Comments regarding Blue J Iris

Posted on August 19, 2019, updated April 26, 2020
Blue J has a great website. For a newbie to iris it's really nice to see everything laid out by color and also name. There were a lot on sale for buy one $5 get one free.

I ordered about 15 iris and got 4 bonus. The rhizomes were very healthy looking. Some were smallish but they were historics and came as buy one get one so that is reasonable. I will definitely be ordering again next year!

Blue J Iris is tops in my book. I placed an order in June with the sale of 2 for 1. After getting excellent assistance from Sheri Arevalo, we got order in and they were sent when requested. I was more than impressed with their help on order, also the free Iris they also gave us. Plus the quality and service was way above what anyone would expect. Iris was the same quality as I got from another company last year but for over 1/2 the price. So YES I highly recommend Blue J Iris.

In June of 2017 I sent an E-mail to Blue J Iris requesting about 100 Irises, I did not receive a response in a few days (I'm impatient), so I sent another e-mail requesting 50 different ones and hoped that I would get a response for one or both requests. Shortly after my second request Sheri contacted me and said she was generating a quote and would combine the two requests. About 3-4 days later I received a very nicely written quote listing out all the irises, discounts, and shipping costs for both orders combined.

On July 3rd I received my order in one large box. The large box consisted of smaller boxes stacked inside, each box containing layers of excelsior with 3 or 4 perfectly cleaned irises on each level carefully placed and labeled with white tags held to the iris base by an elastic band.

With bonus iris I received 166 (or more - lost count around 150-seemed more like 200). Of the 166, more than half of the rhizomes were close to golf ball size (a few were absolutely huge). The plants looked like they were in great shape before the leaves were trimmed. There were was only one rhizome out of the group that was the size of a dime, but, it looked healthy with a nice fan of leaves, so I could care less.

Below are some pictures of the package and the irises. Can't seem to display the photos in the forum. Here are a few of the PhotoBucket Links (copy and paste into browser address):

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Blue J Iris is highly recommended!!!
If I had any garden space left I would buy from them again!

I just received a box of rhizomes from Blue J Iris. These are without a doubt the worst rhizomes I have ever received.They hardly deserve to be called rhizomes. All were tiny baby offsets, hardly larger than a penny in diameter. I purchased quite a few iris. An expensive lesson.

Posted on January 6, 2014, updated August 1, 2015
Nothing but good to say! Great customer service and they deliver what they promise. Every rhizome they sent has lived and last year I received first year blooms on 80%. Considering my poor soil and climate that is sub standard for growing Iris, my experience so far is...who could ask for more!

Posted on July 12, 2014, updated July 24, 2015
Posted on July 18, 2013, updated July 12, 2014
This was my second year ordering from Blue J, and it will NOT be my last ! Rhizomes aren't huge, but very healthy! Great selection to choose from, good bonus system, and good communication. Thanks!!

Posted on May 12, 2015, updated June 3, 2015
I purchased several iris in 2013 from blue j iris.The rhizomes arrived VERY small but all survived. I had one bloom for the first time in the spring of 2015 & it did not bloom true to the name. I contacted them via email & Sherri got back to me in 2 days (April 19th) & said they would remove it from their website & issue me a paypal refund. I never received the refund so I emailed them back on April 30th asking when I should expect the refund. It is now May 12th, nearly 4 weeks since I first emailed them & its still listed on their website & I still have no refund.

My order just arrived and all the rhizomes look great! It was my first time ordering from this company, and I am a happy customer. I will order from blue J iris again in the future. I placed my order earlier in the Spring knowing they would be shipped in summer, and the rhizomes arrived when we were told to expected them, along with a tracking number once they were shipped. The packaging was perfect for freshly dug irises.

Just one of the many varieties I purchased, Bella Rose, had a rhizome just slightly smaller than the rest, but they sent two as a result. All the rest of the rhizomes were at least two inches long and about one and a half inches or more plump with green trimmed fans. Nice fresh rhizomes!

The communication and customer service were excellent. I don't know if everything is true to name yet, but I really liked the plastic vinyl plant name tags that came attached to each rhizome. I usually keep my irises in pots for the first year to see where, based on foliage height and flower color, they will look best permanently located in the yard, and the tags will go in each of my pots. Thanks!

