The scoop on 'Blue J Iris'

I have no complaints, but in comparison to another iris vendor I bought from recently, their rhizomes were much smaller.

I had two problems with this company on my 2007 order. First, I had a large order which required 6 boxes. They were sent taped together in a tall column. The weight crushed the bottom of the lowest box and iris were missing. I reported this by email and there was no offer to replace. Also, about 1/3 of the iris rhizomes were minute...less than 1/2 inch. So, my expectations that they have survived a very cold zone 5 winter is doubtful .Also, I had no reply when I emailed about the size of so many of the rhizomes. With a few of the small ones I received 2 very small ones instead of just 1. Frankly, I would preferred not to receive any that size.My order was placed early....in February and iris were sent out in July...so no problems with the time of the order . Price is good but it is not worth my time and effort to receive such. She is a very pleasant person so I did not give a negative.

I ordered about 60 iris from Blue Jay this year. I was pleased by the order confirmation, price, size (of most of them) and condition of the iris upon arrival. They have been in the ground almost 2 months now and are growing well.They were shipped at the requested date. That was important to me as I live in the Idaho panhandle and we have short summers. I will order again next year. I found the prices and shipping to be very fair.

This has been my third year of placing very large orders with this company and I have been very pleased. The rhizomes have been good sized, and Sheri has always been very good about responding quickly to any questions I have had. Will definitely order from again.

This is my third year ordering from Blue J Iris. Have been extremely pleased with each order - beautiful, healthy rhizomes, at very reasonable prices, and wonderful bonus irises. Can't say enough positive about them. They are a joy to communicate with and very eager to please. My husband and I strolled through their gardens this past May. It was mind-boggling seeing so many absolutely beautiful, well-kept fields of iris...and a joy to meet Sheri, who was busy taking the beautiful photos for their web site. I'm already planning next year's order!!

I ordered 30 iris and got 3 bonus iris. All ot the plants were very healthy with thick heavy clean rhizomes and nice fleshy roots. This was definitely a positive experience.

I usely dont post but i have too
My first Oredr June 2006 the next Late July 2006
I got 2 large orders,
$300 worth.
One i hate winers and the people who say I HAVE GROWN IRISES 25 YEARS . YA FREE ONES THEY WINED SO MUCH for refund
Most I recived were very large heathy green fresh dug with no softeys.
i should post a photo .
if small she sent 2 or three extra.
cant beet the price come on $2.20 for most and discounts.

People when buying ask question to her before hand
How is this one LOoKING THIS YEAR?
I am already making a list for next July dig.
If you have to have a big golf ball size go the local green house Pay $12.

But from Blue J I did get golf ball size more then 3/4 of the odrer was .

I purshased -this being my first and last order with this company I spent way to much for tiny iris,and 2 missing,
then it had a disese -i thought it was iris rot.she tried to tell me that they dont have disese's in that area.Well this was put all together and within 2 weeks these where sick.I found borer's i had wrote to her.and guess what nothing,,,,no refund.just that area does get the iris irus-I am out money and iris never again.....

Excellent experience from enjoying the attractive, user-friendly site, to the ease of ordering, to the personable and professional communication and invoicing, to receiving the well-packaged healthy rhizomes. The bonuses and extras were generous and appropriately chosen to complement the colors I ordered. Add to all that, the very reasonable pricing and I doubt one could find a better source for iris.

i bought about 80 iris and i ordered kind of late. you will not believe this but i got all but 2 of the ones i wanted. i got bonuses, extras, large iris in the first place, packed perfectly with an invoice that was perfect. there's more.......i got a new iris intro. and a refund. teehee!! and i got these at the best price known in the iris world. sheri is wonderful to deal with. she worked with me for 2 months with my order. occ. she is too busy to get right back at you but she does get back. she answered every question i had. and when asked about the negative feedback blue j had gotten in the past she didn't hedge.....just explained that all of the past problems were being worked on. and by golly i think they have it. THIS is the place folks. i can not wait to order again next year. thanks to you sheri and to blue j for some really nice plants. a great big rebel yell from me down in texas.

