I don't believe there are any blue irises, not delphinium or meconopsis (sp) blue, anyway. Most all border on purple.

That said, the light blues look bluer to me than the medium and dark blues. There was a thread a while back about the bluest blues- you might try a search for it.

I would recommend World Premier. It is an amoena that was so blue in my garden that it stood out like a sore thumb. It is very dark, close to navy.

Take a look at my mom's Blueberry Bliss on the gallery side. It's an exceptional iris, and it's a medium blue.

Make sure you check the bloom times if you are combining colors for a "team" effect.

I can't wait to see the results of your red experiment. I accidentally replanted a whole section of my yard in USC colors. I went to UCLA. I can only hope the hubby doesn't notice...

Renee

OOOOOO Renee, you are in trouble! I can't stand USC, and as an SEC fan, I can't wait to see the mess that Lane Kiffin makes of their program.

On the "reds" I wound up planting Caldron, Almaden, Spartan, War Chief and Austrian Garnet. I will definitely post pictures and thoughts when I get blooms. This is off the blue or red topic, but I got a few Lo Ho Silvers for the white because they are so short. I am in love! I planted them in early September and wound up with blooms from October until our unseasonably cold January killed the last few blooms. It's definitely a keeper.

Thank you for the blue suggestions. I know that they are pretty purplely, but like the reds, I am shooting for as close as possible. I need the more royal tones for Kentucky and (gag) Florida, and the navy is for Ole Miss. It occurred to me that this might be a bigger undertaking than I planned, so I may work on one side of the conference at a time.

Now...about a gold for Vandy...LOL

Georgia Teacher-
I just found the TB Iris Society Page on Facebook and it has a whole slideshow of blue irises. Scroll down toi 'Sing Me the Blues' and click.
You may find something there.
Renee

Here is a link that might be useful: Tall Bearded Iris Society

Hey,
There are lots of blue irises; however, I would venture to say that trusting photos you find might not be a good idea.
While growing conditions are going to affect the cultivars, here are the ones I'd recommend:

1. Rippling River--stunning, the prettiest deep blue, and though its pics many times look purple, it is absolutely blue for me. If you're looking for navy, go with RR. Order direct from Schreiner's and you'll get a great price, as well.

2. Mer Du Sud--great grower, very pretty medium blue color.

3. Sea Power--one of my favorites, but not deep blue: more of a cornflower with massive amounts of ruffling: a truly beautiful iris I wouldn't ever want to be without.

4. Double Bubble is a nice light blue: good grower here, too.

I tried to post a photo of Rippling River which I'd posted at a site named for the biblical hero that slayed Goliath, but received a message stating that if I mentioned the name of that site in a message on this forum, I would be banned forever from posting here. Uh, OK..... Sorry!

Good luck with your SEC garden, and as a graduate of Bama, I must add: Roll Tide!!!

Mike

Well, Mike, since you were so nice in your post, I will try not to hold that against you! ;) I will definitely look at those. I have found pictures to be terribly deceiving as well. Sea Power is lovely, but all the SEC teams are royal or navy. I can't wait to look up RR and Mer du Sud. Thanks so much for the suggestions.

And Renee, those pictures are stunning! I have been drooling.

I just bought some tall bearded iris from Walmart called Full Tide (pic shows medium blue!?) and also some lithodora ground cover which is actually one of the bluest plants I've seen. Bright marine blue-stunning!

I bought some full tide, dangerous mood, and clarence in fall, can't wait to see what color they actually bloom.