My first order from Sheri and the whole gang at Blue J and won't be my last! Sheri was so helpful, as I don't do credit cards nor PayPal and wasn't sure how to do mail order. She walked me thru the order process, emailed me the invoice to send along if I wanted - only needed the order number but just in case sent the invoice as well - and generally took care as if I was their best customer. Yes, it was the busy season and it did take a few days for a reply but I ALWAYS got a reply.

I was notified, complete with tracking info, when my iris were shipped, and they arrived in western Oregon in perfect shape. She even sent along two each of the two tiny guys, 'Bumblebee Deelite' and 'Blueberry Tart'. All rhizomes were plump, clean and had nice, stiff green fans with very little discolouration. All were properly tagged.

Two things I would like to see. On the tags, plant height and a short colour description - I went thru and added those myself - and a care/planting instruction sheet.

Otherwise, one of my best new mail order garden sources!

Posted on July 20, 2013, updated July 10, 2014
Posted on July 13, 2012, updated July 20, 2013
Posted on July 9, 2012, updated July 13, 2012
Posted on August 12, 2011, updated July 9, 2012
This year was the first year ordering from Blue J Iris. I was impressed with their selection of rarer harder to find varieties from 20 or 30 years ago and reasonable prices so as soon as 2011 orders were open for placing come January, I placed an order. As I ordered more than 100 dollars worth of bulbs, I got to pick a huge amount of bonus iris ,which i personally got to choose the varieties from her extensive catalog as well!! and i believe like 2 or 3 Jedlicka introductions of my choice as well. when picking out my bonus i had a hard time getting a hold of Sheri quickly by email, but was able to speak to both her and her mother on the phone who were both very pleasant people to deal with, and especially discussing selections with Sheri. I was not aware that she teaches full time and that even if it takes a few days for her to review your order and get back with you on selection and invoice, you can usually always reach her by phone. The bulbs arrived as specified on time, very nicely packaged. all were top shape except for two heirloom 'dauntless' fans which had purple stems but after soaking them in a gal of water with 2tsp propaconazole for a day they looked good like all the rest. All are now planted in the ground and almost 2 months later in late summer here in NC all still look good, even the 'dauntless', which i was worried about, are green and healthy. I was very happy with blue-J iris and will be glad to order from Sheri again.

In 2009, I received a wonderful order from Blue J. The rhizomes were small compared to many other growers, but that is to be expected due to the location of this garden. In that shipment, the rhizomes were mature and ready to be offered commercially.

This year (2013), my order from Blue J was not satisfactory. Unlike other orders I received, the rhizomes arrived dirty. Several of the rhizomes showed clear signs of previous rot (the areas were dry, so the rot did not occur in transit) or other significant stress. Some were not only tiny (no more than marble-size), but obviously immature. One was snapped right below the foliage.

-- On Saturday, July 13, I sent my first email regarding the problems with my order to Sheri Arevalo (manager, hybridizer's daughter) at Blue J.
-- On Monday, July 15, I sent a longer email to Leonard Jedlicka (hybridizer at Blue J).
-- On Thursday, July 18, Sheri wrote back in response to the email I had sent to her dad (which he had forwarded to her). In her response, Sheri described how many hours she works, said Blue J had hired new personnel, sent excerpts of emails of praise from other customers, said she wanted to address my problems, and said she would write back either that night or Sunday (July 21) to discuss resolution. She explained she had an emergency that would require her attention for part of the weekend. Sheri ended her email to me asking how many of the rhizomes I would want refunded.
-- On Thursday, July 18, I wrote back to Sheri with my requested resolution. Here is what I wrote: "You asked how many rhizomes are unsatisfactory. I would say that I would not have purchased half of these rhizomes, due to quality issues. However, if I subtract out the cultivars that I cannot find elsewhere from the unsatisfactory rhizomes, then I'm left with about 1/3 that I would want refunded."
-- On Wednesday, July 24, Sheri sent a short email to tell me that I was "not forgotten"... In all fairness, Sheri was also not timely when I added on to my order. The first time I added on, it took Sheri 11 days to confirm the addition and invoice the additional amount. The second time I added on, it took Sheri 12 days to confirm the addition and invoice the additional amount. So, a quick turnaround on correspondence does not appear to be standard with Blue J.
-- On Thursday, July 25, I sent an email to Sheri with a specific request for refund. I asked for a refund of 1/3 of the rhizomes ($84.00/3=$28.00), plus part of the shipping ($6.80 of the total $22.50 I spent in shipping), for a total requested refund of $34.80.
-- On Friday, July 26, Sheri refunded the requested amount ($34.80) via PayPal. She also sent a letter asking me to plant the unsatisfactory rhizomes to see how they performed. I wrote back explaining that I would prefer to not expend valuable time and garden space on rhizomes that did not appear to be viable.
-- On Friday, July 26, Sheri also sent a followup email in which she explained that, by Ag regulations, up to 1/2" of dirt is permitted on rhizomes that are shipped. I didn't realize that before her email. I had never received dirty rhizomes from other growers, so I thought that it was not permitted. I learned something new!

