Spring is only a month away, can't you believe it? Sooner or later we'll be back outside, with less less time to spare on the forums. This has been on my mind for a little while, so why wait any longer?
When I was a little boy, my dad had a flower bed filled with a NOID iris behind the garage. Their clumps were always so big and beautiful, so big that they were growing outside the border. I don't think I could compare any iris with blooms or foliage healthier looking than his.
We moved to a new home when I was 8 and took some of those irises with us, and planted them in the backyard along the north fence line.
Years later (in the last year), my dad dug me a clump of iris and said "you'll like these", and smiled as he plopped them in my hand. He had other irises, so why these, I was a bit puzzled and waited until spring to find out why. It brought me joy and memories of my childhood to see them again, although realizing the ones he gave me I already had at my home and were also NOIDs.
I called up my dad and texted him a thank you + a pic of the iris. Later he called and told me something that I look forward doing. The irises my dad gave me, he never touched, like never watered weeded treated etc. Basically naturalized. I've never naturalized irises before; though I do know there are bearded iris abandoned and overgrown with weeds that have been in native flora for years, and are still flourishing there. Yet, research also states to keep irises maintained. So there's a possibility that not all, but some Tb's would be fine in that kind of an environment. But which ones?
Here's a couple pictures of my childhood iris at my house. AKA "Flavescens". Thanks to a social media friend's post, I now know the identification.
Good luck on the ID!
