I am struggling with the concept of Bearded Iris in a border, as @Rubytoo mentioned earlier, if the rhizomes need to be part-exposed and baked in full sun, so presumably front of border, how do you hide the tatty leaves once the all-to-brief flowering is over? What do others plant in front of theirs that exposes the rhizomes sufficiently and yet does the hiding job well??
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Too early for beardeds yet here, but the sibiricas would be a good choice if you want something easier and more forgiving. Lots of subtle colours as well as dark ones. The Dutch irises are a different beast altogether, and won't return year on year either. They're good if you want a simple display, especially in pots, to go with something else - almost treat them as an annual. One of my favourites is the chrysographes iris which is more like the sibirica - smaller, and likes a moister soil, and flowers like velvet. Mine are just flowering now. I don't have a current pic, but this is from a couple of years ago
Hi Fairygirl, I planted some Dutch irises six years ago, 3 bulbs in one position and two in another and I now have 17 and 14 flowers respectively. One is yellow and the other yellow and white.
The above photo is my iris in the pond edge. It’s about 3 to 4 ft and is just starting to flower. Been there about ten years and I would love another colour if someone could identify this one for me. Especially a white one. Thanks Val
I am struggling with the concept of Bearded Iris in a border, as @Rubytoo mentioned earlier, if the rhizomes need to be part-exposed and baked in full sun, so presumably front of border, how do you hide the tatty leaves once the all-to-brief flowering is over? What do others plant in front of theirs that exposes the rhizomes sufficiently and yet does the hiding job well??
I find the foliage still looks quite nice even after the flowering. I don’t grow anything round my irises as I’ve found they hate the shading/competition. So I agree it is a disadvantage of growing them, but on the plus side they have great flowers, never get any slug damage and thrive in drought
Thanks @DB gardener, you're right in that the foliage still looks OK (I just remembered I have a big inherited pot of yellow ones!). My borders, on the other hand, are hard-won things as the ground is very rocky, so involves making raised beds as some considerable time and expense. Plants need to earn their place or at least need something to take over when the irises are over... maybe they are not for me, border-wise. They are lovely though...
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@DB gardener Do you find that the irises are usually taller than your purple alliums at the back? I'm looking for something tall to plant at the back of the border that will pop up behind a shrub which is a couple of feet tall. I've looked at a few things with tall flowers but hadn't ever considered irises! Dare I say I find them a bit weird to look at. Normally I liked weird things!
Those aliums are the variety purple sensation and are a little shorter than the irises. However there are definitely taller alliums that would work. I have giganteum which would tower above a 2ft shrub and the shrub would do a good job of hiding the tatty alium foliage.
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