Iris bulbs - too late? (I'm in RI)

SusieBW

My irises that are already in the ground are starting to come up like crazy - I swear there are twice as many as there were last year!  Anyway, I have about a dozen iris bulbs that a CW gave me last summer and that I meant to throw in last fall, but I forgot. 

Think it's too late to throw them in now?  Should I just wait until summer or this fall?

I was hoping if I put them in now, they'd at least grow and get established, even if they don't flower this year.

 

And another iris question - all but two or three of my irises are purple.  The other two or three are yellow, but I got them from a friend and we transplanted them last summer after they were all done blooming.  Will they still bloom yellow this year, even though I planted them right by the purple ones?  I feel like I've heard that purple is the dominant color for irises and they can take over if you plant too close (of course I didn't hear this until after these were planted).

Thanks!

another KT

Irises are not bulbs.  They are perienials, specifically rhizones.  So you don't have to plant them in the fall for them to bloom in the spring.  They can be planted spring, summer, or fall.  I would put them in as soon as the ground can be worked. They can change color through cross pollination and letting the iris go to seed.  You can prevent this by removing the bloom stalk shortly after the bloom dries up.

SusieBW

Thanks!  My bad, they look like bulbs . . .  I'm going to plant them as soon as this weekend's blizzard passes, I guess.  I would've liked to do it this afternoon since it's something like 55 degrees out, but maybe I should wait until this silly snow storm goes by.

I do remove the stalks as soon as the flower dies, and since the yellow ones didn't bloom in my garden last year, maybe I'll be all set this year.  Maybe I'll also transplant the yellow ones to their own space this year so I don't have to worry about them changing to purple.  I love yellow irises.