a pretty, pretty Iris and I just love it. I am so glad Diana sent this to me. I think it is about time that I potted it up and let it grow a little bit bigger.........

This is it just as it was beginning to open. I was just in time.

I have one of these now! They are just so cool! Never knew about them before this year! I have to keep mine in a pot and inside. We will see how I do with it over the winter. Keep your fingers crossed because I don't have a greenhouse!

deb

That is just beautiful....thanks for showing.

Willow may I ask where you got your walking iris. I would love to have one.

I got this from a fellow Dave's Gardener. She was sending me some Brug cuttings and tucked in a surprise. This is the second year for these to bloom and I really love them. The lady that gave them to me is Wannabegardener.........
she is a sweetheart and I am so happy she sent them to me. This is my favorite Iris....
Dee

WillowWasp,

What color is yours? I am looking for yellow. I have white with purple center.

Have a great day!

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

Mine is also white with purple center..............sorry.
Dee

That is just exquisite Dee. Is a walking Iris the same family as regular Iris?
My first Iris for 2005 just opened today. Don't have a clue what it is. Deep purple & rufflely.

Hummm, I really don't know if it is considered a true Iris or not. I just have this one and a couple of the comman Purple ones. I am not a big Iris grower and don't know that much about them....
I am sure someone else will come along and tell us about this....

This one is just opening.................

Dee

one of my neighbors has these planted in mass, up to two days ago neither one of us had the slightest idea of what this was. Hers are planted in full shade and thrive. Last year she gave me divisions which I planted in full sun and mine are not doing as well as hers. When Irisluver IDd this plant, I went to PF and learned it is full sun, but based on performance between mine and my neighbors, it would seem they like shade better.

here is a pic. of mass planting.

Wow that is beautiful............Now I know what to do with mine...........
Thanks for the picture...........

Dee

oh i love it beautifull.. shes very nice to send you such a beautiful flower.has anyone started frim seeds and hints????

That is gorgeous! I have never seen one of those before. The mass planting is simply wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
JanetS

I picked up some from the Florala Swap when I was down. I'm growing mine as a houseplant. I already had some bloom for me inside. That's what they sell them on ebay as.
:) Donna

Oooh... That's pretty and it's hardy to my zone. It sounds like the PF entry needs to be changed - everything on the internet seems to say it likes shade or partial shade. Voss - you want to submit the error report? :)

Mine is in a 1 gallon pot and after it is done blooming this year I am going to take it to a much bigger pot. Diana sent me 3 bulbs about a year and a half ago so you can see it does multiply pretty fast.
I really like this little Iris and will have alot more in the future....
Dee

yes, swezel, I will but not sure if i'll do it today. busy getting ready for a plan swap.

i've been landscaping for a couple years now, and since walking iris are grown pretty regularly around here i can definitly attest that these plants do best in full shade. some morning sun is allright, but full shade is best.

