From my very limited experience growing reblooming iris it seems there are some that do not need to go through a cool cycle to rebloom. Some refer to these as continious blooming. These seem to bloom whenever a rhizome gets to a certain size. I have had some that bloom on new increase that never have been through a winter cycle. If yours continue to bloom that is what you have. The ones you have could have set the bloom before you planted them. Please keep us updated. It will be interesting to see if this is the case and some iris will continue to bloom without ever going through a cool cycle. Lee Mincy

I've read about continuous bloomers, but have not seen any varieties identified as such. I've even sent an application to the Reblooming Iris Society and asked for a list of continuous bloomers, but there has been no response. Does anyone have a list of continuous bloomers or know of any varieties?

I don't think that anyone can be sure what will be a repeat or continious bloomer in any given zone or soil type. What seems to work in my area may not in another. Anxious, Immortality and Brother Carl all bloomed in the spring and then rebloomed more than one time starting in late June for me. Brother Carl is by far the most continious bloomer that I have. Winterberry Gardens seems to be the leader in reblooming iris. I asked them to send me repeat bloomers this year and they sent me several that I will have to wait to see if they will repeat bloom in my area. Many of the repeat bloomers are IB and BB iris. I would love to see if Brother Carl will do as well in other areas as it does here in NE Mississippi. It increases very fast here and if you would like I will send you a few rhizomes next summer. Lee Mincy

I met a man from Hawaii that said his father raised orchids and that certain ones needed cold to make them bloom. He inverted a bucket of ice over them and induced them to bloom. He said he was going to get some SDBs and try it on them. I often wonder if it worked. Anyone heard of this?
Rod

Winterberry does have a list of "all season bloomers", Midsummers Eve, Constant Companion, Total Recall, Forever Blue, Again and Again, Love Goes ON, Low Ho Silver, and Double Your Fun.

They mention there are now 25 all season bloomers, and that such cultivars are day neutral with no day length control like the regular rebloomers, and that in climate zones 8-10 the garden season extends up to 12 months for these all season bloomers.

Winterberry sent me the following that they thought would be continious bloomers for me: Constant Companion-IB, Over and Over-TB, Midsummer Nights Dream-IB, Midsummers Eve-BB, Twiggy-BB, Love Goes On-BB, Again and Again-TB, Double Your Fun-IB, Precious Little Pink-IB and Champagne Encore-IB. I planted these 09-01-06 and 2 bloomed in early November and three more put up bloom stalks but were frozen out before they could open. Lee Mincy

Please let us know how they do next year.

Sometimes I wonder if continuous or everblooming irises are a good thing.

It depends on where you garden, perhaps. It is so hot here in the summertime that if you get rebloom, the rebloom is distorted. Standards or falls are missing, a fall has two beards, or the stalk is IB in height. In general the flower is flawed in some way by heat and I am ashamed to show it.

I have observed these conditions in two states but actually had better luck with rebloomers in Texas than in Mississippi. The bloom season was earlier over there and that permitted some to rebloom before it got too hot. Then, there is a longer period in Texas after it cools down and before the first freeze. In MS, most of my rebloom is just getting started when the first frost gets them. Some have so many stalks budded that they cannot recover in time in the spring to bloom, so they become non-bloomers.

Midsummernight's Dream was the only one that bloomed in the intense heat that was not distorted. Only Matrix and Rosalie Figge rebloomed decently in the fall. There were many others that were caught in a heavy frost and were ruined. I also have Louisianas that try each fall but never make it into bloom. Great White Hope (currently on the cover of the SLI Newsletter and hyped as a future medal winner) was discarded from my garden last year because it attempted to rebloom in the fall for several years and did not recover to bloom in the spring.

I have tried Constant Companion several times and it blooms itself to death here.

I still make a few reblooming crosses each year but it is with flowers I know won't try to bloom until after the heat has passed and long before winter arrives.

Walter Moores

Very interesting, Mr. Moores, as always.

Please know I was only referring to what Winterberry said in their catalogue, not from personal experience.

However, from personal experience, I can say Immortality blooms in many, many gardens here, beautifully in the spring and again in the fall. People here have lawns full of it, which is really good, as I must say, by itself it looks out of place as a fall flower, with the autumn colors.

I recall reading that some Magnolia succumb to frost in the mid Atlantic states, while in the north they will bloom, as they are so delayed to begin growth in the spring. Maybe it works somehow on the opposite end with iris, at least in Immortality's case.

Thanks. I am just reporting on my experience. I find rebloomers to be very regional in nature and find it hard to accept labels on some irises as 'everbloomers' and find it even harder to predict what will rebloom in other climates.

I have introduced a number of rebloomers and have found that the only place where they are foolproof, generally, is in CA.

Several of my rebloomers are not designated as such in the Checklists because they never rebloomed for me.

So, back to Hawaii. I think bearded irises might prosper at the higher elevations but not in Honolulu. I have heard that daylilies make nice foliage plants in Honolulu but rarely bloom.

Walter Moores

Walter, I must be just far enough north of you to miss some of your problems with rebloomers. I did notice this year for the first time a rebloomer trying to develope too many buds on one stalk. They lined up opposite each other like a pack of firecrackers and never did manage to open a bloom. This was really pronounced on Anxious the last time it tried to bloom. I had 22 iris to rebloom at least one time and I had four that acted like continious bloomers. Except for the problem I mentioned and I think this was on three clumps with one misformed stalk each I did not have any misformed bloom problems. I have added a lot more rebloomers this year and have added I hope some continious bloomers. I love having iris in bloom all summer and fall. I did have a lot of late bloom to be killed by the early freeze. I continue to be disappointed with Victoria Falls. I started with seven rhizomes 2 years ago and they really put on a show in the spring but so far none have rebloomed. All need to be divided this year so I am going to move them to another location. I have posted this before and nothing has happened to change my mind. I believe that iris in NE Mississippi iris need some shade. I think as much as 1/2 day sun is plenty on my hill. Lee Mincy

Thanks to those who have posted on this thread. The information is useful, and the suggestions are great. As a result, I have requested a catalog from Winterberry, and IÂm on the waiting list for the next one, which will come out in March. IÂll report next year about what happens to my plants.