So, that leaves me with a neutral review. I've had one very good experience (2009) and one disappointing experience (2013). However, in time, Sheri did work to resolve my concerns.

BOTTOM LINE: Blue J offers many cultivars that cannot be found anywhere else in commerce, and their prices are low. In this regard, Blue J is providing a valuable service... preserving hard-to-find cultivars much like Vintage Gardens did for roses in the past. How many times have we, as gardeners, accepted a plant that is struggling, simply because we were happy to find that particular cultivar?

I had a good experience with Blue J. Only one rhizome was small (batik). The rest were a decent enough size. They looked as big as the ones in photos that were sent from other growers to my internet buddies.

Prices are very reasonable, so if their $3.50 rhizomes are not as big as the $12-for-the-same-variety ones from a different grower, that's OK with me.

Rhizomes arrived beautifully packaged and very freshly dug: plump and happy. They took off and grew immediately and this spring, all of them are up and looking good.

Blue J emailed me when they shipped with a tracking number, so I could meet them at the mailbox and they wouldn't have to bake in the heat.

They haven't flowered yet, so I can't tell if they are true to variety or not.

My package did arrive complete with ants, so I had to spray. Not a big deal, and the ants could have entered the package at any stop along the way.

Posted on October 26, 2012, updated November 14, 2012
This was my first year ordering from Blue J, I was very unhappy about some of the tiny rhizomes that they sent me although they did send two and three of that variety but it will be two years before they bloom and that is unaccepable. I sent a e-mail and let them know about these small iris and never received a answer back. My order was quite sizeable and put in early order#55 but shipment came in mid Aug. which was okay but I would have thought a early shipment would have priority in size, regardless the rhizomes were freshly dug and very healthy looking, the end of Oct. is now upon us and all are still alive. Will I order from this company again? Yes, but I will have confirmation before hand on the size or will send them back for a refund.

I just received my six Iris plus a free one for ordering six.
I found the prices to be very reasonable and after buying those 'almost dead' iris in boxes in the box stores, it was wonderful to see healthy rhizomes. packed well and received in a timely manner. I would recommend this company to anyone looking to add Iris to their garden.

This is the first time I have ordered from Blue J Iris. I cannot say enough good about my experience and the iris I received. My order was large.

I was excited to order and even more excited when my order arrived!

Sheri was sweet to talk to online and so was her mother even though her mother didn't remember me each time I called. I liked them both.

I changed my order around several times and Sheri was sweet to make the changes and verify everything with me.

I got everything I ordered and most of them were a fair size. Some were large and If they were small... I got two!

The iris were clean, healthy, and fresh with tags that will last through the winter. The iris were also a very reasonable price.

Sheri allowed me to choose which Iris I wanted for a bonus as well as the introductions!

I like the way Blue J Iris had multiple pictures of the iris to give me a good idea of what I was ordering.

So far....I think I got exactly what I wanted.

I WILL ORDER FROM BLUE J AGAIN!

This year I made my first order with Blue J. First of all I was impressed by the number of historic irises that they offer. My order was large and I received 2 free 2010 Jedlicka intros valued at $30 each and a 2007 Jedlicka intro valued at $14 as freebies. The irises were a bit smaller than from a few other growers but I was very happy with them for the very reasonable price that I paid for them. They were very fresh and packaged nicely. Would definitely recommend them and will be ordering from them again!

