Pacific Coast Iris - best time to transplant?

I've also heard that hybrids with the I. munzii cross are more difficult to establish, but the plot of these hybrids at Rancho belies that story. They're growing in full scorching sun in Claremont.

I'm thinking there might be more difficulty here in Southern California because of crosses with the Iris sp. from further north, such as I. tenax, I. macrosiphon, or I. bracteata. It seems the smaller leaved forms are more difficult to establish here.

Wild Ginger Farm has great selections.

--- On Mon, 2/4/13, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:

From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] Pacific Coast Iris - best time to transplant?
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Monday, February 4, 2013, 10:12 AM

If the Pacific Coast irises sold in spring can't be carried through
the summer in southern California, you can buy potted ones shipped in
fall from Wild Ginger Farm <http://www.wildgingerfarm.com/> . I bought and
planted a dozen of them this past fall and expect them to do well.
The previous year, I bought a few from Aitken's Salmon Creek Nursery,
but they were shipped bare-root in October and, although planted
properly the day received, not a single one survived. I've been
growing PCIs for many years and have also seen a lot of them in the
wild, including I. tenax, native to my former garden.

Another good strategy for establishing these plants, if you don't
insist on named cultivars, is growing them from seed. Seeds of both
species and hybrids are distributed by SIGNA and I think by a section
of the American Iris Society devoted to PCIs; Emma Elliott, a member
of the PBS as well, can no doubt provide more information about the
seed exchanges as she runs one of them. Many years ago I got a packet
of seeds through SIGNA that had been donated by one of the top
growers, and was able to raise some beautiful plants that are still
flourishing at my old garden. Emma has propagated some of them in
their nursery, and this October I dug divisions and potted them. I'll
grow them on in pots until next fall and then plant them out. The
seeds, planted preferably in fall, germinate quickly (unlike some
other kinds of irises) and can be moved into 4-inch pots when they
have two or three leaves, grown on for a year, and put into the
garden while still quite small. I've even planted tiny seedlings
directly outdoors and they did fine -- better than divisions of
mature plants. (Garden seed may not always give such good results,
since PCIs can hybridize with one group of Siberian irises; I raised
one batch of seedlings that appeared to include "Cal-Sibes" and some
of them were unattractive in flower.)

I read somewhere that the Ghio hybrid PCIs, discussed by several
correspondents, often have I. munzii in their ancestry. This species,
which has particularly good blue pigment, is rather tender and also
quite large, so perhaps those of us in cooler climates should look
elsewhere for suitable garden cultivars. My favorites are those that
involve I. douglasiana, because they're hardy and have excellent
broad, dark, glossy evergreen foliage that is a design asset when the
fleeting bloom season is over.

Regarding Iris unguicularis, which another correspondent suggested
should be purchased in a pot, I got one of the varieties I grow from
England as a bare rhizome and had no difficulty establishing it in
the bulb frame. Rhizomes moved to the new garden and planted in a
raised bed in the open have taken well and are in flower. It probably
depends on the time of year you move it.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA