Iris Home Page

	In early fall, plant your Dutch Iris (Iris Xiphium) bulbs 3-4" deep and 3-4" apart in light, fertile, well-drained soil. Dutch Iris prefer bright, sunny locations but can live in partial shade. If you have clay-heavy soil, add some coarse sand and humus. Irises enjoy a low-nitrogen fertilizer. Set the bulb firmly to hold the plant in place. Make sure the bulb is near the surface. One technique is to dig two trenches with a ridge between them. Place the bulbs on the ridge. Firm the soil tightly and allow enough for settling to keep the bulbs above any possible standing water. Then fill the trenches with soil. The top of the bulb should be just beneath the surface of the soil. If you have several plants, plant them at least a foot and a half apart, "facing" the same way.
Japanese Iris prefer bright, sunny locations but can live in partial shade. They require high soil moisture and a fair amount of feeding throughout their growth period. Space plants 2 feet or more apart in heavy soil, amended with compost and peat. No lime! Wait until you see new growth before fertilizing, then feed again just before bloom. Japanese Iris are also a favorite water plant grown in containers in pond shallows. The best time to plant bearded iris is July through September. This allows enough time for the flowers to become established before winter. In a well-cultivated bed, dig a shallow hole large enough for the rhizome clump. Create a mound of soil in the center of the hole. Make sure the mound is high enough to allow the top of the rhizome to poke out slightly above the soil level. Spread the roots around the mound, fill it with soil and water. For a colorful group planting, plant at least three rhizomes (about 8-10” apart) or plant undivided clumps. Be sure to point each fan of leaves away from the center of the group. Before flowering, water plants often enough to keep the soil moist but not soaked. Apply mulch to fall-planted irises to reduce winter heaving.
	Over time iris clumps become crowded and the blooms may suffer. But it is easy to spread out your irises and encourage new growth. In late summer, carefully lift the entire clump with a garden fork. Cut apart the new, younger sections from the original center rhizome, then replant. You may want to let the rhizomes dry in the sun for a day before replanting. Unless you see new buds coming off the center rhizome, discard it -- it is past its prime and unlikely to bloom a second time. The “babies” are what you want to save.

Some of our Favorite Iris:
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Cool Shades Dutch Iris Mixture
	Create an oasis of tranquility in your backyard with these gorgeous Dutch Irises, now available in shimmering shades of blue, lilac, and white. Planted in large drifts, their long-lasting blooms will give your beds the look of a cool, clear stream. Sure to be the highlight of your early summer garden and bouquets. Zones 5-9. 9-10 cm bulbs. (buy)

Tall Dutch Iris Collection

Sparkling colour for your late spring garden! Slender and graceful, Tall Dutch Irises introduced a refined elegance to your garden design, Sword-shaped foliage provides architectural contrast to the delicate, papery petals of these long-liver flowers. Offered in watercolour shades of purple, blue and white these artistic flowers are widely grown for the floral industry. Large, elegant blooms grace the garden for weeks. 8-9 cm bulbs. (buy)

Eye of the Tiger Dutch Iris
	Exotic-looking Eye of the Tiger intrigues with its unusual combination of violet-blue standards, bronze falls and yellow eye. The deeply-hued, 4" blooms make the perfect foil for other late spring-blooming bulbs, such as other irises, anemones, alliums and Asiatic lilies. Take the fantasy indoors by cutting lovely bouquets. Zones 5-9. 7-8 cm bulbs. (buy)

Quick Iris Fact:

Iris is a genus of flowering plants with showy flowers which takes its name from the Latin word for rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species as well as countless garden cultivars. While Iris is the scientific name for the genus, 'iris' is also very widely used as a common name and refers to all all Iris as well as several closely-related genera. Iris is also applied to a subdivision within the genus.

There are many species of Iris, widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone. Their habitats are very varied and range from cold regions into the grassy slopes, meadowlands, stream banks and deserts of Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, Asia and across North America. Elevation is of not much importance.

These are perennial herbs growing from creeping rhizomes (rhizomatous irises), or, in drier climates, from bulbs (bulbous irises). They have long, erect, flowering stems. These may be simple or branched, solid or hollow. These stalks may be flattened or have a circular transverse section. There are 3 - 10 basal, sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris

Iris Cultivation:

The bearded iris variety is for the most part the easiest to cultivate and the most easily propagated. They have become very popular in the garden. They grow in any good free garden soil, the smaller and more delicate species needing only the aid of turfy ingredients, either peaty or loamy, to keep it light and open in texture. The earliest to bloom are the dwarf forms of Iris pumila, which blossom during March, April and May; and during the latter month and the following one most of the larger growing 'tall bearded' varieties, such as I. germanica, florentina, pallida, variegata, amoena, flavescens, sambucina, neglecta, ruthenica and their modern hybrids, produce their flowers. Iris unguicularis (or stylosa) is a remarkable winter flowering species from Algeria, with sky-blue flowers blotched with yellow, produced (in the Northern Hemisphere) at irregular intervals from November to March, the bleakest period of the year.

Many other smaller species of bulbous iris, being liable to perish from excess of moisture, should have a well-drained bed of good but porous soil made up for them, in some sunny spot, and in winter should be protected by a 6-in, covering of half-decayed leaves or fresh coco-fibre refuse. To this set belong milifolia, junonia, danfordiae, reichenbachii and others which flower as early as February and March.

The cushion irises are somewhat fastidious growers, and to be successful with them they must be planted rather shallow in very gritty well-drained soil. They should not be disturbed in the autumn, and after the leaves have withered the roots should be protected from heavy rains until growth starts again naturaily.