Its a good thing to have you out there with all these hard to find iris. Fair to good size and a nice extra DESERT WINE.Still would like someone to come up with an old Schreiner's called BLUE BARRON and another one called ASIA. Thanks Miss Jedlicka

This company has been Awesome to me for the last 3 years. Huge selection and very reasonable prices. It may take a few days to respond to your emails but is only becuse they are busy working in their feilds trying to get orders straight and plants taken care of. I am so happy with Their generosity on my last order I cant even begin to explain. I will say that they went above and beyond what they had to do for me. It is a great company and I would order again and again. Thanks Blue J for a wonderful company that brings hard to find Iris to my front door. A++

I bought irises from Blue J a couple of years back. I was very pleased with the irises. They arrived fresh and healthy. The first year over half of them bloomed and I didn't lose a single one that first winter. They are all true to name and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

I received my order of 34 iris from Blue J Iris today. I have unpacked my box and found very healthy, nice sized rhizomes. They were packed in excelsor and each rhizome had a printed plant marker attached. (thank you Sheri...saved me time from not having to make my own markers.) They included 5 bonus iris and two of those are 2009 Jeda intros valued at $30 and $12 each.


I am very pleased and I will certainly be a repeat customer.

Nana3

I just wanted to say thankyou! This is my second order with your company. Last year I planted some SDB and MDB iris and they came up beautifully this spring and nice blooms! This season I bought some Orange Celebrities, Orange Fires, and Blue Cheers TB iris and all came exactly when expected and were healthy looking, large rhizomes! I can't wait to see them bloom next year! They are already planted in the ground and I just got them today! Great job on packing too.

I just received an order, my first, and was pleased that the plants were large, appeared healthy and freshly dug, and were packaged well for the trip. They also allowed me to specify the desired week of shipment, which was important because we were away during part of their shipping season.

I have bought iris from Blue J Iris for three years now and have been pleased with each order. They have an amazing selection of irises at very reasonable prices. Their rhizomes are typically not as big as those from the Oregon growers, but they are healthy and grow rapidly. Within a year, at least in my garden, the plants from Blue J are indistinguishable from the plants from the growers out west.

I wish to revise a former neutral rating on this company. I have found that Sheri has tried to reverse an early criticism I made about the size and resulting loss of rhizomes in my zone 4/5 garden. After discussing the problem, we have agreed to ship later in the growing season, which will allow for larger rhizomes when dug and hopefully more success in their settling into my garden. I appreciate her efforts to rectify the problem and her desire for customer satisfaction.

I have no complaints, but in comparison to another iris vendor I bought from recently, their rhizomes were much smaller.

I had two problems with this company on my 2007 order. First, I had a large order which required 6 boxes. They were sent taped together in a tall column. The weight crushed the bottom of the lowest box and iris were missing. I reported this by email and there was no offer to replace. Also, about 1/3 of the iris rhizomes were minute...less than 1/2 inch. So, my expectations that they have survived a very cold zone 5 winter is doubtful .Also, I had no reply when I emailed about the size of so many of the rhizomes. With a few of the small ones I received 2 very small ones instead of just 1. Frankly, I would preferred not to receive any that size.My order was placed early....in February and iris were sent out in July...so no problems with the time of the order . Price is good but it is not worth my time and effort to receive such. She is a very pleasant person so I did not give a negative.

I ordered about 60 iris from Blue Jay this year. I was pleased by the order confirmation, price, size (of most of them) and condition of the iris upon arrival. They have been in the ground almost 2 months now and are growing well.They were shipped at the requested date. That was important to me as I live in the Idaho panhandle and we have short summers. I will order again next year. I found the prices and shipping to be very fair.

This has been my third year of placing very large orders with this company and I have been very pleased. The rhizomes have been good sized, and Sheri has always been very good about responding quickly to any questions I have had. Will definitely order from again.

This is my third year ordering from Blue J Iris. Have been extremely pleased with each order - beautiful, healthy rhizomes, at very reasonable prices, and wonderful bonus irises. Can't say enough positive about them. They are a joy to communicate with and very eager to please. My husband and I strolled through their gardens this past May. It was mind-boggling seeing so many absolutely beautiful, well-kept fields of iris...and a joy to meet Sheri, who was busy taking the beautiful photos for their web site. I'm already planning next year's order!!

I ordered 30 iris and got 3 bonus iris. All ot the plants were very healthy with thick heavy clean rhizomes and nice fleshy roots. This was definitely a positive experience.

