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Bearded iris: impressive large flowers
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The Iris Germanica or bearded iris originates, contrary to what its name suggests, from Southern Europe. This perennial is a real eye catcher in any garden and comes into flower as soon as tulips and narcissi have left off late May and blooms throughout June.
Bearded iris
Bearded iris (Iris germanica) get their name from the 'beard' on the flower. They have a tuber-like rootstock and grow between 50 and 95 cm tall. Bearded iris come in many spectacular colours. They flower mainly in June and are real sun lovers. They prefer a dry south-facing spot. The foliage and the flower do not cast any shadow do not throw a shadow on the tuber. Bearded Iris like a limy soil that stays reasonably dry even in winter.
Exotic flowers
Their beauty, fragrance and the amazing colour of the enormous (over 10 cm) fantastically shaped flowers on their almost 1 m tall stalks gives them an almost exotic appearance. Everyone knows the purple and lilac coloured varieties but there are even more impressive. The almost black flowers of 'Study in Black' for instance, the very rare bright blue coloured flowers of 'Sapphire Hills', the bright orange 'Glazed Orange' or the extraordinary 'Siva Siva' with its bronze flowers and brown speckled beard.
Rejuvenation for 'everlasting' flowers
To keep them flowering to the full they should be moved every few years. The rootstock is the food storage for the plant. Each year food is taken out of the rootstock and after a few years they will not flower anymore. By taking the tubers up, dividing them and re-planting the younger parts in fresh soil, the Iris will start flowering again. August is a good time for this.
1. Take the rootstocks up carefully.
2. Remove all old parts and cut the roots back with a third.
3. Remove all sagging foliage from the cut rootstocks.
4. Cut the remaining foliage back to about 20 cm.
5. Plant the young rootstocks in a sunny spot, with half of the rootstocks above the ground. As they are quite loose in the soil it is best to secure them with two sticks or a piece of wire for the first weeks.
Combinations with other plants
Bearded iris look stunning in the company of other flowering plants like columbine, allium and poppy, but planted as a homogenus group almost like a specimen plant, they form a beautiful focal point.
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