The leaf blades look a bit wider than my Siberian irises, so I am going to venture a guess that they are versicolor, the native blueflag iris or perhaps a blueflag Siberian cross. Perhaps someone else can be more helpful.

I wouldn't put dirt over them, though they might appreciate being set a bit deeper. You could try digging up the whole clump and dig the hole deeper and just set it a bit lower. Or you could put mulch along the outside edge of the clump to help keep it from getting too dry. Both Siberian and blue flag iris appreciate regular moisture.

Does your friend's plant bloom more heavily than yours? Some of what controls the bloom of these fibrous rooted iris is genetics, which influences how many buds are on each flower stem and whether the plant will rebloom. If hers does better than yours, yours may be too dry or may be lacking nutrients such as phosphorus which affects blossoms on many plants.

Looks like siberian iris. It seems at least closely related. I don't know what affects booms, i imagine any kind of stress can reduce the plants vigor, but i'll tell you all i know.

Siberian iris can be used as wetland plants. They appreciate wet, but not soggy (i think). There is a marsh 30 minutes away that has loads of yellow siberian iris every year. If the soil is not consistently moist, or has too long dry periods, that could be what is affecting your blooms. You mentioned them being shallow, if the really are, that can contribute to stress from dry spells.
Another contributing factor could be light conditions, you might get more blooms if they are planted in a brighter area.

Another note, i don't believe siberian iris need to be divided, or at least not very often. Don't take it from me though, would rather wait for someone well versed in the iris language.

This post was edited by Auron22 on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 17:48

Siberian Iris Culture from the Siberian Iris Society. Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Siberian Iris Culture

Wow....what a wealth of information from everyone! Thanks so much! The link was a specially helpful with confirming I really don't need to divide at this time and that they aren't too shallow.

They get plenty of sun so I'm sure the problem has been not enough water, especially since they're on kind of a high spot. I'm also going to make sure they have the proper nutrients.

There is a marsh 30 minutes away that has loads of yellow siberian iris every year.

Suspect these are Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag or water iris) and not Siberians. Siberians will not tolerate standing water and true, pure yellow Siberian cultivars are extremely rare. Pseudacorus or yellow flag iris will also proliferate and spread freely. In fact, they are considered an invasive species in many areas. Yellow or yellow blended Siberians typically have some pseudacorus or innominata genes in their veins.

Siberian iris grow in ordinary garden soil with ordinary garden watering - they do not require an overly moist situation. Reduced blooming usually indicates a need to divide. After about 3 years, the clumps get congested and fail to produce many flowers. If that is the case here, I would not hesitate to divide now - while dividing in spring can limit this season's bloom potential, it doesn't sound like the clump has produced many flowers recently anyway. What have you got to lose? It will certainly be happier for it going forward.

Yes, but ....

I have to agree with Nhbabs that those really don't look like Siberians to me. My guess is also versicolor. While a lot of the cultural information overlaps, there are some differences. Versicolor *is* a swamp plant. Around here it is found in the wild near winterberry in poorly draining areas. It also is often much less floriferous than siberian cultivars.

They are hard to kill, so long as they get reasonable moisture, so I wouldn't hesitate to try a different location. However, I do strongly suspect it is simply the nature of the beast to bloom as it does. If it doesn't satisfy, then there are a lot of siberian cultivars to try that will do better.

Years ago, somebody told me that water iris have dark, circular 'watermarks' in their leaves. If you hold them up to the sun, they are pretty easy to see. I know that pseudocorus, versicolor, and Japanese iris all have them, but forget whether or not siberians do. Unfortunately, at the present time I have no siberian leaves to test this on.

This post was edited by mad_gallica on Tue, Mar 26, 13 at 15:53

I see what you mean about the wider leaves but I would still guess siberian. The in leaf and flowering photo might be a couple years old for a newly planted vigorous plant with bigger leaves, the cut back winter clump picture might be current.
"Not blooming much" might just be normal older siberian iris bloom. Looking at the cut back clump I can see several old flower stalks and it looks like all you get on each stalk is two blooms. Since each flower just lasts a couple days even with several stalks you're still only going to see about a weeks worth of flowering, shorter for hot weather. Newer cultivars will have four or more blooms per stalk and will bloom more and for a longer time.

Pretty perceptive kato b!! The flowering pics are from May 2011 and the clumps pics were just recently taken.

I honestly don't remember when it was given to me or how big it was... but best guess is at least 6 or 7 years old (didn't realize it was that old!) and probably a pretty small division...8" across or so.

And I just remembered. A few pieces fell off so my fiance (God rest his soul) planted them in an area we jokingly called the "plant hospital" and they always bloomed more out there (sun & soil conditions are pretty much similar)....so it is capable of more flowers.

And to clarify what I mean by "doesn't bloom much"..... it doesn't seem to put out very many flower stalks as compared to how much foliage there is. I'm pretty sure my neighbor's bloomed a whole lot more.

there are 2 or 3 iris experts in the iris forum.. i would still suggest you do a post over there .. and just link them here ...

that forum goes absolutely nuts.. when the first iris blooms in CA.. hose-nemesis [what a great name] .. i have never seen here ...

what they said.. with the simple statement.. that plants grows where they prefer.. your clump is very mature.. and if it wants to be at that height.. why in the world would you think that burying it would be a better idea ...

always try to default to letting the plant do its own thing..

planting depth.. is really only an issue when you plant it.. and most plants can adjust themselves ...

so i would saying.. 'planting' depth.. is different than 'GROWING' DEPTH.. and yours has been growing just fine ...

one other thought.. lack of flower.. in favor of greenery .... when the sun is proper.. MIGHT be a nitrogen issue.. as in too much of the wrong nitro fert ... or too much fresh manure ... [which has too much urea.. which is nitro]

ken

Your iris look like Siberians to me. At this time of year, my clumps that had been trimmed back in the fall look exactly like yours.

While Siberians, as well as Japanese Iris can stand to live in wet conditions, they also make fine bedding plants in the perennial garden. I have several Siberians-Steve, Big Blue, Caesar's Brother, Butter and Sugar, Silver Edge, Sparkling Rose and Sky Wings. Mine are mulched and get the same general care as my other perennials. We water all the plants in the summer if we don't get adequate rainfall. Other than that, they don't get any special care. Full sun helps with blooming as well as a feeding with a fertilizer with a high middle number, such as Miracle Grow - 15-30-15, once in a while.

You can divide them and replant after blooming or in the fall.

Linda

I have had many different Siberians , and my observation is: some will just not like you no matter what you do. I got rid of several last year , they were growing well but never bloomed. Generally older varieties have fewer buds per stem(usually only two), and some newer are just better both in bud count(I have 2 with up to 5 buds pr stem), and foliage is standing upright for the whole season. The truth is : the old varieties are passé. The clump turns into a complete mess right after blooming. They cannot compete with modern ones.

Some good doers with me: Mabel Coday, Coronation anthem(3 buds but repeats often), Big Blue, Illini Dame(up to 5 buds), Over to Gloryland, Blaumacher, Viel Schnee, Percheron
Cheery Lynn.

the ones who hated to bloom: Golden Edge, Waterloo, Ewen, Night Breeze, Blue Reverie(pity, extremely beautiful)

One died for no apparent reason: Regency Buck(extremely beautiful)