I've got about a hundred different iris. I'm going to have to thin them this year anyway. I'm thinking of taking pictures while they're in bloom and putting my extras on Ebay when I dig them... then using the money for fig cuttings. Thought if there's another figgie that likes iris I could eliminate the middleman.

Oh Me! Pick Me!!!! I have over a hundred varieties of iris too both new and historicals. :-)
Here are my iris up to 2011...more have been added since then of course. http://susanvanderveen.com/Iris2011/Iris2011.html

Sue
PS: Thanks Harvey for the heads up.

Always glad to help an addict! :)

tell me more.. tho i won't have cuttings till coming fall... i like flowers. do they smell good? 

Great images, Sue!  I remember visiting an amazing iris garden in Montclair NJ when I was really young (it is one of my earliest gardening memories - left a real impression).  Beds and beds of varieties.  I think it was the Presby Estate - still is growing strong!

I tore mine out...they had some handsome cases of iris borer.

urgh.. borers.. 

Nicely organized index Sue, we'll have to do some swapping. I bought a lot at flea markets in NC, or swapped for them, so I don't know their names. Getting them into pots for the move and then into the ground up here has been a real catch as catch can situation. I know there's been losses and I don't know where anything is or what it is till it blooms.

What I have by far and away the most of is probably that I. pallida  http://www.hips-roots.com/photos/i-pallida.html  It's a great iris. Early, low maintenance, multiplies really fast, nice scent (although I wouldn't call it "grape"), smaller flower on a long stem so it's good for cut flowers, If you want to do a "mass array" this is your iris... and I can fix you up.

Here is a pot with a large bearded iris (Joyful Skys) in front of some for comparison.

 

I have some Louisiana, Siberian, large and small bearded, and I don't know what all.

I have some that I'm sure are the "yellow flag" mentioned in Culpeppers Herbal. Around here they're called marsh iris. They can grow in standing water. I've got them in a sunken kiddy pool so I can flood them to kill weeds. Yesterday I noticed that they were wilting. It was bone dry. We had 4 inches of rain last week and it was up to the brim then, so it's either sprung a leak or they've been drinking heavy.

I'll wait till they start to yellow out from the heat (July) to dig them. They hold well dried and are best planted after the worst of the heat but with enough time to settle in before winter. I expect a swap for fig cuttings to be a drawn out affair.

And, yes, they do smell good. There is a wide range of scents... scent is all that differentiates some varieties.

Wow Sue.

I found out last night, we are only about 10 miles from Iris4u gardens.

http://www.iris4u.com/

OOH, Iris talk, I'm in.
All 20 or so varieties that I have are heirlooms from the 30's to 50's.
The people who build this house were really into gardening, and there some fantastic flowers around here.

The dark blue is simply decadent.
The light blue smells like Lemongrass
The chocolate brown one is my favorite Iris on my property.
The 4th one I believe is 'Dauntless'.
The last one looks metallic in the sun, it's fantastic.

As a photographer, I vow to take real photographs one of these days.

If anyone wants to talk about Daylilies I'm in on that too:)

Hey Rui,

That first one you pictured looks like a Louisiana. Is it smaller than the others, and earlier blooming?

The red one is gorgeous. I don't have anything even close to that red.

The next to the last one though (Dauntless?), Sue has a couple very close to that and I have this one.
 

I also have this one that has more of a yellow/tan standard.
  There's another one that's popular around here, and I'm working on a swap for, that has the same purple fall but a much brighter yellow standard. I've been thinking that it would be fun to make a bed that mixed these variations. If yours (or Sue's) have a deeper shade of purple in the standard than mine we may work a trade there too.

I also have these that are two tone but the fall is more blue, so it might not go in with the others.
 

This one stands out from the other iris when it isn't in bloom because it has taller and thicker foliage.

Just as an aside, Culpepper said that the Yellow Flag has the longest fronds of any iris. That may not still be true but it does have long thin fronds, and iris fronds can be used in basket weaving. You prepare them like cattail. Cut them green and dry them, then soak and twist before weaving.

