When growing tall bearded iris season is over in June, it marks the end of iris bloom for the average gardener for another year.
So often, people have remarked to me, “Iris is very beautiful, but I don’t like that they have such a short blooming season!”
New pathways to adventure in iris-growing are now possible with varieties that bloom throughout the year’s four seasons.
Early spring, with its first crocus, brings IRIS RETICULATA into flower in our gardens.
This is a species well worth discovering. Its name is derived from the Latin word for a little net and conies from the network of fibrous roots forming the outer coat of the bulb.
Discovered by Bieberstein in the 19th century, it is a native of the Caucasus and is quite hardy.
The original Iris reticulata is blue or red-purple. It has no stem, as the flowers are borne on the short perianth tube.
Iris Reticulata Varieties
Two varieties, HISTROIDES and VARTANI, are especially worthy of note because an iris fancier in England reports success in potting them in mid-September, bringing them indoors, and having lovely blooms in January.
Histroides
Histroides, a native of Asia Minor, is blue-purple and Vartani, a native of Palestine, discovered by Dr. Vartan of Nazareth, is pale lavender gray.
Some varieties are spotted with blue on a white background, and the blooms give off a strong almond scent.
Iris of the reticulata group is like a well-drained soil rich in humus and does not lack lime.
They like a sheltered, sunny location in the garden for winter and early spring bloom.
Iris Japonica
Early spring also brings bus JAPONICA into the garden picture.
This lovely variety from central China and Japan belongs to the family of crested iris, also known as Evansia, in honor of Thomas Evans. He introduced them into England more than a century ago.
Their distinguishing characteristic is a linear crest instead of a beard.
Iris japonica’s blooms are so orchid-like that it is often called the “orchid iris.” For this reason, it is a great favorite in corsages.
Its blooming time is February and March; the blossoms are light lavender with a deep yellow crest and violet spots on the haft.
The flowers appear on 18” inches stems. Preferring a mild climate, it does well in filtered sunshine or afternoon shade and in light soil rich in humus.
Other Varieties
Other varieties include IRIS WATTI, native to the southern slopes of the Himalayas, has been crossed with Iris japonica to produce the hybrid NADA.
IRIS TECTORUNI from southwestern China is quite hardy, although it needs some winter protection and does best in rich black loam.
There is a lovely white form, but the lavender-purple is hardier. Bus GRACILIPES is a dainty little miniature, especially delightful in moist rock gardens. It is native to Japan.
Its lovely little ruffled flowers are lilac in color. IRIS CRISTATA, a native of the United States, is another growing delightful purple miniature. Given a cool spot in the rock garden, it will grow luxuriantly.
Juno Iris
Another group that merits wider acquaintance in this country is the April-blooming Juno iris.
Native to the shores of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, northern Mesopotamia, and Turkestan, and even up to the northwestern frontiers of India, these are bulbous iris and have characteristic thick, fleshy roots attached to the bulb.
Great care must be observed when transplanting not to break these roots.
IRIS ALATA, belonging to the Juno group, has been successfully grown in pots indoors in England.
When potted in mid-October, it will bloom before Christmas, and Iris alata is native to Spain, Sicily, and North Africa.
The blooms are blue and get its name “alata” because the haft of the fall, or outer edge of the flower, expands into two large wings that fold around and enclose the style branch.
Hence, the name “winged” or “butterfly” iris. The blooms, which appear on 2-inch stems, have a vanilla fragrance.
Other Juno iris also merits wider acquaintance. BUCHAMCA, a taller native of Bokhara, has yellow falls, a golden crest, a white haft, and white standards.
IRIS VICARIA is quite striking; it has frosted white flowers with a blue crest on each fall. These do well in a sunny, raised bed of rich soil.
SINDPERS, is a new introduction that is quite revolutionary in iris coloring-delft blue with an orange crest and green haft.
It likes a warm climate. but can be grown successfully in a cold frame in colder regions.
Regelias
Following the Junos, the Regelias make their appearance. Iris hoogiana is a favorite of this group. It is blue with a yellow beard.
The month of June brings the tall bearded iris, which is well known to most gardeners.
Recent hybridization has given many new colors to this group, about which a great deal has been written.
This month also brings in the exotic REGELIOCYCLUS, which is gaining popularity yearly.
They start to bloom a month before the tall bearded iris and finish about the same time.
