I have 'Frequent Flyer'. It blooms about 5 or 6 times a year. And you only need buy one, it spreads like crazy.

We have several that are remontant. A good blue that repeats well is 'Victoria Falls.'

Jeri

I had no idea! Well, I'll have to get some of these! Thanks for the education! :)

Another nice thing about Irises is that they are fairly drought-tolerant. That's a Very Good Thing for Southern CA.

Jeri

Last year I had irises blooming for Christmas. I don't see any this year, but what a pleasant surprise that was.

Rosefolly

O.k., now I will have to start a new list for ordering Iris!:) Jeri, Victoria Falls sounds great, since I love blue, but Hoovb, what colour is Frequent Flyer? I may just have to give away my old plants to make room for these new ones. Two weeks of blooming is really not long enough when they take up so much space. Ingrid, do you think you could post some photos - I would love to see them!

Judith

I saw the white iris, 'Immortality' blooming in a neighbor's garden last month. It caught me off guard and was a very welcomed sight. I need to try to find that one.

Randy

Frequent Flier (which I got from the generous Hoovb!) is a lovely white. What I like about it is that it is very tall easily the tallest of about 8 varieties I have here. It blooms a lot.

Jerome

If the iris that is trying to bloom opens all the way I'll certainly take a picture of it, and also of the iris that is now budding (named Renown), assuming it doesn't get so cold that it doesn't open. It's already 42 degrees at 8 p.m. I don't have any experience with reblooming irises and don't know whether cold and lack of sun would inhibit blooming at this time of the year. At any rate, I've acquired a new interest, one that I'm excited about because it fits in so well with my desire to have a garden of old roses with other beautiful blooming plants to complement them.

Ingrid

Frequent flyer is sooo prolific for me as well. Any other iris good in So. Cal. (O.C.) ? I'd like something like Dover Beach and don't seem to have luck with them. I keep trying to create a "Dover Flyer" because it's such a stingy bloomer but I do love the color.

Thanks Jerome. White would also be very nice with some of my roses. Ingrid, we will keep our fingers crossed that your Iris blooms open, but you're right, you never know at this time of year.....
Judith

Believe it or not, with all the rain, snow and and crazy weather we've been having I have some blooming now too. Very weird. My Batik is really blooming.
(It's in a very protected spot though.) Some I bought a few years ago were 're-bloomers' but I never actually expected them to re-bloom here.

I already have an Iris obsession and now I have to go look at these reblooming Iris. Gee thanks, Ingrid :-) Have you developed a clematis obsession yet? That will be next.

Carol

My Reblooming Irises bloomed again in October. They are wonderful plants and most have a lovely sweet fragrance. IMHO top notch companion plants for roses. Two favorites are IMMORTALITY (white) and CLARENCE (white/blue picotee). These two irises always rebloom for me in USDA Zone 6b.

Here is a link that might be useful: From my garden journal - Irises & Roses

Carolfm, yes, I already have a clematis obsession:) Every vertical place in my garden has one growing on it, and where there isn't a place, I'll just have to rig something up! They are perfect for roses, you just can't seem to have enough. Now I'm venturing into patio clematis (Cezanne, etc)because I can always find a little space for a pot on my deck (who needs a table and chairs anyway?) I'm pretty sure I have a lot of company here....
Judith

Judith, do check the zone info on a reputable Iris website. There are re-blooming Irises that re-bloom only in zone 7 and up and then again there are some that supposedly will re-bloom from zone 4 up.

Here's a picture of the rose Istanbul which finally opened. I'm sorry it's not a better picture but at least you can see that it is blooming. This morning we saw that another iris has started sending up a bud. That makes the fourth out of twelve! I have read on the iris websites that the rebloomers do best in an area that has a long, warm growing season such as California. Apparently reblooming is not guaranteed in the colder zones so it might be a gamble.

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Ingrid, your Iris is very pretty. Which are your favorites of the reblooming iris so far?

Judith, I know! The number of clematis I have is starting to rival the number of roses in my garden.

Carol

Anxious is re-blooming here, & the blooms have survived a 36 degree night.

Bulbs of most kinds are my other garden obsession. I have a bluish-purple and white rebloomer that I bought from Lowe's several yrs. ago. It blooms several times a year and spreads like crazy. It is either Dover Beach or Full Tide.
I have seen both in bags available from Lowe's this fall.

Sylvia, Anxious is the last of the four irises to put out buds and our nights have also been in the high 30's to low 40's. I'm really amazed at these plants, and so pleased.

Carol, I don't have a favorite yet since these are my first irises ever. When I look at all the iris web sites, my mouth waters with the dozens of beautiful irises available. I like unusual and dramatic color combinations and also like yellow, gold and white irises.

Ingrid

Ceterum and Ingrid, thanks for the heads-up on the zone thing. I should have known better than to get all excited before checking ...:) Thanks, Ingrid, for the photo - it sure is a lovely one.
Carolfm, seems like every rose should have one of those smaller sized clematis rambling through and around it....such a beautiful sight!
Judith

Nothing's lovelier, I think, than Irises with Roses.
Some "stealth gardeners" have been adding LOTS of irises to the rose garden in the Sacramento City Cemetery.
Here are Maman Cochet and a couple of the irises of spring, last April, at Open Garden Day:

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Jeri

Oh Jeri, I love that photo! Masterful composition, and the inclusion of the stone angel is superb. Not one of those Victorian confections, but rather something you would see in a French cathedral from the Middle Ages, stern and yet somehow poignant. And the rose is so lovely.

Thank you.

Ingrid

It's a shame her hands are lost, but the angel is said to be a portrait in stone of the murdered (and beloved) young woman whose grave she guards.
If you come to the Open Garden in spring, be sure to take Judy Eitzen's tour of some of the wonderful things in the Sacramento City Cemetery.

Jeri