ABSOLUTELY!!! No need to keep them in the fridge...you can plop them in the ground when you get where your going and just water them. I would go to the trouble myself - BUT - I am a true Iris lover! They are real hardy and do GREAT in Texas cause they don't mind poor soils or the heat. Even cheap ones go for $5.00 bucks a bulb - and that can add up quick (mu hubby knows from the bank account )-lol!
WELCOME....and what area are you moving to?

~Angie~

Angie, Rockwall. Thanks for the reply even if I can't spell "dig". What prep would you suggest for the soil? Aren't you supposed to plant the bulbs partly exposed? And, should I find a place shaded by the house, or is full sun OK? I love the flowers, but I am not much of an iris expert.

They prefer full sun (even here in Texas) and you should leave some of the bulb partially exposed. Water well but do not over water or the bulb will rot in sitting water. I just bought 16 of them and potted them up to plant in the fall. I'd plant them now but I think I'd die of heat exhaustion. I'm not used to these temps yet!

You know with all this rain we've been getting, your irises will have no problem getting established - even in the summer. Irises will bloom in full to part sun. Mix in some organic matter where you want to put them. They will be fine out of the ground for a few days, but you will probably want to soak the roots a bit if they begin to dry out before planting. I have planted iris that I thought the rhizomes were dead and they came back and bloomed the next year. They're really tough plants regardless of how delicate the flowers look in the spring.

califlower...no real bed prep needed for iris - other than what pleases you. You can plop them right in whatever soil you get (once here). I know where Rockwall is...I'm in Ft Worth area.
I'd definatley go full sun - shaded ones often won't bloom. AND if they get planted too deep - they won't bloom either! I just loosen the soil - get whatever roots are on the corm down in the dirt and firm the rest of the soil arund the corm...so you can see the top half of all mine. They like the direct sunlight for some reason?!? and make splitting them later easy. You can dig and divide them about every 3years. Especially hybrids...they do not like being crowded.

My mother-in-law is in the iris society and has acres and acres of them. She goes to shows and comes home with arm loads of blue ribbons. My own mom grew them when I was a child - they are something I remember fondly - so they were among the first addition to my gardens once I was married and settled in a home (vs. apt)

I hope you will love it here!
~Angie~

Sorry to butt in...
The "loves full sun" part caught my eye, is there a particular type of iris that I have to get that does well here in TX? Anything that can take our heat goes on my list! Where do y'all get them, online? box stores?

Thanks,
Carrie in San Angelo

I dug up all of mine up in July last year due to a new fence (I run them in the alley), they were out of the ground a month on newspaper in boxes in the house, then planted - all back, 95% bloomed (last year was a hot drought year). Full sun as in southern or western sun is the best. Mine don't get direct watering, and may look bedraggled in August, but every spring they are doubled, green and blooming like crazy. As to where to get - Scheiner's Gardens has a great variety, and is having their summer sale, you can get the more expensive ones for 5-7 bucks. I don't mind paying a little for one iris, I will have 20 within a couple of years from that one...

http://schreinersgardens.com/
And these are guaranteed to grow in Texas, nice lady, used to be outside Fort Worth...

http://www.wildprairie.net/index.asp

Terry in Dallas

Sounds like the posters here have you taken care of... such a wealth of information!
But, I wanted to say - Welcome to Texas (almost - you're getting here as fast as you can, right?)!!

I have a few iris' and they just love the sun... even our crazy Texas sun.

new_in_texas - what cities are you close to? I get mine at nurseries, but sometimes get lucky at box stores... Iris aren't picky...but I am sure there are some marketed just for our area!

Bearded won't grow on the coast, I think it's too much humidity. There are a FEW exceptions though. What the heck, won't hurt to try!
Welcome to Texas !!
Tally HO!
PS watch out, you'll be digging them all up to share with your new Texas friends!

new-in-texas : http://www.landfairgardens.com/index.html is a great texas grower - I just got 12 iris from them for $3-$4 each...they had a 50% off sale (they do towards may each year)...they aren't taking orders right now - but just watch their site...I also buy from http://www.argyleacres.com/ they are a great couple and they have super huge corms (and a local to me) but they do ship and make the circut of Iris sales - you might also try googling iris sales for you location! Best wishes!
~Angie~

Thanks for all the links! It looks like I'm going to have to watch out for the sales since I'm cheap :)
fairy, I'm over in San Angelo so I'm near... umm... San Angelo! lol, the closest 'big' thing to me is Abilene @ 2 hours and Austin at over 3 hours.

wow, how do you pick when there are SO many to choose from!

