Hi all. I have three different types of pass-along irises in my yard. One's a large plant with large multiple blooms in a deep violet/purple, from a Kansas homestead, and it's planted in FULL sun both with and without much supplemental water. One's a smaller plant with I think smaller blooms in a lighter purple, from an old Tennessee house, that's planted in part sun with some supplemental water. The third's a large plant that I got at a plant swap last year and stuck in a pot in full afternoon sun and some supplemental water, I think it's yellow but it hasn't bloomed yet. The Tennessee iris I picked small, new offshoots that I knew wouldn't be missed and hoped would survive the trip back to Dallas locked in a cooler -- I was on a mission trip with my church teenagers and the WWII vet we were replacing a roof for was kind enough to allow me to take some. He had them planted all around the foundation of his home and I'd be surprised if he did much anything to them.

Now, I'm wondering if the "Tennessee" iris would be happier in the front yard with full morning sun and some midday sun but afternoon shade. Currently, they get midday sun only. I didn't think to ask him what kind they were, and he may not know himself as it was the house he was born in and his mother may well have planted the originals. Considering their age (probably not even a year old) when I "harvested" them in early July 2010, I'm not surprised that they're just now starting to bloom for me. But I'm completely clueless about iris. Does anyone here have an idea of what "type" of iris they could be? The corms looked identical to the dark purple ones and seemed to be planted partially uncovered, so I assumed they were the same "type", but now I'm not sure. And all I have right now are two small buds. Could the lack of sunlight cause that drastic of a difference in size? Or are these a different type that requires different care? I know northeastern TN gets more rain than north central TX.

And, if you've read this far and are still willing to help, thank you! I appreciate any advice you can give me. And I'll update this in a few days when the first bud opens and I can tell if it looks the same as the dark purple ones or if they're different. I'm pretty sure the dark purple ones are bearded iris. Although, I'm not sure why they're called "bearded".