This is the first year that I ordered from Blue J. I ordered on line and got an e-mail back within a day telling me exactly what would be in my order and which of the "bonus or substitute" irises would be included. The ordered arrived at the time that I had specified and was well packed, well marked and in good shape. They added so many bonus iris that I have given some to friends.

VERY UNHAPPY WITH BLUE J IRIS. BUYERS BEWARE, they only guarantee true to name. I received my order on Aug. 14th,e-mailed them on Aug 18th and to date have not received a reply. 7 out of 14 iris are no bigger than a marble, and the others not much bigger. ( That is a small marble ) These irises cost me $96. to get them to Canada and most will not make it thru my 4b winter. As I have had no reply from Blue J I am to assume they are not ashamed at what they sent me. I have posted a picture on the Canadian Gardening Section

Just received my order from Blue J.

I asked Sheri not to pack in straw, and she did not. They were packed in celcius (is that the name?).

I had some email back and forth with Sheri adding iris, and changing bonuses. She was helpful, and patient.

The irises are beautiful! Perfect condition, and very large rhizomes. No mold, no signs of borers. Excellent, just fantastic, and especially for the price..

Of course I can't comment on whether or not they are true to name, but I have labels made, and will keep good track, and report back on that.

However, for the price and quality of the rhizomes, if in fact they are true to name, I think Blue J will be unbeatable.

i placed a large order with them. sheri was great. i added to my order several times, sheri didn't mind. the rhizomes were large and some they sent two if they were small. the only thing i didn't care for was the straw, it made a mess. i will be a repeat customer.

I placed a fair sized order with, Blue J Iris, earlier in 2005, ... (over 50 irises, at a very pleasing price). All were received in a timely manner, in fine condition. Sherri was super regarding customer service & always made feel like a valued customer! (always answered my questions/emails, & very helpful in quiding me when I was in search of that 'special iris', etc. ... even if they didn't have it themselves, she informed me of where I might locate it! Highly professional! So refreshing!). Very soon after I received my first order, I placed a second iris order, ... & to my surprise, they arrived quite quickly, (rather than placing me 'last on the list' & shipping latest in the season). I appreciate the consistancy in care, promptness, & quality I received! Any minor problems which arose, Blue J Iris was quick to make amends. A terrific company, with wonderful, 'old fashioned type values' .... remember???? the days when the common corporate social value was that .... 'the customer was always right'. That was my experience with Blue J Iris!

I have withheld comment on Blue J. for several reasons. To see how the iris fared and to see if mine was an isolated incident...
When I recieved my iris they were covered in mold , I do not know if it was the packing or growing conditions. I did inform Sheri of the problem and she stated that she would replace them if they did not survive..Most of them have done ok...Some of them have been very slow to put on any new growth, and I have lost a few, but I have not informed Blue J of the problem.I was happy with the size of the rhizomes, some were very small, but several were sent if that was the case. In time, I believe that Blue J will be exceptional source of iris for an inexpensive price.

Great communication and customer service.

Was very happy with the order. Generous with bonuses and extra bulbs.

Will definitely order from them again, and recommend them to my garden club.

They offer a great selection and the website with all the pics makes shopping easy.

This is one of the best plant purchases I have ever made! They were easy to work with, the iris were HUGE and beautiful. They were out of two of the iris that I ordered because I ordered on the last day of their season and they shipped double replacement for one, and triple for the other! I will always buy from this company when I want iris! Oh, there prices were fantastic!!!!!!!!! Let me give them the highest praise report that I have ever written!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received my order from Blue J about a month ago. I was order number 5 and had two iris on the buy list that were refunded. I notified Sheri once the iris arrived because they had mold and some were soft and had chew damage on them. She sent duplicates on some iris but the really tiny ones with damage had no duplicates . In general, the straw she uses to pack iris in, holds moisture and unless you are only one day away, then chances for mold and soft rhizomes, are a very good possibility. By the way, mold on iris rhizomes isn't always black. Once the black is there, it can be too late. This happened with three of the Blue J iris. The others were treated with bleach and then streptomycin when planted. I've lost some of the rhizomes because of the mold and some are fine and growing and some just sit.

