Thank you for the information. The last link doesn't seem to work for me.

I checked out the link, and apparently Houzz adds http:// to the front of the address. The address does not have that prefix; it starts instead with www. If it still gives you trouble just do a search for The American Iris Society, then click on How to Plant and Grow.

I tried several hybrids from places that said they would grow in Houston area and they didn't. Then somebody gave me a historic variety and it's doing great. Got another old one, and also a success. Start be googling historic bearded irises and go from there. The oldies aren't necessarily as fancy as the hybrids so keep that in mind.

bossyvossy, How old is your historic Iris? The term seems to mean Irises that are 30 years or older.

I've always considered them pretty tough. Although, the tall bearded irises I have come from a patch growing completely unattended on a rocky slope on family owned lakefront property where it gets zero care. The bed of irises at the lake house were transplanted from my great grandmother's iris beds, so I guess you could say they're historic. My great grandmother planted them in the early 1900s.

Mine was a pass along plant. It is a div I was given from a property owned by a 90 YO gardener who was sharing. Her family was moving her to assisted care and she couldn't bear the thought of her plants dying. My plant is under 5 YO, a divi. of hers that I'm guessing was 50-75 YO. I said prev I had 2 but correcting myself as I went looking in the yard and historic iris "Dauntless" was nowhere to be found. We are having above average rain and perhaps it rotted. Here is my iris from the old lady. It is soo beautiful.

Renee, you can post in the iris forum and perhaps somebody will share or sell a div of a historic iris. There are quite a few gardeners that grow nothing but historic b/c of their resilience.

bossyvossy, That is such a pretty Iris! Do you keep them in full sun or part sun? Do you cover the rhizome with mulch during the summer? I would love to hear how you take care of your Irises.

Iris Soc website and vendors have excellent planting advice so Ck them out. My noid (stands for no identification) iris is near base of trees where they get tree canopy shade protection. Iris rhizome planted halfway in the ground, meaning you can see top of rhizome after you've planted. They rot easily so I wouldn't mulch. They will look like they might come off the ground planted that way, but resist the urge to push further down. The recent rains in Houston are prob gonna hurt my bearded iris. LA irises? They are crazy happy ha

Louisiana Irises love wet feet.

There are lots of different Iris species. Some like Louisiana Iris and Siberian Iris prefer moist soil. However, most of the bearded Irises prefer dryer, well-drained soil and full sun. Bearded Irises have been cultivated for so long that many "species", such as Iris albincans, I. florentina, I. kochii, and I. germanica, are crosses out of antiquity.

"Crosses out of antiquity". Can you explain?

Sorry, the term means "very old but origin unclear." Iris germanica, for instance, was commonly cultivated and naturalized in northern Europe during the middle ages. Yet, it is a sterile horticultural mule propagated by offshoots, and botanists now recognize it as a garden hybrid rather than a true species.

The only concern I have now is that it gets REALLY hot here on the coast. I am not sure if planting the bearded Irises in full sun would be a good idea.

I am in Dallas, TX and recently went and visited several iris farms & they are in full sun. Check with an iris society or even you can Google the info you are requesting.