Iris

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Iris:

Growing Iris

Iris are beautiful and rewarding plants. Their flowering period is short but this is more compensated by the sheer exuberance of their blooms. Also, don't forget that the blue-green, sword shaped leaves add long-lasting appeal to the border in their own right.

You need to know which type of Iris you are growing as conditions vary greatly - there are water Iris, species that grow in the desert and everything in between.

Iris flowers have their own structure and terminology. The upper petals that normally stick up are called standards, the lower petals falls. Some have a row of coloured hairs on the falls called beards. Some have a thickened section of petal along the middle of the falls called guides as they guide bees to the nectar and pollen.

Iris pests and problems:

Leaves eaten along the edges in May / June: Look out for the small black-headed grey caterpillars of Iris Sawfly on water Iris. Easy to squash by hand (go on don't be squeamish - its them or your Irises!). Look every few days as new caterpillars hatch out over time.

Leaves may be spotted. This is due to a fungal infection caused mainly by poor air circulation. Ignore or spray.

Soft evil-smelling rhizomes can occur on bearded irises in late spring. This is due to bacteria entering through damage or at old leave joints. Cut off rotten parts, cutting back into healthy tissue. Sterilise knife before and after each cut.

Bearded Iris:

These grow from a thick, branched rhizome which must not be completely buried but planted horizontally with the top of the rhizome exposed to the sun. Best on well-drained to normal soils. If planting in moist soils place the rhizome on top of a bed of grit and then fill in around them with soil mixed with grit. Give tem as much sun as possible and don't allow other plants to flop over them in summer. Flowering is in May - June. All are fragrant.

Flowering heights are classified as follows Short or Miniature: 6 - 12in, Medium 12 - 30in, Tall 30in - 48in

Iris Berkeley Gold: Tall bearded with large golden flowers and beards.

Iris Braithwaite: Tall bearded with beautifully coloured flowers in pale and rich purple.

Iris Carnaby: Tall bearded with pale creamy standards and raspberry falls.

Iris Carnival Time: Flamboyant tall bearded with marmalade standards and russet falls and gold beards.

Iris Quechee: Tall bearded with attractive two tone flowers - pale ruby standards and velvety, deep ruby falls. A stunner.

Iris Rocket: Amber flowered tall bearded with masses of blooms.

Iris chrysographes: The name refers to the gold pencil lines that often adorn the petals of these lovely Iris.

Said to prefer moist soils but also does well for us in fairly dry, half shade. May not like very limey soils. Bulks up quickly and flowers from mid July.

Iris chrysographes 'Mandarin Purple' Deep purple with the typical chrysographes gold pen lines. About 2ft 6in / 75cm tall.

Hybrid Iris:

Iris 'Holden Clough': A hybrid between Iris pseudacorus and another, possibly chrystographes. Vigorous and healthy. About 2ft 9in - 3ft tall and fairly quickly clumping to 1ft 6in - 2ft across. Flowers May - early July.

Sibirica Iris:

These Iris do not need moist soil to thrive. They have flattened flowers on tall stems in June. The basic species is blue, as are many of the cultivars. There are also white, yellow, mauve and mixed colours available. Divide after flowering. We find it is best to break up into good-sized clumps if planting back into the garden - single stems will provide lots of plants but these need a lot of care and time to form strong plants. Cut the dead stems down to the ground in winter.

Iris sibirica 'Cool Spring': Deep cool blue. Flowering quite early for a sibirica - from mid May until the end of June. About 2ft 9in tall.

Iris sibirica 'Gerbel Mantel': Intricately patterned standards and falls in shades of lemon and pale violet-blue. About 2ft 6in / 75cm tall. Vigorous and robust despite its delicate patterning.

Iris sibirica 'Melton Red Flare': Red-purple flowers with shining gold patches, deeper purple standards.. Often cited as reaching 90cm / 3ft tall, but in our garden is more like 60cm / 2ft. Flowers June to July.

Far superior to the similar but rather murky variety 'Sparkling Rose'

Iris sibirica 'Sliver Edge': Lovely deep blue flowers with a fine, glistening silver edge to the petals.. 2ft 9in tall. Flowers May-July.

RHS Award of Garden Merit.