I have had one single iris blooming for about a week now. It is also dark purple and lives in a very protected area on the south side of the house.

My white-flowered irises have been blooming about a week now, but that's pretty much standard here. Except when Easter falls in the last week of March, my irises almost always bloom before Easter. This year I think the first bloom opened on Easter or the day after. We had temps hit 32 and 33 last week and it didn't hurt the blooms on mine at all, but they may have been protected by nearby shrubs.

The purples are always first here too. Not mine yet, but a neighbor with a steep south-facing yard has had them in bloom for a week. I do have buds on both the dark purple and some light blue.

I planted some iris last fall, and they are up but no sign of anything that remotely resembles a bud or bloom. Do they usually bloom the first year after they're planted?

Suzie

Green Acres:

It's my understanding that the third year for iris is the payoff year, although apparently year two can be good enough for showing. Below is a link to a discussion of this:

Here is a link that might be useful: Do Iris take a year to adapt to a new bed?

My first purple bloomed today.