I usely dont post but i have too
My first Oredr June 2006 the next Late July 2006
I got 2 large orders,
$300 worth.
One i hate winers and the people who say I HAVE GROWN IRISES 25 YEARS . YA FREE ONES THEY WINED SO MUCH for refund
Most I recived were very large heathy green fresh dug with no softeys.
i should post a photo .
if small she sent 2 or three extra.
cant beet the price come on $2.20 for most and discounts.

People when buying ask question to her before hand
How is this one LOoKING THIS YEAR?
I am already making a list for next July dig.
If you have to have a big golf ball size go the local green house Pay $12.

But from Blue J I did get golf ball size more then 3/4 of the odrer was .

I purshased -this being my first and last order with this company I spent way to much for tiny iris,and 2 missing,
then it had a disese -i thought it was iris rot.she tried to tell me that they dont have disese's in that area.Well this was put all together and within 2 weeks these where sick.I found borer's i had wrote to her.and guess what nothing,,,,no refund.just that area does get the iris irus-I am out money and iris never again.....

Excellent experience from enjoying the attractive, user-friendly site, to the ease of ordering, to the personable and professional communication and invoicing, to receiving the well-packaged healthy rhizomes. The bonuses and extras were generous and appropriately chosen to complement the colors I ordered. Add to all that, the very reasonable pricing and I doubt one could find a better source for iris.

i bought about 80 iris and i ordered kind of late. you will not believe this but i got all but 2 of the ones i wanted. i got bonuses, extras, large iris in the first place, packed perfectly with an invoice that was perfect. there's more.......i got a new iris intro. and a refund. teehee!! and i got these at the best price known in the iris world. sheri is wonderful to deal with. she worked with me for 2 months with my order. occ. she is too busy to get right back at you but she does get back. she answered every question i had. and when asked about the negative feedback blue j had gotten in the past she didn't hedge.....just explained that all of the past problems were being worked on. and by golly i think they have it. THIS is the place folks. i can not wait to order again next year. thanks to you sheri and to blue j for some really nice plants. a great big rebel yell from me down in texas.

This is the first year that I ordered from Blue J. I ordered on line and got an e-mail back within a day telling me exactly what would be in my order and which of the "bonus or substitute" irises would be included. The ordered arrived at the time that I had specified and was well packed, well marked and in good shape. They added so many bonus iris that I have given some to friends.

VERY UNHAPPY WITH BLUE J IRIS. BUYERS BEWARE, they only guarantee true to name. I received my order on Aug. 14th,e-mailed them on Aug 18th and to date have not received a reply. 7 out of 14 iris are no bigger than a marble, and the others not much bigger. ( That is a small marble ) These irises cost me $96. to get them to Canada and most will not make it thru my 4b winter. As I have had no reply from Blue J I am to assume they are not ashamed at what they sent me. I have posted a picture on the Canadian Gardening Section

Just received my order from Blue J.

I asked Sheri not to pack in straw, and she did not. They were packed in celcius (is that the name?).

I had some email back and forth with Sheri adding iris, and changing bonuses. She was helpful, and patient.

The irises are beautiful! Perfect condition, and very large rhizomes. No mold, no signs of borers. Excellent, just fantastic, and especially for the price..

Of course I can't comment on whether or not they are true to name, but I have labels made, and will keep good track, and report back on that.

However, for the price and quality of the rhizomes, if in fact they are true to name, I think Blue J will be unbeatable.

i placed a large order with them. sheri was great. i added to my order several times, sheri didn't mind. the rhizomes were large and some they sent two if they were small. the only thing i didn't care for was the straw, it made a mess. i will be a repeat customer.

I placed a fair sized order with, Blue J Iris, earlier in 2005, ... (over 50 irises, at a very pleasing price). All were received in a timely manner, in fine condition. Sherri was super regarding customer service & always made feel like a valued customer! (always answered my questions/emails, & very helpful in quiding me when I was in search of that 'special iris', etc. ... even if they didn't have it themselves, she informed me of where I might locate it! Highly professional! So refreshing!). Very soon after I received my first order, I placed a second iris order, ... & to my surprise, they arrived quite quickly, (rather than placing me 'last on the list' & shipping latest in the season). I appreciate the consistancy in care, promptness, & quality I received! Any minor problems which arose, Blue J Iris was quick to make amends. A terrific company, with wonderful, 'old fashioned type values' .... remember???? the days when the common corporate social value was that .... 'the customer was always right'. That was my experience with Blue J Iris!