thats in zone 8b

~~~~and its one of my favorite plants, too

I have the white (Neomarica gracilis) in full shade and it does well. It's under an oak, so hasn't spread, but I do clip the babies to root.

I also have the yellow (Neomarica longifolia) in part sun - shady in the AM, hot south Louisiana sun in the afternoon for 4 hours or so. It does wonderfully well. Blooms all year long growing and spreading. *sigh* It's one of my favorite plants. =)

I really really really realllllly want the blue/purple one (Neomarica caerulea). I'm about to spend more than I want to spend to get it. =( They say it can get up to 5 feet tall! I simply must have one . . .

I'm just glad they don't have thousands of named varieties of these (like daylilies)

Cheri'

Hi Cheri' it is so good to see you post. Hope you have been find and will be posting more in the future.....
Dee

Hi Dee, Thanx. =)
I'm back, I'll be reading and posting again. Not as much as before, but still . . .

Cheri'

Here is a pic of mine blooming in the house.
:) Donna

those are really delicate and beautiful. thanks for sharing :-) makes my Sunday morning even nicer

Dee,
Looking closer at your pics, I think your Walking Iris might be different than mine. Mine is Neomarica gracilis, picture below. At least that's what it was sold to me as. This is known around here as the Louisiana Walking Iris because it is so common.

Yours looks like what is shown as Neomarica northiana, with narrower petals, kinda crinkled? http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/14096/

What do you think?

The more I look around the web, the more I wonder about these species. One place is selling a blue flowered Neomarica as Neomarica northiana. Hmmmmmm.

Cheri'

here is a pic of the flower.

Cheri'

very beautiful!

thanx

Cheri'

Sundry,

I believe it is the same one.

Where did you find the blue/purple one (Neomarica caerulea). What were they asking for it?

I would like to have it also.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

my purple one may be a very common one but.. it had four fully opened blossoms on one stalk today.. trying to be a gladiola, or is it common to have that many? Sure was purty. :-)

Well Sundry I really don't know which one my Iris is, I didn't even know about the "Walking Iris" until I got this one. Yours does look alot like the one I have but since I don't know much about them, the only comment I'll make is they are just so pretty.

But I do know one thing for certian yours are the "True" walking Iris.............If you look closely at the first photo, I think one clump has already sprouted "Shoes"...................LOL......."True Walking Iris".........
LOLOLOL

Dee

edited for sentence structor and spellin'

This message was edited Apr 25, 2005 10:17 AM

LOL, Dee!
Yeah, I saw the shoe in the pic, but figured no one else would notice it.
HAH!
I should have known better. =)
----------------
angele
my gracilis is rarely that prolific a bloomer. I blame it on the full shade she is in. Aren't they wonderful, tho? Longifolia (the yellow one) blooms like crazy for me in part sun.
------------------------
Sandy, I'll email you the info I've dug up.

Cheri'

My own Neomarica gracilis is grown as a houseplant in my Chicago flat. It produced four bloom stalks earlier this winter which produced flowers off and on for about five weeks total. I truly enjoyed the orchid-like blooms and their incredible peony fragrance. As soon as little plantlets started to form on the bloom stalks, I cut them off hoping the plant would put more energy into growing larger and lusher for an even better show next year. Much to my surprise, my plant has now produced four new bloomstalks which are still developing. Does anybody else have plants that rebloom?

Neomarica, though in the Iridaceae family, are not true Iris. They are native to the tropical Americas and thrive outdoors in subtropical and tropical climates, in addition to sunny and partially sunny windowsills in colder climates.

My yellow walking iris (neomarica longifolia) blooms all year long. It's planted outside in a semi sunny location.

Mind you, we had a bad winter this year - we had snow, it stuck to the ground and stayed for 24 hours. Gads. We hadn't had snow in 15 years.
*shudder*
And if you think I hated it (and you would be right) imagine how my walking iris felt! That stopped it blooming, the snow did. Until then it had been blooming steadily for about 18 months. Admittedly, it blooms more in the summer.

The white one (neomarica gracilis) blooms repeatedly in the spring, stops in the heat of the summer and blooms again, repeatedly, in the fall. Stops in the coldest part of the winter. It didn't seem bothered by the snow, but it wasn't blooming at the time.

Next time you get plantlets, put them in dirt. They will root. Gracilis roots pretty easily.

Cheri'

PS - yes, I am a winter wimp. I would die in Chicago, or even in Shreveport. LOL. I'm only hardy to zone 9.

These are sooo pretty! I haven't seen any around here even sold as houseplants (of course I may not have been looking in the right places).
Does anybody want to share with a shivering Northerner? I promise to keep it inside in the winter-- LOL!

Heather

(I am willing to trade if I have something you want)

I would love to get a couple of each color when some of you get plantletx. I had the white/purple one years ago but it is no longer with me.

Sundry, I am also only hardy to zone 9, or perhaps even zoen 10 or 11, LOL! I am just biding my time until I can move to a warmer climate :-)

When I have extras I'll post in the Plant Trading forum.

Ispahan, I don't know how you stand it. I'm miserable all winter long here in zone 9.

Cheri'

LOL, Sundry! I'm miserable all winter long, too, especially when my tropicals are pouting because the sun hasn't been out in three weeks straight. But it sure does make me appreciate the springtime all the more :-)

I have seen walking iris at Schumacher's nursery in New Braunfels, Tx. I don't know if they send things through the mail or not. I didn't realize it was so pretty. Guess I'll have to buy some now.