# Japanese Irises



## Erythrone (Jul 23, 2015)

A few pics of my Japanese irises. Most are grown in pot.



Iris ensata Summer Splash web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Reveille web by Erythrone, sur Flickr. An oldie



Iris ensata Light at Dawn web by Erythrone, sur Flickr. An oldie and very good doer. 



Iris ensata Indigo Delight web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Dramatic Moment web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Blue Beauty web by Erythrone, sur Flickr. Not sure it is the true stuff but it is a very strong grower and easy to bloom (which is not the cas for all JIs....)



Iris x pseudata Yasha web by Erythrone, sur Flickr
This one is actually an hybrid between Iris ensata and Iris pseudacorus (the yellow marsh European iris).


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## abax (Jul 23, 2015)

Japanese Iris are the most beautiful Iris in the world and
yours are stunning. They are borderline hardy here (zone 6B) and I'm always afraid to try them because they're
expensive and I hate losing plants. How do you grow them in pots? I'd love some details.

Indigo Delight is my favorite, but all are beautiful.


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## SlipperFan (Jul 23, 2015)

I was hoping we'd see your garden again this year. Thanks!


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## Ruth (Jul 24, 2015)

Beautiful! I like them all. I also would be interested in how you grow them in pots.


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## Erythrone (Jul 24, 2015)

abax said:


> Japanese Iris are the most beautiful Iris in the world and
> yours are stunning. They are borderline hardy here (zone 6B) and I'm always afraid to try them because they're
> expensive and I hate losing plants. How do you grow them in pots? I'd love some details.
> 
> Indigo Delight is my favorite, but all are beautiful.



I am surprised to read they are borderlin hardy since many JIs are hardy in the ground in our USDA zone 3 gardens. The problem in the garden is not the hardiness but usually the decline of the "fowering power" of the plant after a few years. So we should dig the clumb, divide the plant and not replant in the same spot...But it looks like, in Japan, there is no such issue.... But in North America, most JIs must grow their plants that way.


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## Erythrone (Jul 24, 2015)

SlipperFan said:


> I was hoping we'd see your garden again this year. Thanks!



Thanks oke:


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## Lanmark (Jul 24, 2015)

Nice!


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## Erythrone (Jul 24, 2015)

A few other blooms



Iris ensata Blue Beauty 1 web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Kiyozuru web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Kiyozuru 2 web2 by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Sorcerer's Triumph web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Pink Frost web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Snook web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Strippled Ripples web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Ocean Mist web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Virginia B web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Chiyo no Haru web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Center of Interest by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Summer Storm web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Blue Beauty 3 web by Erythrone, sur Flickr



Iris ensata Light at Dawn 2 web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jul 24, 2015)

Beautiful flowers and photography. Interesting that they are coming into full flower for you now. Here they do their thing in mid June during the monsoon rains.


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## Clark (Jul 24, 2015)

Always a joy to see whats going on in garden.

Last week they were in full bloom at 10,000ft.
It was 37F driving there at 5am.


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## abax (Jul 24, 2015)

Marvelous and soooo beautiful..


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## Erythrone (Jul 25, 2015)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Beautiful flowers and photography. Interesting that they are coming into full flower for you now. Here they do their thing in mid June during the monsoon rains.



Yes, they usually bloom in July here.. some plants even bloom in August. I guess our very long winter make them bloom much later.


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## abax (Jul 25, 2015)

How do you grow them in pots?????


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## Erythrone (Jul 26, 2015)

About growing in pots : They are grown outdoors, but with winter protection. I usually put the pots in a child pool during summer, and the plants are grown semi-hydropinic, somewhat like Phrags, but with much more fertiliser. Finding the right fertilizer regime it the main issue for me. They seem to thrive on urea in our summers. Another problem is that they are prone to thrips


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## Ozpaph (Jul 26, 2015)

stunning flowers!


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## abax (Jul 26, 2015)

What kind of potting medium do you use? What size pots?
What a great idea using a small pool. I just happen to have a small pond, but it's in shade. Potting them might
allow me to grow them in sun and move the pots into
shade when they're in bloom.


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## Erythrone (Jul 27, 2015)

I usually pot them in a 1 gallon nursery pot, sometimes less for very small plant with a few leaves, sometimes in larger pots, when the clump is very large after some years... I try to use pot taller than wide. I tried many different medium. I now use peat base mix with perlite, with a lot of compost.


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## abax (Jul 28, 2015)

Thank you for the growing tips. I'm definitely going to
try a couple next summer using Ball Seed growing medium
which is essentially the same thing you're using. Oh boy!


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## Erythrone (Aug 4, 2015)

Here are a few other ones to help you dream about them, abax...



