Only I could be surprised that a plant by the name of Giant Apostle's Iris would become huge. I mean, even in the Bible names indicated character. Names mean something! And yet here am I, one who gardens in a very small garden, adding plants to it that someone thought reasonable to name Giant. I can only attribute such ditziness to... Oh, wait! I didn't know its true name when I bought them (one giant is never enough). They were labeled "Purple Iris". Oh, saved by the bell! I am not the nitwit that I thought I was.
Alas, that still leaves me with three of these plants (I divided one in two before planting) that are rapidly growing into their name. By rapidly I mean in five months. Here they are when I planted them.
Here is the same plant two days ago. (Gee, I wonder how big it is today!) Now this bed is five feet long from the corner of the patio on the right to the brick edging on the left.
I didn't measure it, but this baby's got to be three feet tall - easy. Are you sensing my terror yet?
Here's the other one. The turquoise pot is 24" in diameter! And perhaps you've noticed how lovely they are. They are even more gorgeous in person. Believe me, the camera does not do them justice. They are very beautiful shades of green.
Again, this bed is five feet wide also. Aren't they gargantuan?? But the pressing question is how much more gargantuan will they become? Am I going to have to be dividing these every six months? How big is giant?
These two plants have not bloomed yet. The other one in the driveway bed had a flower bud when I bought it, and that stem has bloomed several times, the only one that has. I believe this plant is also called walking iris because of its habit of bending down and rooting where its stems touch ground. Well, there will be none of that!! On the other hand I may have a gold mine here. At $12.98 a pop I could make some real cash by selling the divisions out at the curb, but probably digging them up delays their blooming so I best wait to cash in.
Perhaps someone who grows these beauties could break it to me gently. How massive do they get? Maybe I should cut back on the alfalfa and no more composted horse manure!!!
Alas, that still leaves me with three of these plants (I divided one in two before planting) that are rapidly growing into their name. By rapidly I mean in five months. Here they are when I planted them.
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| Here's half of one on February 24th. It is only two or three fans, and that's all. The other half is in the background behind the daylilies in the other bed. |
I didn't measure it, but this baby's got to be three feet tall - easy. Are you sensing my terror yet?
Here's the other one. The turquoise pot is 24" in diameter! And perhaps you've noticed how lovely they are. They are even more gorgeous in person. Believe me, the camera does not do them justice. They are very beautiful shades of green.
Again, this bed is five feet wide also. Aren't they gargantuan?? But the pressing question is how much more gargantuan will they become? Am I going to have to be dividing these every six months? How big is giant?
These two plants have not bloomed yet. The other one in the driveway bed had a flower bud when I bought it, and that stem has bloomed several times, the only one that has. I believe this plant is also called walking iris because of its habit of bending down and rooting where its stems touch ground. Well, there will be none of that!! On the other hand I may have a gold mine here. At $12.98 a pop I could make some real cash by selling the divisions out at the curb, but probably digging them up delays their blooming so I best wait to cash in.
Perhaps someone who grows these beauties could break it to me gently. How massive do they get? Maybe I should cut back on the alfalfa and no more composted horse manure!!!
Wow, your wonderful soil must be fueling this GIANT of a plant. Mine have been divided several times over the past year, but then, I want more to fill in my large garden area. I don't think yours will get out of hand. Just divide in the spring and give away what you don't want. I haven't had any actually "walk" like my other walking irises, but the clump does increase.
ReplyDeleteI bought my only clump in $19.99 price. I devided it into two when planting into the ground. Probably I planted them too deep, they both had some portion rotted away. Now they are increasing the size as well, but not as much as yours. I really have not fed them anything yet after the initial dose of food when planting them one year ago. They both bloomed this past spring. I think yours really love the soil you provided. That reminds me that I need to find a feed store to pick up a bag of alfalfa :) Wanted to try that ever since I read your alfalfa post!
ReplyDeleteIf that is a walking Iris is will walk but easy to control. I have a large area of them.
ReplyDeleteSherry, I only wish I had "your problem". Irises simply don't want to grow in my garden and your giants look so gorgeous. I love them for the foliage even when they are not blooming.
ReplyDeleteChristina
Hey Sherry....Mine is getting pretty large. I would say it's at least 2 feet wide and even taller. It does grow fast but it's a beauty in the garden...with or without flowers.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a giant iris - but yours is beautiful! I would love to see it blooming! It really makes a statement, even not in bloom.
ReplyDelete