Okay! I had more open up today, so here's more choices for you, with some of my thoughts on how to mix and match them.

This is Mary Francis.
 

It's a large bearded iris that looks an awful lot like that I. pallida that I have so many of. Here is a shot with a I. pallida in the foreground and those Mary Francis above and behind.
  As you can see the color match is good. Mary Francis is slightly more ruffled and the I. pallida has a light yellow beard. The big difference is in size and it would be fun to put them together in a bed. Maybe with something white.

Speaking of white. This is Big Victory.
  The newer varieties tend to be more ruffled than the older historic ones. Here is one I picked up years ago and don't have a name for.
  I have heard that iris will revert to white. Maybe this one has reverted and is a "most basic" iris. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Here is one that got put in as a substitute (or by mistake) when I ordered Anvil of Darkness. I still have it labeled as Anvil of Darkness. I have learned the name since, and I think I can find it if I dig. If you want some, and want the name with it, I'll find it
 

Here is another one that I can't put a name to right away. There's one with a tag on it out there somewhere but I have a bunch of them scattered all over and it's a small tag in a big garden (slightly overrun with weeds). So, again, you'll have to wait on a name.
  This is a good one. It's pretty without being garish. And, that I have so many is a good indicator that they are hardy and multiply fast. They have a strong scent for an iris, and I really like it. I want to gather them all together in one bed, then sit down wind.

Hey Tom. The blue ones I have in the other post are full size (about 2' tall) but I think I know which ones you're talking about.
They bloom at all kinds of strange times for me, like October, and right now, weeks before the others.
I've included a couple of shots. The second one shows how small they are, next to regular size Bearded German.
I also have some wild ones that look very similar in color, but grow from a bulb, not a rhizome. They love water, as they grow around the boggy part of the marsh and along the pond and stream on my property. I keep hoping for the courage to dig a couple of clumps and transplant them, but there's a lot of poison ivy in that area.

From what I've read, a truly red Iris has never been accomplished in breeding attempts. That would be the Holy Grail discovery.

You know,

The more I keep looking at these Irises the more I am tempted.
And after a couple Heinekens I might be interested.

Rafed, the flower stalk practically grows before your eyes, and the flower is so orchid-like...
My wife isn't too fond of them because the blooms get tattered pretty quickly.
I think it's what makes the flower so unique in the garden.
You wait all year, and they suddenly burst like fireworks...and then it's over.

The vertical, sword blade foliage is appealing, and lasts until frost.
They are drought tolerant too. In fact, they like to have their rhizome at ground level, where it can stay dry.
All sun no water. Completely carefree. Most of the ones on my property were barely flowering when we bought the house, after years of neglect, but once I divided the clumps (some rhizomes were over 1' long) they came right back.

Go for it. They look nice with roses.

I hate to say this on a fig forum but my first love are iris of any variety. Unfortunately my iris took a beating from rabbits and gophers so I had to dig them up and pot the remaining...still have over 70 though. I'm building gopher and rabbit-proof raised beds for them along the side of my house, a lot of raised beds! So I am looking to replace some of my loss at some point. If anyone needs to get rid of extras, I'm your gal! Happy to trade...

Here are a few that bloomed for me so far this year:

  Lady Leigh

 Clarence (in front of St Rita and some rosemary- had to keep this figgy!)

 Stan Coates

 Terra del Fue (or something like that...)

  Another unk blue

   

A few Spuria too:

 

  Sultan's Sash?

 

These shots are from a couple years ago

 Unk Historical from my grandmothers farm

  Another unk from grandma - I thought was Amas but it's not.

 Unk blue

 And yet another unk from grandma. This iris grows under any condition and smells heavenly! I've tried to ID it but no luck. Not even HIPS members could help.

Nice looking irises Sue! I have one patch from the in-laws, they smell like root beer. So far no borer in them...