As of today's date, no response from Sheri on the mold situation. I know I'm not the only person to receive iris with mold. I've had three different buyers tell me the exact same problem happened to them with their orders from Blue J.. In general, I think the problems can be solved with different shipping methods. The size of most of the rhizomes is good. I'd like to see orders sent out in the order received, I know orders in the twenties got their iris before I saw mine. To be fair, Blue J is a good company with lots of room to get better. Blue J can take over the lower price market with a little work. I think we all wish them well. Hope everyone at least considers posting on this forum so all the views can be evaluated.

Zone 6 Illinois
When I recieved my iris order from B J Iris I was very surprised to see such mature iris plants, WOW! Have ordered from other companies and individual small gardens as well and never EVER have I recieved such nice healthy plants. They are sure to bloom in the spring. Thanks so much B J Iris for the bonus and fantastic discounts as well. You are 5 stars in my book!

I just received my order from Blue J and was very satisfied with what I received. They are well grown and healthy rhizomes. And you can't beat the price! Sheri gets 5 stars (or more!) for her excellent customer service. Quite helpful and friendly, she answers queries very promptly. You do feel your business is valued and appreciated here. Like the website and also the extensive selection from old to new. I look forward to seeing what they have in store next year.

I have ordered over 600 Iris from various companies. The quality usually reflected the price. Only Blue Jay had a very cheep price and outstandin rhizomes. The discounts, bonus iris, quality and size far exceeded my expectations. I would not hesitate to recomend these people and their product.
rankill

This company has really great prices. Some rhizomes are smaller than usual, but it's due to their colder climate. If they are small, they give you two or more to make up for it. I will order from them again next year.

Sheri was a joy to deal with. She was very quick to respond to emails and was able to let me know right away if what I wanted was in stock. When I ordered (in April) a July ship date was given, and the order shipped on that date. The packaging was great, as were the size of the iris (as previously noted - if small they will send 2)

All and all a great experience.

I'd say that the very best thing about Blue J is their customer service. They changed my order three times, once just a week before they shipped and they seemed very happy to be hearing from me every time I sent them a message.

The prices are fabulous and when rhizomes were small they included two. They ask you to send a list of extras that you'd like but then they send more. I was able to experiment with newer cultivars that I couldn't find photos of because the prices were so reasonable.

They are in the middlewest and they have a shorter growing season than some of the bigger houses that boast bigger rhizomes. However, theirs were freshly dug and in very good shape.

I'll certainly buy there again. If you do, you'll enjoy the experience.

Wonderful company to deal with. Shipment arrived when promised with nice sized healthy rhizomes. They even sent multiples of several. Will definitely be ordering again next year.

I also give this garden a 10+ rating!!! I ordered 144 rhizomes and was very pleased with my order--
Sheri is wonderful to work with!!!!!

I am very pleased with this new company. The quality, price and communication is tops! I had several large orders and because the cost was so reasonable I really expected the rhizomes to be small but they were fresh healthy large plants. I also sent 3 seperate orders. But no problem, Sheri was great with combining everything. I highly recommend Blue J and you can be sure that next year I will be first in line with my order.

Blue J Iris is a fantastic source for irises! They even have some "hard-to-find" varieties. The rhizomes that I received were wonderful, and were a terrific bargain! An itemized invoice was included with my order. Bonus rhizomes were also sent. E-mails were always promptly answered and very friendly. My order was shipped on the date promised. I look forward to doing more business with Blue J Iris next year and I highly recommend them to everyone!

I sent a very large order,275+ to this new company and was very pleased with everything. Sherry answered all my questions very promply and let me know if an item was sold out of a particular iris.Order arrived quickly and was very well packaged. Very generous with bulb sizes and great prices. I'm so happy with this company I'm sending another order this week!I'd recommend Blue J to all.

I purchase large amounts of iris annually from various sources. This year I saw the Blue Jay website and ordered. I was over whelmed with the plants I received. Every plant was healthy and the size was more than adequate for the price!!!! They are great to do business with!!!!!!

Email were answered promptly and professionally. Have placed a large order with them for hard to find irises. Will update when order arrives. Sherry is very friendly and answers questions quickly.