These have been growing in my yard and haven’t bloomed once in the last 1 1/2 years. They maintain their leaves like this year round. I live in CA. What are they?
by throwaway29374669
These have been growing in my yard and haven’t bloomed once in the last 1 1/2 years. They maintain their leaves like this year round. I live in CA. What are they?
by throwaway29374669
8 Comments
Bearded iris, probably
Ours do best in a sunny area.
Bearded iris. They will bloom generously sometime around May if you move them to a spot that gets at least a half day of bright sun.
Beautiful flowers, and some varieties have a great scent.
Other than moving them to a sunnier spot, they require little care.
From my experience, a young iris (like this one) might require 3 years to be able to bloom. When I plant a new rhizome I don’t expect flowers for 3 years although sometimes I am pleasantly surprised!
Looks like many of them are buried too deep, the rhizome needs to show like the bigger one in the first picture. Also looking at the moss around them, they may not be getting enough sunlight. If you don’t want to move them, I’d take care of the depth problem and see if that’s enough to get them blooming next spring. (With iris it’s almost always one of two things, or both, buried too deep/not enough sun.)
Iris also enjoys hotter, drier/well drained conditions. The more sun the better, the less retained moisture the better.
The best thing you can do for irises is to move them to a new spot every few years, so a skilled iris grower told me.
Iris usually require a cold and dormant period to bloom.