When I lived in Oregon, I planted Dutch Iris in the fall. They need a cold period and they bloom in spring. If you wait until August to buy your bulbs, you'll have more choices. I'm not sure what will happen if you try and plant them in spring.

generally speaking .... most likely ... you will not get flowers.. but then they ought to be huge next year ... by planting in fall.. you are giving them enough time to grow the requisite root mass to support those huge flowers ... by starting this spring.. by the time they get the roots.. it might be too late in the season.. especially for me in z5 MI ... how that might all work for in z9 .. i will leave to others ... since your season is probably 4 months longer than mine ... just never forget that the plant has to grow the roots for the flower .. and you will understand much about your expectations of flowering .. and why planting at a certain time might be important .. ken

Thank you Jim. They're not only pretty.....they're EASY :). I planted these probably in November. I interplanted them with daffs which I haven't grown in a long time. When they started coming up a couple of weeks later, I freaked thinking they were the daffs :). The irises grew throughout the winter and the cold temps didn't faze them a bit (even though I worried considerably!). Funny that the daffs didn't come up til much later, but bloomed first. Anyhoooo, if you haven't tried them, I highly recommend them. I'll be looking for more and other colors this fall. Kristi

I have three varieties of Dutch iris that bloom in three distinct waves. Earliest is the common sky blue, then a yellow/blue combination called Oriental Beauty, and last a dark, almost navy blue that was supposed to be Sky Beauty but obviously isn't. Here, the sky blues bloom with the bridal wreath and the earliest roses. Oriental Beauty blooms with the ranunculus and yes, a few early bearded iris. The navy blues bloom with the mid-season iris, giving, as you've planned, a wonderful and effortless contrast in form and color. Dutch iris foliage comes up in mid to late fall, survives our occasional hard freezes, and then dies back for the summer along with the daffodils. Here's Oriental Beauty and Roper's Revenge - a bit gaudy! And this is Spartan with the navy blue Dutch iris.