Yellow Water-Flag Iris
In June too, the species, bus PSEUD/V. CORUS, the yellow water-flag iris, makes its appearance.
This medium-height plant grows along the river banks in England but will thrive in an iris border if the soil is well enriched with hummus.
Extending the tall bearded iris’ blooming season is bus SIBIRICA, which is exceptionally hardy.
There are many horticultural varieties in blue, white, and, more recently, red.
They like soil slightly on the acid side, which makes them more suited to a separate bed rather than in combination with the tall bearded iris.
English Iris
Following upon the heels of the tall bearded and Siberian iris comes the group mistakenly called English iris, which blooms in late June and early July.
They are derived from Iris xiphioides, native to the Pyrenees of Spain, but were taken to Bristol by seafaring men and later became so closely identified with the British Isles that they came to be known as English iris.
The blooms are delightful in their dainty pastel colorings, often mottled in hue, lending themselves exquisitely to the midsummer garden picture.
They do best in cool, moist, well-drained soil.
English iris are bulbous and closely related to the Dutch and Spanish iris.
Dutch iris flower about two weeks before the Spanish sorts and have larger flowers. There is a wide range of colors in the wide new varieties offered.
They should be planted in October and dug annually as soon as the foliage has withered.
Japanese Iris
Before their season ends, the dramatic Japanese iris takes the center of the stage.
The Japanese iris or IRIS KAEMPFERI was first introduced into Europe in 1857 by von Siebold, a Dutch physician, and was named for Dr. Kaempfer, another Dutch physician.
In culture, Iris kaempferi is opposite that of the tall bearded iris. The Japanese grow them where they are flooded in the spring and summer but drained in the winter.
They demand abundant water before and during their blooming season. They also like rich soil to which well-rotted barnyard manure has been added, and they can be grown in an acid soil similar to that required by rhododendrons.
Unlike any other iris, their blooms are flat, umbrella-like. The double varieties often have blooms as large as dinner plates on 2-foot stems.
In solid colors, they range from rich reddish purple splashed with gold at the haft to pure white similarly splashed with gold.
Besides these, one may choose from an infinite variety of mixed color patterns, striped, marbled, or veined in a veritable galaxy of rainbow tints, to which a luscious shade of raspberry has recently been introduced.
Truly, growing Japanese iris offers a fantasy of color that dazzles the beholder during their fabulous blooming season, which lasts through July.
Vesper Iris
In late July, August, and September, the pageantry of the iris is carried on by a little-known species, Iris Dichotomia.
It is also known as vesper iris, as it opens in the late afternoon and closes in the early evening. This iris is native to eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China.
These irises need a warm, sunny position in the garden with abundant water during midsummer when they grow before blooming.
Fall Blooming Iris Varieties
At the end of the summer, the tall bearded iris again enters the garden picture in the form of the fall-blooming varieties.
These varieties bloom in the spring, but in milder climates, and with a little persuasion, in some northern locations, they will bloom again in the fall.
Notable among these are SALLY ANN, a beautiful yellow so satiny in texture that it sparkles in the sun as if dusted with gold.
AUTUMN SUNSET, with standards of light bronzy-pink, dusted with gold and falls of crimson pink edged with bronze; and AUTUMN FLAME, a red wine bitone with velvety falls.
From November until March, we can have bus STYLOSA blooming in our gardens. This is the most well-known winter-blooming species, called Iris unguicularis.
It belongs to the beardless group and is native to Algeria, and to a lesser degree, the Greek Islands.
The flowers are blue or lavender with white reticulations and yellow markings on the falls and a sprinkling of gold on the narrow style.
This iris can bloom in our gardens at Christmastime, which may surprise many who never dreamed of iris blooms in terms of Christmas displays. It does well in dry, poor soil.
Mentioning this iris would not be complete without attention to some of the new, improved varieties.
Among these are:
- BRIDAL PINK, a clear pale orchid pink
- GAY, a deep lavender-blue that is almost violet
- LARGE FLOWERED, whose blooms are often 4” to 5” inches across, a bright lavender blue with a deep yellow signal patch.
Iris is not a one-month flower. By trying some of these interesting species from far-away lands, you can have irises blooming all year round.
Not only will they provide flowers at unusual times, but you will be amazed at their vast diversity of form and color.
44659 by Rosalie Claire Tempest