Friday, November 13, 2009

What Kind of Iris Am I With a Stair Stepped Rhizome? And Seeds To Swap

From In the Garden
I was reworking a garden recently when I decided to dig up these 'walking irises'. At least that is what I believe these irises to be. I purchased these irises at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show a few years ago. The irises were marked 'walking irises'. I've researched walking irises on the web and cannot find a picture of the cool rhizome anywhere. Worse still is the fact that while I can find 'walking irises' I cannot find one that looks like mine. I am hoping someone can help me identify this iris.
From In the Garden
This iris is most hardy and has grown so much I had to divide it and spread it around. The flowers reach to about 4' tall and bloom in May with a long blooming period. I seem to remember some interesting seed capsules as well on the plant.

The rhizome is what interests me most. The rhizome actually stair steps up into what appears to be a rhizome with stems growing out of it. The stems are equidistant apart and the whole effect is really neat and something I've not seen before. Both ends of the rhizome (low and high) have fat roots coming off of them. The rhizomes are narrower than bearded irises and have a distinctive marking of brown bands with green stripes.

Can anyone tell me what type of iris I have? If it is a walking iris any ideas on the cultivar?

in the garden....

Update! Randy at Randy and Meg's Garden Paradise has identified my iris with a quick follow up from Darla at More Family and Flowers. It is Louisiana iris. And while looking at it on the Internet I realized I have planted mine too shallow. Apparently these irises like to have their rhizomes covered with soil. Guess I'll be fixing that today since I planted my rhizomes on top of the soil like I do with bearded irises. It is so helpful to know what kind of plant this is now. And I must say that while this iris grows in bogs and ponds, mine is doing fine on top of a gravelly soil in full sun with no additional water. Though they did get a bit tattered recently when I reworked this bed I think it is normal this time of year but I'll be more careful with it next year in case of drought. I do realize I need to fertilize it a bit and may even try growing it in my bathtub pond now that I know it will work there. I can't tell you how glad I am that it has been identified!:)

Thanks for helping me out this morning!

28 comments:

  1. I have no idea about what they are but they are certianly interesting rhizomes.

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  2. Not sure which iris you have, it sure is a pretty purple. Have a great weekend!

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  3. Tina,

    I have several versions of this one. It is an Louisiana Iris, likes wet places.

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  4. i tend to agree with randy..i have walking iris and they do not look like this. typing with my left hand. sorry no caps today...too much pain

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  5. Good morning all!

    Thanks so much Randy and Darla for helping me out with identifying this iris. Finally! And oddly enough now that I know what kind it is I realize I have planted it wrong. I'll fix it now that I know and again thanks!!!

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  6. That's a cool iris and not one that grows around here... glad Randy and Darla could ID it for you! :)

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  7. That is a nice iris! Great color on the bloom.

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  8. Glad Randy and others were able to identify this for you, Tina. I've never heard of a walking iris, but it reminds me of a plant we saw in the Idea Garden last year--a walking onion. I thought that was a funny name, but then someone explained that it spreads quite easily, in a similar manner to your iris, I think. Interesting to see the bottom of the rhizomes; they do look as if they're taking steps!

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  9. How interesting. I've never grown Louisiana iris. I don't believe either the Louisiana or the walking iris are hardy here.
    Marnie

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  10. The first time I saw a Baltimore oriole it had come down from the tree tops and landed on a purple LA iris.

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  11. What a great iris...glad you finally identified it. Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing? I've got some real wet areas this would do well in....might have to check into them for sure.

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  12. I am glad Randy was able to help you out. I never would have known.
    It is such a striking color. Love it.
    Rosey

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  13. When I first saw it I thought it was like the ones Out by the well here in front of your sister's house. I think you took some of the seeds from it last year. Even the leaves on the one she has is nearly 4 feet tall now. They also like wet areas and grow wild here but I do not know what kind they are so glad you got and id on it. Very pretty and bright color.

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  14. What pretty flowers! The rhizomes are really interesting looking. Funny the first people I thought of were Darla and Dirt Princess since they both grow Walking Irises.

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  15. I love, love, love that first photo. The colour is amazing. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  16. Tina,

    Here is an Louisiana Iris in our garden this year.
    http://rlephoto.blogspot.com/2009/05/waterlilies-and-garden-update.html
    seems the really showy one might have hybridized with a less showy one. The bamboo grass is taking over to pond hillside. I'm going to have to dig these out and some stunning Japanese Iris as well to a better location where we can take care of them.

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  17. I'm glad you got your Iris ID'd. It's such a pretty thing. I don't know if Lousiana Irises would grow in my area, but I think they want more moisture than my garden could give them, so it's a moot point.

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  18. Hi Tina, I love how helpful garden bloggers are. I'm not surprised your irises were id'd so quickly.

    They're very pretty, and it's pretty cool the way they grow from their rhizomes.

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  19. I've never heard of walking iris - very interesting! I've got several iris plants that I've got to transplant too. I was going to wait until early spring but maybe I'll do it now.

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  20. Bloging is so full of info for us all... Love it!

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  21. Hi Tina,

    What a beautiful iris. I'm glad you were able to find out what type it was and how it likes to be planted. I haven't tried Iris before, but maybe next year....

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  22. I'm glad you got an ID! I love the color of the flower.

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  23. Hi Tina, so glad you got the iris ID ed. That is a pretty color. They should grow here with no problem. lol

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  24. When you arrive late you get to find out what the id is! That is a great looking iris. gail

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  25. It's a pretty thing. Glad you got it ID'd. First thing I thought of when I started reading was that song by James Taylor--Walking Man.

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  26. What an interesting iris, I dont think we have any like that here in the UK. It is good to know that when in doubt about a plant identity a fellow blogger will soon come to the rescue

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  27. Whatever the mystery was, Tina, the end result is still an outstanding iris! What a great spreader, too! Glad you now know!
    Lynn

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