Lynn ~ Ann and Bob had all their iris business done before picking up Cash, that's why I kept him till the 16th.. He arrived on Tuesday and they absolutely love him. As Bob said, pictures just can't come close to the real thing. And Ann said, 150% more than what we expected. That does my heart good! They love him to pieces and he fits right in!

As for the new iris bed, I amended it with top soil and alfalfa pellets. I buy a 40 or 50 lb bag at the feed store by my place and turn it in to the soil. The irises love it! This is what it looks like before they go in and then I just turn it over a bit right before I plant them. :)

I guess I'd better get "out and about" and have a look for Alfalfa pellets. If I can't find them, maybe I'll plunk them in beside where I planted the irises I divided last year. They seem to have liked my compost.

Will they dislike being planted this fall and then dug up and moved in the spring?

Glad to hear your puppy is adjusting well =:) He looked awfully cute in the pictures.

Where abouts are you Lynn? You can use rabbit pellets too. Depending on how many you plant, you can get a large bag of rabbit pellets at Walmart.

As for digging them up again in the spring, I don't think they would like it much but they will tolerate a lot. Irises are very tough little plants. As long as they have good drainage (they don't like wet feet) they should be just fine. Just follow the planting instructions enclosed with your order. And if you don't have the paper you can find planting instructions on their website under 'Learn About'.

Which ones did you get?

Happy planting! :)

Well, I didn't have time to drive to any type of store today looking for pellets, so I decided on a spot with well drained soil for a few of my new irises. I was in for a big surprise. As I was digging, I came upon a huge bumblebee underground, so I immediately stopped digging and left the scene.

I ended up planting all of them in a well drained "holding bed". I bought, let's see, Forever Blue, Mini Plic, some type of red one, and one more. All I've ever had is Rhein Nix and some type of yellow one given to me when a friend didn't want it, so these should hopefully all be a pleasant and colorful growing experience =:)

So you got the little guys hey. I bought about 30 new SDB's this year from Chuck. He breeds all kinds of interesting little ones. My fav last year was Black Lightning. This year he sent a few interesting subs. Sounds like you have a few nice colorful ones. I'm sure they will do just fine. :)

I think one of the ones I got was originally bred by Chuck.

I got the little ones, hoping they'd hide the dying foliage of my spring bulbs.

Please post pictures of your new iris bed when it's up and running.

Oh, BTW. I won't get blooms next year will I? I don't think so. How about the following year?

Some SDB's are very prolific and bloom the first year if they are later bloomers and if they have a good start in the ground the fall before. Raspberry Tart is a real good bloomer for me. It is early so didn't bloom till year 2. Other good bloomers are the Carpet series. I also like Sail Away. :)

None of mine have ever tried to bloom their first fall, but I know Chuck does recommend that if one tries, you cut the stem off and don't let it. That forces the plant to put its energy into putting down good roots, rather then wasting it on the flower. It might not be as critical for the dwarf variaties, since they are so hardy, but I probably wouldn't risk it...(though honalee, it sounds like you've had some success with it!)

Weeper ~ They don't bloom for me the first fall after I put them in but on occasion have bloomed their first spring. That's what I meant. It hasn't happened often though.

I have had 2 or 3 TB's bloom the first spring too. Supreme Sulton, Best Bet and Cinnamon Girl. Come to think of it, I think Bountiful Harvest and Dream Of You also bloomed the first spring. :)

Oh I understand...yes, most of mine will put up a couple of buds their first spring. My War Chief TB bloomed quite impressively it's first spring, I was suprised.

Now this is unique. A friend of mine had some iris rizomes stuck away in the garage or barn or something all winter. She gave them to me in June so I potted them up just to see what would happen. Most of them survived and are out in the front iris bed now. Here is a pic of Cinnamon Girl (I have 2 now) that started blooming in the pot on the deck 2 days ago. I guess it thought spring was here! :)