Nice iris Sue. I really like that yellow and white one. I should have several yellows opening soon. That last picture with the mass array in front of the big rock looks like the ones I have so many of. I've been told their name is "Sweet". You might look that up and see if it fits.

I had a friend who did landscaping in Atlanta. He put in 30,000 tulips at one place, then tore them all out as soon as they bloomed. I went down, slept on his couch, and dug tulips. Came home with bushels of bulbs. Within three years the voles had eaten every one of them. It was like a cartoon, I felt like Elmer Fudd, I'd go out in the morning and a whole row would be falling over, a tunnel dug straight down the row and every bulb eaten up to just below ground level. Way more than one vole could eat. They had to be working in teams... or army's. Nothing stopped them. But, they didn't eat iris... there.  I have been seeing damage here, though I'm not sure whether it's from voles or rabbits. Like Sue I'm going to be moving some to pots to try and save them. My experiment with a raised bed was a failure though. Johnston grass took it over... and that may be part of the problem with the iris, it's everywhere. I've heard that the UN says it's the sixth most invasive species in the world.

More opened up today. Here's Picking time.
  It's a nice white one. Behind it is one of the best, Celebration Song.
  A picture doesn't do it justice. Those colors look subdued but this flower stands out even when planted among the most garish and vibrantly colored ones. It's also hardy and multiplies the fastest of any of them. Really! I planted this bed, one of each, at the same time. Look at it. That cluster of Celebration Song on the left has the most plants of any in the bed. Just to the right of it is an unopened bud from one that's still a single plant. Then there's a bare spot.or two where some died out. behind it and just in front of the clump of Picking Time is a single, stunted, Hearthstone (which is one of my personal favorites). There's another bare spot starting at the right side of the picture. The whole bed is like that, some doing well, some struggling, some gone. No rhyme nor reason. The place I bought them from is only 50 miles away and they were all doing well there.
   

I once accumulated a collection of good looking (German?) iris.
They were of the tall-type and (sadly) the blooms all fell down to
the ground with the first hint of wind and/or (mostly) rain...

I had one ugly iris (medium height) with a flower color ~as a light brown-bag.
It was so ugly that in the end, I thought it was very beautiful!
(Same goes for a tropical hibiscus flower I had, I think was called something around a Wallflower?)

My old neighbor gave some of what he had:
an ~1' blooming yellow-one (with some prominent dark markings)
and a ~1.5' mostly light-bluish color iris. That is all I want/need now.
Sorry, I do not know or care for the names.

Funny you should mention ugly iris. I just had a Thornbird open. Some people don't like this one, it's a love it or hate it kind of flower, I happen to love it, it has an antique look to me, subdued but rich. I bought two when I bought it, the other was a greener tint of the same thing. Haven't seen that one in a long time, it's died out or reverted.
  They do seem to change over time. I'm remembering it as having a distinct mottling on the fall and I'm not seeing that on this one. It's early though. This is just part of one clump. There's another, and strays. We may see some variation as they develop.
 
I've been told that the name comes from that spike coming off the beard reminding someone of a bird's tongue.

I think I've seen that light brown one you mentioned. Mixed with other colors it can look ugly as a mud fence, but alone or mixed with some whites of the same shape it can wow you. Iris can do garish with the best of them, but they still have elegance in their more subdued colors.

Tom, the yellow and white iris is a Spuria. I don't remember its name, sorry. They are a rhizome but look like Dutch Iris (bulb) blooms. Very hardy and drought tolerant.

I too have an 'ugly' iris, Savoy Jazz but its petals shimmer in the sunlight and the scent is heavenly. You can see the shimmer in the close-up image. I just don't like the color, looks dirty.

   

Had a couple of happy finds this morning. This one hasn't bloomed in a few years and I thought it was gone. I can't find a name on it but I'm pretty sure it's name is Pacific Shore
  Till it opened I thought it would be like the others behind it. Nice suprise.

And, here's one that didn't bloom for at least 5 years. It had one flower last year. My next door neighbor fell in love with it so he has first dibs. But, it looks like there's another near it and I may be able to split them 3 or 4 ways. I have had a request for a deep purple or blue and I kind of rained on that parade but there is still hope.
  After this dark period in the narrative I should brighten it up, and so, here's Gold Galore.

  Isn't that a little ray of sunshine. The yellows are late this year and I'm afraid that not all are coming in. I pulled a big clump of grass and some rather stunted iris came out with it, along with the tag for "ruffled yellow". My favorite of the yellows I've got, of course. I've got them rehabbing in a pot so they aren't lost but I'm not seeing many yellows getting ready to bloom.

I bought these last year.
 

I left them in the bag too long because I didn't have time to prepare a bed, then just slapped them in pots to keep from losing them. There are two varieties in each pot and they are obviously overcrowded. I'm going to get some of those wide short pots they put mums in and start a potted backup of each variety. Leave the beds for the ones that can compete with the weeds and critters and get the rest into an intensive care unit.

Here are this morning's openings. A yellow that I don't have a name for. We had heavy rain overnight and it got a bit beat up by that. The flower stalks had already fallen over for lack of support after I weeded around them so they really aren't showing at their best. Still, if you want a yellow iris this is a yellow iris.
  And, the long awaited deep blue has come around. This one is named Dusk Challenger.
  It's very frustrating that I can't find the name tag for this next one. It's a gorgeous flower and I'm going to have to do some digging to find it's name.
  We are getting down to the wire. There's only a couple more waiting to open for the first time this year.

Which brings us to the problem of all the ones that haven't opened. A disappointingly large number. There are clumps of healthy plants that haven't put up a bloom, right next to clumps just like them that are blooming strong. The most common reason for iris not blooming is being planted to deep. They want their backs bare to the sun. That's not the problem here. All I can figure is the weather, it has been a harsh winter and there was a late frost that caught the very first early flower buds.

The ones I have name tags on I can look up and post pictures from other years, or other sites. There are some I'm just not going to be able to post pictures of.

Another day another couple of iris. This one is known as Silverado.
  It's just a little lighter shade than Mary Francis.

This one is mesmerizer. Note the fancy beard. I only have one of these so I won't be able to let any go but I thought you might like to see it. There is one more white one that will probably open tomorrow but I only have a few of those and unless it has some exceptional feature like this one I won't bother to post a picture. You have three whites to choose from.
  White goes with anything so they are good to mix in, either in a bed or cut flower arrangement. Picking Time has just a little yellow in the beard where Big Victory is all white. They are hard to tell apart unless you have them side by side. The other unnamed white one I have has the yellow in the beard like Picking Time but has a little bit of yellow veining to the sides of the beard too, and it's slightly less ruffled. Again, you have to have them side by side to see the difference. The big difference in the whites is how late they open, that's something to keep in mind if you're going to mix them in with others.

Siberian, is a different kind of iris, and there are a bunch of different varieties of them. This is the common one, there were a couple of whites mixed in but only one of them opened this year and maybe they've been crowded out. I've got some in another pot that were a bonus tacked on an order. Only one opened, it's a more violet color, and on a way shorter stem. I'm going to move them to a bigger pot in case they're stunted, but I suspect they're miniatures.
I keep them in a pot.
  Up in the mountains every old homestead has a clump or two in the yard. They crowd out the weeds and come back every year with no maintenance. Up here the Louisiana are more common although you do see some of these around.

The yellow flag is another different kind. I keep them in a kiddy pool next to a bald cypress I brought up from Fla. Kind of grouping things that like a lot of water.
  Unfortunately, I let them dry out at exactly the wrong time and all the bloom dropped. But, here is a picture I took of one of the flowers last year. I gave some to my neighbor years ago and now they're trying to take over her yard. These and the Siberian will set seed that you can grow out. The bearded are so heavily hybridized that even if you do get seed you don't know what you'll get from it