PlantFiles: Tall Bearded Iris
Iris 'Harvest of Memories'

This Iris is the best tall rebloomer I have. It has strong stalks, and many of them. It's loaded with buds, and multiplies rapidly. It has a great scent - although sometimes when I cut them I have to "air" them out for awhile before I take them in the house. They last well when cut.

The bright color of this Iris fills my garden when just about everything is quiet. It is blooming in my yard in the middle of November - and prolifically. It will be here until at least the first of December. And it's right next to the lawn. Not afraid of too much water. It begins reblooming again here about the middle of February.

If you don't mind a bright, self-colored Iris - this one is one that you should have working for you. If you love bright yellow in late fall or very early spring, even better! Works great with daffodils.

Very few tall beardeds (TBs) can survive my growing conditions. This northern MN zone 3b climate inflicts severe, extended cold during the winter months, often with little snow cover for insulation. Summer temps can exceed 90 degrees F. My soil is very heavy, compacted clay with a slightly acid pH. A large local deer population frequently tramples and sometimes grazes on my irises in early spring and late fall. Iris borers are present but managed successfully with a granular systemic grub control product. Weeds are abundant and only occasionally beaten back by an admittedly lazy gardener (yours truly). Fertilization is inconsistent, when provided at all. Most TBs here are growing with less than 6 hrs of sun per day, so growth and bloom are not what they could be under full sun conditions. I have lost hundreds of weaker TB cultivars over the years, so the few that have managed to survive are worthy of high praise.

Though I am not overly fond of yellow irises, HARVEST OF MEMORIES will always have a place in my garden. This plant has earned my admiration with its incredible vigor, disease and pest-resistence, and reliable bloom (rebloom reported in USDA zones 4-10). Because of its rampant growth, however, it will crowd itself out, exhaust its soil, and quit blooming if not divided regularly (I do have this one planted in better soil in a full sun location). HOM is a *huge* improvement over its pollen parent, CORN HARVEST, to which its flowers look almost identical. I highly recommend this cultivar.

Laurie