1 IRIS Rhizome, Amas, historic, purple, tall bearded, late spring blooming, fragrant
Enough to begin growing your own Cutting Garden
• Purple
• Tall Bearded
• Fragrant
• Early Spring Blooming
• Freshly dug
• Extremely Hardy
Very early spring bloom
They are trimmed and ready to plant.
They are some of the hardiest that grow here in Kansas.
Amas
Foster, collected 1885
TB 25" E B3M
From Biltmore Nursery catalog for 1912: "Deep violet standards and sky-blue falls give glorious harmony in this giant-flowering variety, which originated in Asia Minor and which has won admiration wherever it has become known. It reaches a height of 2 feet, and flowers profusely."
From N.A. Hallauer's Select List for 1918: "(Syn. Macrantha)nbsp; A giant-flowered form from Asia Minor. S. rich blue; F. violet. 2nbsp;ft." From The Wing Seed Co. catalog for 1920: "(Syn. Macrantha) (Ger.) A beautiful form from Asia Minor. Enormous flower of distinct form and rich coloring. S. very large and spreading, glistening deep violet, veined at base. F. bright violet, transparent, very full; beard long, bright yellow. Two feet."
From Cornell Extension Bulletin 112, 1925: "(Native of Amasia, northern Asia Minor. [Modern day Turkey] Collected by Foster, 1885). Color effect blue-violet bicolor. S. light violet, reticulated olive brown on claw. F. hyacinth violet, with slight velvety sheen. The outer haft is lavender or ecru--drab, finely veined, waxy color along dense, projecting beard of bluish cast with yellow tipped hairs. A robust grower with compact, persistent green foliage. The floppy character of the standards is offset by their large size, conspicuous color, and early flowering. It is one of the so-called germanica varieties."
From J.C. Nicholls Irises catalog for 1928: "S. blue, F. violet purple. A well branched, early Species from Asia Minor, having very large flowers. Standards are apt to flop in very hot sun."
From Indian Spring Farms catalog for 1931: "Very large; two shades of violet. 2½ ft."
Following is some useful information:
"Bearded irises can be divided any time after your last frost date in the spring, but many irisarians believe the optimal time to divide them is 6-8 weeks after bloom. Avoid transplanting irises in very hot weather (90+ F degrees), but do get them transplanted back into the ground a couple months before freezing weather to give them time to root in well before winter. Irises sometimes take a year off bloom after transplantation to settle into their new homes, so don't be too disappointed if you don't get bloom the spring after planting. Irises moved before bloom will often lose their bloom that season as well.
You should transplant these irises into an area providing at least 6 hrs of direct sunlight a day. Prepare a new planting area or rejuvenate an existing bed by making sure the soil is well-drained and properly fertilized. Though iris gardeners often dig a bit of superphosphate into the soil to feed the rhizomes and help promote future bloom, it's actually a wiser tactic to fertilize according to the needs of your particular soil. This can be determined through a soil test performed by your county extension agent. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers. Excessive nitrogen can promote bacterial soft rot in bearded irises.
When you plant your irises, make sure the top surface of the rhizome is level with or just slightly below the soil surface. If you bury the rhizome too deeply, the plant may refuse to flower. Do NOT mulch directly over the rhizomes. Mulch will tend to retain too much soil moisture right around the rhizomes and promote bacterial soft rot (unless you live in a hot desert climate). If you have the room, plant your irises about 2' apart with no other plants nearby to overgrow them and compete for soil nutrients. You can also plant 3 separate rhizomes in a triangle 1' apart with the leaf fans facing outwards to produce an instant clump effect. Water the irises deeply once a week for the first month if there is not adequate rainfall. Avoid frequent, shallow waterings. Overwatering is another common cause of soft rot problems.
Just so you understand how the bearded iris life cycle progresses - each individual rhizome will only produce one flower stalk during its lifetime. After (and sometimes before) it flowers, it will turn its energy toward producing "increases" (new rhizomes growing from the sides of the "mother" rhizome). After these new rhizomes grow to blooming size and eventually flower, they will then become "mothers" and grow increases of their own. That is how single rhizomes turn into clumps over the course of a few years and why they need to be divided when the clumps become overcrowded and deplete soil nutrients."
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