Bearded Iris

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General Description/History

Unlike the popular Dutch iris, bearded iris is only available as a cut flower for a few weeks in late spring. They are more spectacular than their Dutch cousins with larger flowers and a much wider array of colours. Each flower is made up of 3 large drooping sepals and 3 smaller, upright petals. Each bud can produce up to 3 flowers.

Bearded iris come in an astonishing range of colours – everything from pure white to red, peach, mauve, dark blue and even black. Many forms have two or more colours per flower. They are very popular garden flowers, and are as tough as old boots. This toughness combined with their glorious flowers explains to a large degree their popularity in Australian gardens.

Bearded iris is grown from a tuber as a field crop. Most are grown in Victoria and NSW.

What to look for

  • Buy when the upper bud is coloured, but not open;
  • Avoid bunches with yellow or dried leaves.

Flower Care

  1. Keep cool at all times.
  2. Strip leaves from the lower half of each stem and wash stem ends thoroughly.
  3. Recut at least 2 cm off each branch and place in water immediately.
  4. Always use a preservative as this will help buds open.
  5. Replace vase water with fresh preservative every day.
  6. Pull off each spent flower, as this will encourage the other flowers in a bud to develop. These will be smaller and not as brightly coloured as the first flower.

Interesting Facts about this Flower

Bearded iris have been popular for centuries in Europe. It was named by the father of botany, Carl Linnaeus (snr).

It is possibly the flower depicted in the fleur de lys, and the Illyrian iris of the ancients. Fleur de lys, or fleur de luce means ‘lily flower’ or ‘flower of light’ and can be seen on many European royal crests, such as that of the King of France. In fact, it is not a lily, but an iris.

Botanical Name: Iris germanica

Common Names: Bearded Iris, German Iris

Stem Length: 40 to 100 cm

Country of Origin: Central Europe

Available Colours: Black, Blue, Orange, Purple, White, Yellow

Season: Spring

Availability: September,October,November