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).

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.

SlipperFan · Jul 23, 2015

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

Ruth · Jul 24, 2015

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

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.

Erythrone · Jul 24, 2015

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

Thanks

oke:

Lanmark · Jul 24, 2015

Nice!

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

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.

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.

abax · Jul 24, 2015

Marvelous and soooo beautiful..

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.

abax · Jul 25, 2015

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

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

Ozpaph · Jul 26, 2015

stunning flowers!

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.

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.

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!