DoubleH wrote:
Irises grow like anywhere I thought and they spread all over.
I actually mow them at my house so they don't take over my lawn(they spread out and then the center stops growing well), we basically have them as like a hedge around our lawn to keep thorns and trees from growing where we mow. From time to time we dig up one half(we try to keep it to like a 1.5-2ish foot strip where its close to the house or other flower gardens) and plant them some where else/chuck them off into the woods.
That's my experience exactly. They grow particularly well in poor, clay-heavy acidic soil with anything from arid to wetland irrigation. And yes they make very effective natural landkeepers. An iris cluster will stop expanding once it reaches a certain size. I earned a lot of money as a child breaking up clusters, selling them and breeding them more.
I think they'd be a good match for Kay as they would do well in Florida conditions (poor soil, hot and wet) and are pretty hard to kill off. Since it's Florida, I'm sure she could find a market for the things, too.