Coming Into Their Own

I do love iris and I have been planting new ones in SJC every year up until last year. I'm not sure why I wasn't enticed to add new ones, but I took a break and just enjoyed what I have. Iris experts recommend dividing iris every three or four years to keep them vibrant and blooming. I have found that leaving them in the ground for longer results in better blooms in our area. I have some in Laguna that have not been disturbed in probably eight to ten years and they have formed an impressive stand that puts on quite a show for weeks at a time. I realize that they will eventually start to diminish in blooms and that will be the signal to divide them. I have also noticed that it takes a couple years for some of them to bloom after being divided. This is the first year I have seen blooms on many of my iris that I was expecting last year or the year before. I have the same iris as my neighbor down the street, but hers bloom at a different time than mine. Micro-climates and soil also have an effect on their blooms and must be taken into consideration. Today I'm not worried about all that, I'm just enjoying the show and thumbing through the new iris catalog that arrived last week!