Iris x pseudata Yasha web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris x pseudata Yasha 1 web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris x pseudata Shiryukyo web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Virginia B web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata SAKURA NO HARU web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata rose sans nom web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Rafferty web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Picotee Princess web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata My Heavenly Dream ewb by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Japanese Plum web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Harlequinesque web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Greywoods Zebrina web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Eden s Picasso web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Eden s Picasso 2 web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Bob's Choice web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


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## Erythrone (Aug 4, 2015)

Iris ensata Bob's Choice 2 web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Beyond Words web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


Iris ensata Banjo Blues web by Erythrone, sur Flickr


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## Erythrone (Aug 4, 2015)

Iris ensata Bob's Choice 3 by Erythrone, sur Flickr


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## SlipperFan (Aug 5, 2015)

Wonderful Irises! I love your garden!


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## Erythrone (Aug 6, 2015)

Thanks Dot!


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## daniella3d (Jul 11, 2016)

I think the problem with replanting them in the same spot is if we don't replace the nutrients, the plants will have exhausted everything around. I divide them and replant them in the same spot but I replace some of the hearth with good sheep manure and peat. 

I have had no problem doing this. I have heard that JI can secrete something in the soil to prevent further growth but I really doubt that's true because that's not my experience with them. Probably more about loss of nutrients with time.

As for hardiness, zone 6b should be a joy for them. I live in zone 5 and never lost a single one to cold, not even during our incredibly cold winter of 2014-2015 with regular -34 C wich made us more in the zone 4 range. With good care, they can double in size every year. Best year is third usualy but....I have one right now that has 26 flowers opened and it's just amazing in its 4th year. It was never divided.

Here is one that was planted in 2013, and have never been touched. It is now in it's 4th season of growth. In 2013 it did not do much, only a few flowers, then it took of and it is now a monster. It does not show any sign of decline yet, quite the opposite:

2014, was planted in 2013:







and in 2016: I will divide it in fall because it is getting really big, not because it is declining:















Erythrone said:


> I am surprised to read they are borderlin hardy since many JIs are hardy in the ground in our USDA zone 3 gardens. The problem in the garden is not the hardiness but usually the decline of the "fowering power" of the plant after a few years. So we should dig the clumb, divide the plant and not replant in the same spot...But it looks like, in Japan, there is no such issue.... But in North America, most JIs must grow their plants that way.


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## Erythrone (Jul 11, 2016)

Here is a wonderful clump, Daniella!!! I tried to add manure and compost as long as fertiliser on some flower beds. It didn't work for many JIs. But I planted a pink variety in my mother's garden many years ago. The plants thrive for decades !!! 30 years maybe??? The soil was heavy clay, damp and the grass nearby received tons of nitrogen....I tried the same cultivar in my garden, and it has been a reliable bloomer even if I did not give it those conditions for 7 years. So I think it has also something to do with genetic.


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## abax (Jul 11, 2016)

To my surprise, my nephew who lives just up the hill has
many lovely JIs and they bloom well although he gives
them very little care. He has a rather boggy area in his yard and full sun. My perennial garden is mostly shade
and mostly rather dry and exposed to north winds.


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## Happypaphy7 (Jul 12, 2016)

Beautiful!
I want to have a garden.


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## NYEric (Jul 12, 2016)

She doesn't know it but the neighbors dog is helping with feeding the soil! :evil:


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## daniella3d (Jul 13, 2016)

That's interesting about the manure not working for some of your JI, I wonder why.

What do you use for soil? do you add anything? 

Did you ever bought any iris from Osiris? and if so, how are they doing?




Erythrone said:


> Here is a wonderful clump, Daniella!!! I tried to add manure and compost as long as fertiliser on some flower beds. It didn't work for many JIs. But I planted a pink variety in my mother's garden many years ago. The plants thrive for decades !!! 30 years maybe??? The soil was heavy clay, damp and the grass nearby received tons of nitrogen....I tried the same cultivar in my garden, and it has been a reliable bloomer even if I did not give it those conditions for 7 years. So I think it has also something to do with genetic.


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## Erythrone (Jul 14, 2016)

Daniella, your question about soil is not easy to answer. Our gardens are on several acres. There are different types of soil. And I grew Japanese Irises in 3 towns (2 in the Quebec city region and one here, in the Eastern Townships) since 30 years or so. I grew them in clay, in sandy soil, loamy soil, rich black soil with lots of compost, with manure, etc... As I wrote earlier the best results were in my mother's garden where a cultivar thrives for decades. I tried to grow them in different conditions in our gardens since 2003. The best area yet is a large spot (probably with seepage) far away from the house, and far away from the well-tented gardens. The soil is a loam with lots of compost. 

About Osiris Irises, I purchased almost all the cultivars I could from them many years ago. Serge Fafard got most of them from the USA. They are good doers, but most of them are grown in pots. I though I've found a good spot for High Standard Cascades (very damp site with organic soil), but no... It is a mess this year. I must say I just don't want to divide the plants every 3 to 5 years!!! It is not easy to manage such a large collection (more than 260 cultivars according to my database). I never bought the cultivars bred by Serge Fafard. For the last years I bought mostly from Ensata Gardens and Aitken, sometimes another grower (Chad Harris).


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## Marco (Jul 14, 2016)

The ocean most is fantastic


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