Let's be honest....what have you bought so far this winter?

I am still pulling them up too - they're in the same class as MG's for me.

Agreed!!!

Now if you had winters like me you would not have a problem w/sweet pea's. Only the hardiest MG make it here and no SP.

Can ANYONE tell me if all irises smell like grape candy, or, if not, which ones i should look for?!? Someone (pixie?) mentioned Immortality, any others?

(see:
February 14, 2008 2:47 PM Post #4538216
February 14, 2008 4:42 PM Post #4538661
February 14, 2008 11:13 PM Post #4540422
February 15, 2008 12:36 PM Post #4542294)

thanks...

You seem to be climbing the walls on this one, Amy!! It's the third or fourth time you have requested this!

She's desperate for more of that grape Kool-aide! x, Carrie

LOL Amy I think the best thing to do is wait until they are blooming and ask the question again. I think you will get a longer list that way. A lot of the new hybrids don't have as much or even any real fragrance, at least compared to some older varieties. This may help you find some. http://www.schreinersgardens.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SIGO&Category_Code=FRAG Hopefully some one will give you a few names now.

This message was edited Feb 16, 2008 5:52 PM

Heck I don't know half of my iris's names....but i'll smell them when they bloom and try to tag the ones that smell.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 8:46 AM

(actually it was the 5th time)
: )
thank you Celeste & ngam.
Sorry everyone - i'm just really interested in this! i rarely buy or grow anything "fragrant" that i am unfamiliar with the scent of because i usually find it unappealing or too powerful - or both! It seemed like every time i asked the thread turned in a different direction, and no one ever actually answered me, so i thought i was getting lost in the shuffle...

i didn't mean to be a pest.

You're not a pest, Amy. You're just determined. I'll send your post to my iris buddy and she'll answer you.

Thanks for the Iris link, ngam!

Amy,

The one that is known for smelling liike grape koolaid is iris pallida. The ones with the all green foliage are the easiest to grow. Superstition carries a few of the pallidas, Princess Beatrice is one. Or you can look for just the plain pallida, but it's hard to find. There are others that have a strong fragrance, but pallida is known to be the one everyone says smells like grape koolaid.



http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/507864/

And not all irises smell like grape candy, some don't have much of a smell, period.

According to Schreiners:
Copper Classic---peach smell
Dark Passion--wild grapes
Hemstitched--sweet lilac
Immortality----sugary
Indigo Princess----orange blossom
Mary Frances---lavender
New Moon---lemony
Scented Bubbles---bubble bath
Thriller---spicy cherry
Vanity---cotton candy


(Pirl's iris buddy)

This message was edited Feb 17, 2008 9:06 AM

This website has a page dedicated to the Fragrant Iris....knock your self out Amy!! LOL (also good reviews in WD)
http://www.stoneycreekiris.com/browse.php?c=1&m=f

Here's another place that has good reviews in WD.
http://www.iriscitygardens.com/frame2.html

Thank you, Polly. I knew you'd come to the rescue.

The 'tease' with fragrant iris is that they just don't last very long (individual varieties). Other fragrant plants last so much longer.

But to those of us that love iris, it's worth every second.

With the early iris histriodes, I have iris in bloom from early spring till bearded rebloomers in fall.

Continuously?? Throughout the summer?

Wow - thank you all so much! i will definitely look into thes links. The short bloom time compared to the long foliage time is why i have never been very into irises.
The landlords here had planted 4 right in front of the lowest part of my garden wall in late 2006, and in the spring they looked pretty for a short time, but then the leaves were SO tall, they blocked everything behind them and i hated them.
But while they were in bloom, i noticed a smell, but i kept thinking, "Well, flowers don't smell like that, it must be from the downstairs neighbors (who had 2 small children)." So i was surprised to learn it probably was the flowers.
Last fall, the landlords planted 10 more in front of "my" wall, and i almost cried, because it meant i couldn't access most of my plants the easy way, and i cannot stoop or kneel that much. They were really nice, and took them all out! Even the original 4, but i don't know where they moved them to... i am happy to have them out of the way, though!

(3 of the 4 in May - there's one more out of frame to the right)

and a detail of a picture from july accidentally showing the foliage of the same 3 blocking all behind them.

