Ahhhhhhhhh -- perfection, then!!!

Lori and Arlyn -- only a little bit...............

I find myself going back to this thread because of the beautiful photo's and gardens that all of you have posted here - I am in awe when I look at the beauty you have all created. You all have truly beautiful gardens, beautiful clumps of iris in bloom and I love your photo's -
so "Thank You" Lori, Arlyn, Ann, Leslie, Debra, Dave, Celia, Sherry, JoAnn, Neal.

How did I miss this thread!!!?
Such beautiful clumps. I'll never catch up with you guys.
But I'm trying.

Jan, there's always next go-around!

Everybody starts somewhere, Jan!!

I have clump-envy, Dr. Freud!

Jan - if you planted some smalls and medians like MTB's you will have clumps in no time at all. The talls take a bit longer unless they are historics like my Quaker Lady. That clump in the pics above is only two years old.

Absolutely! I've got some modernTB's that are great bloomers, but I don't think any of them pack this many blooms in a clump... Quaker Lady is exceptional in that category.

Henhouse said:Absolutely! I've got some modernTB's that are great bloomers, but I don't think any of them pack this many blooms in a clump... Quaker Lady is exceptional in that category.

Gorgeous clump!

I don't think I've ever seen a clump bloom like that.

Wow, that is a multitude of blooms!

Amazing, Sherry!!

I think that some of the historics make tighter clumps with more blooms close together, maybe due to their smaller rhizomes?

Thanks for the suggestions about intermediates and smalls making clumps quickly, Leslie. Maybe next year I'll
give it a try.

I just used the handy-dandy search feature in the database , and
discovered that I have 17 intermediates!! Most have been planted this year
and haven't bloomed yet, and a few from last season didn't bloom - but I may
have clumps in my future! Many were gifts!
These are my intermediates:
Aeolius
Baby Blue Marine
Bless You
Concertina
Crimson King (has bloomed beautifully and made a clump!)
Dazzling
Fantastic Blue
Fast Forward
Jane Eyre
Lakota (now wouldn't I love a clump of this colorful baby!)
Londonderry
Miss Mauve
Red Zinger
Ruby Slippers
Spectator
Starwoman
Sue Zee (recently planted -doing great - thank you Suzanne!)

When that clump gets big enough that it needs split, I'll have to "trade you out of" a piece of Lakota, Jan !!

You got it, Arlyn! Fingers crossed! Marky Smith has created some wonderful irises! Lakota's a beauty.
Just notice that her Starwoman got the Dykes Medal a few years ago.

Jan, those are some beauties. IB's bloom before the TB's as a rule and extend your bloom season. They may bloom erratically in the first year but they will settle in and make your garden lovely. Also, they are shorter and can be planted in front of TB's.

I'm a big IB fan too. Not only is it so great how quickly many of them form thick clumps full of bloom stalks, but when sharing time comes around its usually 3-5 rhizomes we send a friend for an instant starter clump! I love that they never need staking, and their vigor makes them great for the mixed perennial garden- they seem to play particularly well with others. I'm looking really forward to Fantastic Blue, Baboon Bottom, Sue Zee, and several others next spring!

Nice clean foliage on Quaker Lady also.