I love yellows - and anything spaceage (with the horns) I try to keep a good mix of colors...and not buy only yellows...but it's often hard!
I am a cheap-o too! Iris are one of the few things i haven't started from seeds or cuttings-lol!
~angie~

I'm from Cali too! Welcome. I'm not big on pestacides and what not but if I were to take plants from one state to another I'd make an exception. I'd also use a fungiside so you don't import anything BESIDES the flowers :^)
Friendly warning:
I'm from the Mojave desert outside of LA. I know what someone means by "watch the heat". If you are from one of the milder areas of CA (San Fran,LA,the Valley etc...) Please watch the heat here. The humidity can really,really sneak up on you!!! PJ

Welcome!

I got a wonderful collection of Iris for the South from Suttons Iris. These are reblooming beauties. The plants were alive and fresh. I got mine in Sept. They didn't have every one listed, so they sent substitutions with extras...enough extras to share with several gardeners!

Here is a link that might be useful: warm climate collection

I got a bunch from the Land Fair Garden sale too, they were flooded out this year so not everyone got their order but mine made it. It was a late season order and still they looked good. Plus $35 for 16 irises, can't beat that!
BTW, I just moved from Cali myself. This is our first summer here, and a hot and humid one it is! You'll find there are a lot of us transplants out here.

new in Texas - Look for them at plant swaps too. These are very common at various plant exchanges through garden clubs, master gardener groups, etc. Sometimes you will see them growing along a fence row on an old country road. There was a joke among the gardeners here in Allen and Lucas a few years ago. There was a light blue iris growing along someone's fence row that someone spotted, so dug up a division and left the rest. Well, someone else got some and then from there the iris grew in their gardens and they divided them and passed them along to their friends who passed them along . . . well, you get the idea. That iris is now called "the iris that took over Lucas" since we see it at so many homesites in Lucas. I'm sure people here in Allen have it too. So, if you start making contacts with your local garden club or the master gardeners in your area, you can ask around and I'm sure any of them would be glad to share an iris or two with you. I think that is the absolute best way to get new plants.

new_in_texas,

Welcome to Texas!

I'm your neighbor, just 40 miles to the NE in Ballinger. I have heard the City of San Angelo has plant sales from their gardens but do not know when. You might call the City and ask.

Also the Recycle Center often offers free mulch, compost, etc. Our small town is not recycling at this time and I have LOTS I need to take to San Angelo but gasoline has slowed down our travel since DH drives 140 miles each day for work. Also need to visit Starbucks and pick up used coffee grounds for my garden.

I know there are at least 2 others on GW from San Angelo and several from Abilene.

Happy Gardening!
Peggy

I keep missing the MG sales, they don't update their website (since Jan '06) and don't respond to email, either does the city. I usually read about the MG sales after they happen, lol.
The only 'city' sale I know of is the Canna giveaway but I'll investigate that one a bit more.

Peggy, thanks for the hint about the mulch, I need tons as I'm slowly digging up beds for fall planting. We brought a bunch of brush to the free recycle day they had a few months ago but they weren't giving any mulch away there.

As for the iris, Sylvia has posted in the exchange section that she has some and would be willing to send some for postage, hopefully that will get me started.

Carrie in San Angelo

Well, I started this topic with a typo, but you folks just want to keep it alive to embarass me! LOL. I now realize there is a Iris forum, and maybe I should have posted there, but this is the problem with discussion boards and how they "age" and what traffic they generate. Someday soon we will be posting our thoughts and opinions to a wiki where the information gets more "concentrated" over time. If you ever want to get a small Interent group to compile information (a church group, PTA, gardeners) look into creating a "peanutbutter wiki" sometime. In the meantime, thanks for all the advice...I'll be digging up the bed the weekend before we pack the car. I will look to treat the bulbs with something to prevent any unwanted transport or critters. For pjtexgirl, seeing as how you are from the Mojave, one of my favorite plants is the creasote bush, Larrea Tridentata. Some people think it is smelly and ugly, but I think it is beautiful because it uses the least amount of water of any plant while producing natural oils that have beneficial properties. Indigenous and Hispanic people have used it as a panecea, and it is called the Medicine Chest of the desert. It is almost impossible to grow from seed. I intend to make some trips out to the desert (it's range is huge, and I'll only have to go to West Texas, but the Mojave has pure stands for miles)and gather plants to transplant. The leaves are so pungent just a small sprig can be used as a foot bath for Athlete's Foot. I brew a tea that I pour on the rocks of my Finnish sauna. You know how the desert smells when it rains? Well, that's from the volitive oils of the creoste bush. It's kind of piney and earthy at the same time. But many folks can't stand the way it smells, so it's not for everyone (like anchovies and liver).