sorry, I've been busy, just got back here. I just got some of the yellow spurias this morning; they've finished blooming, of course, but these are the most lush, luscious plants I've seen in a long time. The bearded irises I have left are all mixed up & in bedraggled condition, & I'd feel better about waiting til I either see them bloom, or maybe til I get some more from a local trade, to send anything to anybody. Aqua & Susan, please let me know how many orientalis & how many yellow you'd like, & send me your addresses (sylviaboardwalk@aol.com-sometimes gw's system works, & sometimes...). Susan, I'd love to have plicata, cinnamon, & maybe Louisianas if you have enough. I'll be getting some crinums later on, but they're the milk & wine kind, betcha you have them already. There're a zillion of them, & they're gorgeous, but they're taking over the universe; I'll try to get photos. Aqua, I'm hoping you still want some of these flowers; I've been looking through your album, & I'm absolutely in love with...all of them. so I made a list, like any greedy child at Christmas, & the only way I can think of to prioritize it, since I don't think you'd want to part with 80 pounds of irises & I wouldn't want someone at the post office to hurt him/herself lifting the box, is that generally, the older the better. Florentina Sambucina Kochii Prinzess Viktoria Luise Alpine Glow Rare Treat Clarence Perfection Three Oaks Rhein Nixe Loreley Rheingpauperle Amas Pick out however-many you're comfortable with, & let me know how many Orientalis & yellow spuria you want! Margarita, I'll be glad to send you some spurias and a bunch of the "leftover" antiques for a few deep purples, or I'll be happy to wait til next spring, or I can send you some leftovers for postage. Kathy, same kind of thing: I can send spurias & leftovers for a couple of the brown/purple (sounds so intriguing!), & the blue & the yellow if you have enough, or I can send you leftovers for postage. but I'm really wanting that brown/purple... Please let me know! This post was edited by sylviatexas on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 15:56

Several things could have happened to your iris: 1) They could STILL be too crowded with not enough room for increase even though you did divide them. 2) The place where they are located could gradually have become shadier. Iris like lots of sun. 3) The soil might be tired and in need of more nutrients. 4) You've had extraordinaryily bad weather for 4 years in a row. NOt likley, I know. But, we had 2 years in a row of bad weather. But in that 3rd year, dang, the iris bloom was fantastic! 5) When you replanted, you planted them too deeply. If your iris were strong bloomers before you divided them, and assuming the rhizomes are still firm and strong and producing big leaves, one of hte other factors I listed above is the culprit. PRobably. :) But that's why I love iris, they are so exotic and can be difficult to coax into bloom.

they've been in it with amendments twice during the past five years What does this mean? Have you replanted the irises twice in the past five years? If so, it's possible you're not getting bloom because you're not allowing the irises enough time to settle in well before you dig and replant them again. Some irises resent being disturbed frequently and will sulk for several years before starting to bloom again. Or it's possible that you simply have a cultivar that is a shy bloomer in your growing conditions. If you want reliable bloom, consider trying different irises until you find the ones that perform well in your garden. Laurie

My first house I owned with my ex-husband had a porch added onto the side of one of the bedrooms, and they left the window in, so it overlooked the new stairs down into the basement. Frankly, it just looked bizarre, and made setting up furniture on that wall very difficult. You don't say what the rooms are going to be where you are "losing" the windows, but if you are concerned about the loss of light, I would recommend "replacing" the window with a tubular skylight in the ceiling over where the windows are gong to be walled over--they add a shocking amount of light, and I love mine. In my kitchen, which had been very dark, now I keep thinking the lights are on when they are not, it's just the tube bringing in the sun. Carla in Sac