(i just don't want y'all to think i am an evil iris hater.)

Looks like a typical case of right flower, wrong place.

Victor, yes, I have some irises in bloom at all times, from spring to fall.

Amy, that does look like it could be the pallida.

Wow - that's impressive. I didn't know there were ones that bloomed June - Aug.

Siberians, Japanese, the other water iris, then the re-bloomers of the bearded. June and July are a big bloom period for the beardless.

I should have said just July and Aug. June is still prime time for some and I do get re-bloomers in Sep.

I looked on that site, Pirl's iris friend :-), I was surprised that there are 7" - 12" ones listed as dwarf. I thought dwarf were like 4"-6", reticulata, but shows how much I don't know . . .
x, Carrie

Carrie, this one is about 8-10" for me, it's one of my favorites.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/152979/

Very nice, Celeste!

Is it really reblooming?

This message was edited Feb 17, 2008 9:47 PM

Last year was the first year it bloomed for me...I don't remember if it rebloomed or not. Sorry, DH had surgery last summer and I didn't get to keep notes on anything.

Amy, I have a deep purple that smells like grape--but you have to really stick your nose into it--nice, though, except it needs to be staked--my only iris that does. Last yr was a bad yr for losing friends & colleagues--we lost 10, so we were at the funeral home a lot, & I finally, in Oct. or Nov., noticed the white iris they had blooming by the sidewalk--Immortality!

I'm going to add 2 more orders here:
Naylor Creek...3 hosta...including the new H. 'Stitch in Time' 'Tatoo' 'Hanky Panky'

And to all of you gardeners out there (ENABLERS) I went to Dan's Dahlias...
There goes over $100...lol. Al, I might be dmailing you come spring time. I've planted dahlias before, but usually when they were 50% off at home depot or lowes...not, $6, 7, and 8 or more...lol.

I still have a little bit of money left from the tax return...a little bit.

lol

Don't feel bad.....I bought another plant.
ECHINACEA ~ 'Tikki Torch'

I got that one too Pixie. I hope it lives up to the advertising. I am looking forward to all the new echinacea that are arriving this spring as well as the new ones from last year returning. I have been controlling myself of late but really went a little nuts early so except for the canna order I am winning the battle over ordering more. It will not take much to push me over the edge however so I must remain strong. Those iris sites are very tempting. Oh my a tree on the neighbors property just came down. Luckily it was a thin trunk in the wooded section, still it was a tall tree. Crunch.

Yes, there has been an onslaught of new echinaceas lately. Some have really disappointed according to many on DG. I try to wait for the feedback. I did love Pink Double Delight last year so we'll see how it returns. I like Twilight - have it a few years now.

OK I did buy some more--salvia ultra violet & 2 hyssops--sometimes the hyssop overwinters, sometimes not, but I try to get the hummers in--last year all I saw was 1 female over the summer--hope she's back with friends.

OK, thanks to Jan (yes, it's all your fault) I added to my seed collection today from Gurney:
cantaloupe li'l sweet
watermelon sugar baby
daylily little business (as long as I was there) (I meant to look it up in PlantFiles but I seem to have just ordered it.)

xx, Carrie

Carrie,

The reticulata is an iris, but it's a bulb.

The classification you were referring to is probably bearded.

The classifications of bearded are:
Minature Dwarf Bearded (MDB)---up to 8 in.
Standard Dwarf Bearded )SDB----8-15 in
Intermediate Bearded )IB)----15-28.5 in
Border Bearded (BB)----15-28.5 in
Minature Tall Bearded (MTB)---15-28.5 in
Tall Bearded (TB)---over 28.5 in.

The sequence of bloom is MDB, SDB, IB, then BB, MTB and TB bloom at the same time, and are distinguished by the size of the flowers, among other things.

I have come to really love the smaller ones, especially the SDBs, as they are so vigorous, just full of blooms.

Polly

Oh, Polly, you really are an Iris guru, I am going to copy and paste that info into my journal (if I can find out how to retrieve it - my brain is so fuzzy these days)! Thank you. x, Carrie

You're welcome.

Irises are my true love flowers.

Wow - I guess border bearded is like puberty when you have just a few hairs?