Hi all. I bought some rhizomes of Iris 'Dardanus' last fall and have been growing them in pots. Here they are. Am I doing this right? Should I have put them into bigger pots? I really hope they bloom! Any comments or advice would be much appreciated!

They are fine for now, but will get crowded as soon as they have their spring growth spurt. You will probably want to separate the rhizomes in that first pot after bloom. Make sure they get plenty of sun!

Looks right to me! But I agree with Leslie that they will need more room soonish. However, they grow much slower than most other iris I have. But maybe I'm just doing it wrong?
I grow mine in pots too or they would get too much moisture. I got them last year and so far I am happy they survived the winter here! They are still fairly small and I don't expect them to bloom this year - but then I wasn't sure they would survive at all, so who knows?

Thank you, Leslie & Lilli. The pots are in full sun, but we've had such rainy weather all spring. I'll wait to see if they bloom, and if they don't, then I'll get another pot or two this summer to give them more room.

I just looked up iris Dardanus...It's beautiful!!! I agree with the others about the repotting. They look small so may not bloom this year but that just means you get more increases and more blooms next year!!!

Good luck and keep us posted!

...and since I 'm not on the forums much just in case you are new Welcome!!!

In the event, Dardanus didn't bloom last year. I repotted the rhizomes in the fall, moving the smallest rhizome into a smaller pot. This spring we've had far more sunshine and Dardanus is getting ready to bloom! There are 5 and 4 scapes, respectively, in the big pots. The scapes all have one terminal bud. I love the purple base foliage and the buds are tinged purple as well.

Will post again when the flowers open.

Incidentally, I've read online that Dardanus is pretty easy to grow, so I'm likely way over-doing it in terms of caring for the plant! In any case, I'm excited for this one.

Moiris said:....and since I 'm not on the forums much just in case you are new Welcome!!!

back, Marilyn!

Thank you, Evelyn. I've been a regular visitor here for over a year or so. I don't have many irises and don't post often. But I do enjoy hearing about others' experience.

Here is Dardanus blooming. It is beyond gorgeous! I'm so glad that this pure aril hybrid is so widely available and relatively easy to grow. Aril irises have that mystique, but obtaining specimens isn't easy. I feel that Dardanus gives me that experience, without too much trouble. My aim is to grow one of the species now.

Congrats on the success, Tienito!
The veins on Dardanus are fantastic.

Very exotic looking!

Tienito said:Thank you, Evelyn. I've been a regular visitor here for over a year or so. I don't have many irises and don't post often. But I do enjoy hearing about others' experience.

Here is Dardanus blooming. It is beyond gorgeous! I'm so glad that this pure aril hybrid is so widely available and relatively easy to grow. Aril irises have that mystique, but obtaining specimens isn't easy. I feel that Dardanus gives me that experience, without too much trouble. My aim is to grow one of the species now.

I am so excited! I ordered some with my bulb order. I had to order 5 of them to get it. Do you grow yours in the ground or in a pot?

evelyninthegarden said:

I am so excited! I ordered some with my bulb order. I had to order 5 of them to get it. Do you grow yours in the ground or in a pot?

Pure Arils are original to the desert regions in the Middle East, and are more sensitive to cold and too much rain. He mentioned a hybrid which is (aril x TB) I'm not sure but it looks like they are planted with sand on the top of the pots, to help keep the water at the root only. If your area in California is dry or sandy already. It should be just fine in the ground, as you are in a warmer zone?

Whoops! I see that you are growing it in a pot as I enlarged the photo.I have a few arilbred coming. I have some large pots that I will plant them in.

Jess ~

I do live in northern California. We do have snow every winter, and hot summers. Sometimes it can be rather cold and wet during spring, but once summer is here,there is no rain until fall. Occasionally there is a summer storm, with a brief shower, but that is rare.

So with arilbreds, should they not be watered at all during summer?

I have a few AB's......and most are rather tricky to grow, here in my part of the world, because, as Jessica said, "too much rain" in the summer. I have them in a "raised bed" with an 80% sand, "soil", and a 2 inch top coat of pea gravel....still, keeping them in "summer dormancy".....which is what the "aril blood" calls for....is kind' hard. I would think that in a slightly raised area (so water never "pools" around them), you should have pretty good luck, with most of them. There are a fe folks who grow "pure arils" in some pretty wet climates (like New England!) by roofing over" the clump, after boom is over, so no rain falls directly on it. I'd love to try a "pure", and even more AB's....but, I'm too lazy to be building houses for my iris !

Arlyn ~ Thank you for your input. Am I not to water them at all, after the initial watering in at planting time? I should have studied up on these more, as I don't want to lose them due to my lack of knowledge. I guess I will be reading up on them, but if you have any pointers, besides growing them in sand, please let me know. Are they to totally dry out in the summer? (Easy here!)

http://wiki.irises.org/Main/In...

this should give you what you need to know

Arlyn, Jess and Tienito ~ Since I have placed this order with fall bulbs, I will probably get them at the same time, so I won't have to worry about rain/no rain or watering. I am wondering how winter hardy they are. If they are in pots, I can move them to the back porch, if I need to.

Hardiness shouldn't be an issue.