I have been shopping Schreiner's, and I have (I think) narrowed it down to the following varieties: Warrior King, Before the Storm, Anvil of Darkness and Arctic Age and Laced Cotton. I liked the Swazi Princess, but apparently, I waited too long on that variety.

Anyway, I would love any advice, tips, suggestions, etc. I know that there is no true red iris, but if you know of one closer than the WK that blooms in the same time period as the others listed, hit me with that too. I am in zone 8, but I am very, very close to zone 9. Thanks in advance!

I was also reading on their website that irises prefer mounded beds for drainage. I have built up the sides of the bed with brick pavers, but now I need to fill it in with soil. I have some very nice two-year old compost, mostly composed of guinea pig manure. Because they are strict herbivores, it is very clean, but will that have too much nitrogen? I have quite a bit of ash saved up as well from burning brush. My soil itself is pretty sandy, as we are very near the river and the coast. Any information you could give me about the appropriate mix to raise the bed would be greatly appreciated.

Nitrogen does leach out of sandy soils. Only a soil test will determine the level in yours. However, all soils benefit from organic matter, especially sandy ones. Some nutrients cannot bind to sand.

I had a huge bag of llama 'pellets' which I allowed to sit for a year. When I dug the bed an inch was incorporated plus bonemeal & superphosate. Had the highest rate of bloom on new iris ever. A rule of thumb I've read regarding manure is no more than 1-inch per 6-inch depth of incorporation.

The soils forum might have good information regarding ash. I have read of disasters with too much being used.