Bayshore Iris Society (BIS), an affiliate of Region 4 of the American Iris Society (AIS), will be holding our annual Iris Rhizome sale to the public on Saturday, August 3, and perhaps August 10, 2024, at the Easton Farmer’s Market in Easton, Maryland from 8am-1pm. We will be selling affordable Iris rhizomes by color and/or cultivar name at affordable price points for your perennial pleasure. In addition, we will also be offering non-iris plants for sale at reasonable prices.
Irises are an extremely hardy perennial plant that grow very well on the Eastern Shore. Members of the Bayshore Iris Society consist of professional growers and gardeners who appreciate the beauty and splendor of Iris blooms in our gardens. The cultivar names alone can also be quite amusing.
There are many types of Irises from dwarf to tall-bearded varieties that grow to various heights and sizes from underground root structures called rhizomes. While there are Iris species that grow from bulbs, we promote rhizomatous Iris. Members of the Bayshore Iris Society will have divided and treated Iris divisions from their personal gardens as well as three Iris Display Gardens at Preston Elementary School and Wye Mills in Preston, MD, and the Iris Display Garden on the grounds of the Wicomico County Memorial Park Garden on Route 13 in Salisbury, MD. These Iris come in a vast array of colors including whites, yellows, oranges, purples, to almost black bloom colors with many variations of color, shade, form, markings and beard colors and some with reblooming capability!
Thousands of different irises are named and registered with the American Iris Society with about a thousand new introductions each year. Many new introductions include reblooming Iris which have been hybridized to rebloom not just in April and May but rebloom periodically, some up to late fall and early winter, allowing Iris flowers to beautify your gardens for multiple seasons! Reblooming Iris are considered the Iris of the future by many Iris enthusiasts.
Our members will have harvested, cleaned, labeled, and trimmed the Iris rhizomes that can be purchased for immediate “fall planting” for Iris blooms next spring. We will offer many reblooming Iris in addition to our spring-bloom-only blooming cultivars. Information for growing and dividing Iris will be shared with all who purchase these Iris to ensure that your gardens will bloom for many seasons to come. We will also offer credit card and cash payments.
To promote Bayshore Iris Society (BIS) and the growing and enjoyment of Irises on the Eastern Shore, attendees may sign up to join the Bayshore Iris Society for $10 annual Membership. Membership Applications will be available at our Iris Rhizome Sale. The Bayshore Iris Society meets monthly, usually on the third Wednesday in the Easton area. Members learn how to grow and show irises in Iris Shows successfully. The Bayshore Iris Society features annual Iris Garden tour of members gardens of the eastern shore, an annual Iris Show in May, and monthly meetings to plan our functions and educational activities with topics of growing and showing Iris throughout the year. It is a fun group.
Future activities of the Bayshore Iris Society include our hosting the American Iris Society – Region 4 Meeting at the St. Michaels Inn, St. Michaels, MD on October 18 and 19, 2024 which will include a Fall Iris Show open to the public in the Main Hall from 1 to 3pm on October 18, 2024. For additional information, Contact President Pat Canute at [email protected]
The Bayshore Iris Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
For more information about the Bayshore Iris Society contact John Iwanski at [email protected]
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