I have so many questions as do others about this majestic species. Don't take offense to the title, but I have some questions and yall have answers...

Is there a way to tell by a rhizome if it's going to be a SDB vs a TB iris?
I received a "mixed" bunch from a person and they included all mysteries but know they included dwarfs. I'm sure the answer will be.."you have to wait for a bloom".
I notice some are smaller and have increases like my more bigger TB's but I just don't know...HELP!!

I am a fairly new rookie, myself, Gabriel. Rhizome size can be as much a function of climate as anything else. Look at the Iris Sisters as examples. Most are HUGE. However, as a general assumption, I think, the very small rhizomes with slender, short foliage are SDB/MDB. For me, my SDBs also usually increase faster than most TBs. Can you post a photograph of them? Might help figure it out.

Well, you pretty well said when you said, "wait till they bloom" , but, *generally speaking" .....with 'all things being equal 'as far as soil nutrition, the median rhizomes are smaller than the TB's, UNLESS the TB's are the older, Diploid types.
Another 'sometimes" clue is "PRR".....purple ringed rhizomes......just as "PBF".....purple based foliage.....can help ID *some* iris, a lot of the medians, especially the SDB's, will show a purple ring around the point where the foliage emerges from the rhizome. It's not usually readily seen while the plant is 'in the ground", but shows up pretty well when it's in your hand.
But, the only sure way.....wait until they bloom

Here's site link that explains both "PBF", and "PRR", and also lists some of the iris that display it http://lfrazer.com/iris/irispb...

Arlyn, that's another note I'll start keeping in mind and I just book marked the article. Good info!

Debra, here's some pics..

So pic#1 I aSSumed was a SDB from a nursery, but they lost the marker. They only sell rebloomers and it may be Low Ho Silver, which I found was an IB I beleive.. I stopped buying from them because they were misleading on classification.


Pic#2 is from Iris Sister, a little credible source, and this my standard I guess for a SDB, it's the size of my thumb and doesn't look like a cutting. I would assume it'll barely get bigger before bloom season?!?

Where's Bonnie at?!?
I guess these are PBFs


We'll during possible bloom season, because I have white irises with purple at the base also...

Yes, PBF.

Let's call her. @grannysgarden

right here..... lol. Gabriel, as a rule SDB's have smaller rhizomes than TB's. However if I get an SDB from a company that has TB's the size of my head then their dwarfs are going to look like an average TB rhizome. If I have leftovers from a planting and cannot id the immature TB rhizomes from the mature SDB rhizomes I can tell which is which in the spring long before bloom time by the foliage. All of the median foliage is smaller than the TB's and most of the leaves are narrower. My tiniest rhizomes are the MDB's. Some of these never get bigger than my little finger and some of the blooms will not exceed the size of a quarter. The older dwarfs have leaves growing upwards and are around 14 - 16 inches high. The newer ones have short wide fans and the are usually 10-12 inches high. They range down to 8 inches before they get shorter and are classified as Miniature Dwarfs or MDB's. When yours start growing and blooming you are going to quickly become an expert. smiles

Day by day, increase by increase I'm starting to get the picture. Lesson learned buying a "mix". Glad they're in pots now at least. Easier to sort and figure later down that road.

The problem with some sellers of mixes is that the id's are incorrect very often.
You will figure it out and soon be advising others on this website! Keep records and you will be very knowledgeable.

Q's: Do I let my pots live out their bloom season before planting in 2016 and wait till late spring/early summer? Some are stressed enough after traveling across the country this late fall. The roots are so established on almost all already. Even the littlest rhizomes are reaching pot bottoms in some

Will it offset or jeopardize a potential blooms if I plant late Feb/early March or during stalk building period?

If you need to get an iris out of a pot, and can do so without disturbing the roots, anytime is ok. In order to do this I dig a hole the size of the pot, sit the pot firmly in the hole to help shape the soil around it, make sure the potted iris has been thoroughly watered in order to keep the soil in place..... then gently holding the top of the soil in one hand turn the pot over and lift it off the root system. Toss the pot and use my free hand on the root system to keep it in place while I upright the plant and place it in the prepared hole. If I do not think I can successfully transfer the plant to the ground without disturbing the root system I wait until after I see the bloom before relocating the plant. Leaving the iris in the pot overwinter does not seem to do any harm to the plant whatsoever. The ones that do not go totally dormant still will not put on a lot of new growth until spring. Potted irises almost never rot due to great drainage. I keep AB's in pots. The pots are large but with out rain patterns being feast or famine the last few years they would have drowned between periods of drought. I keep some irises in pots always. This allows me to bring them up to the door or walkways when they are in bloom. They seem to thrive. Here is one little guy 'Sun Doll' that loves its tub.



I also grow all of my MDB's in pots. They need more shade in the summer and more cold in the winter. I move them to the north ridge during the cold months and let them freeze. They live in pots here when they will not survive in the soil. I have a wheelbarrow full of pots of miniature irises. A friend calls it my iris mobile home. I can move it to the sun in the spring and then into dappled shade during our scorching summers. I always get spring blooms and have not lost one yet.......... if memory serves.

Gabriel,
When ordering TB/IB rhizomes I prefer to plant in Mar-Apr to give a good start over the summer. But potted ones that are well rooted could be put into the ground as Bonnie mentioned. You have a few more weeks until heavy freeze, so should have enough time for the roots to acclimate to the new locations. They should all bloom next spring if you keep the soil around them during transplant.
Post pictures next Apr-Jun!

I can't wait to post some pics. Boy do I have some great rhizome and increase pics right now though.

I'll do more garden gutting tomorrow, but I'll have to chemically treat and uproot more of the area before anything gets planted.

Thank you guys! Many roots are well established. I actually planted some in my lily garden already. It might be a complete iris garden though in spring if rabbits keep eating stuff. They're the only thing the rabbits haven't touched yet

Irises don't taste good, so after a try rabbits may leave them alone.

I hope. @irisarian The last thing I want is a chicken wire fence up.
These are sitting untouched and are in the wide open. They(rabbits) have their opportunity EVERY SINGLE DAY. We'll see when some bloom stalks appear.

Oooooo, lookit all those pots! I am so envious of them and the space you are creating. (Thank you again for posting the link to where you got those pots on that other thread. I plan to use it next year. )

That's not even the full view. I'll post a video link of the area later. Camera doesn't capture it all..

That's a lottapots!!!!