Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Teasing Iris

Multiple times I have complaint on this blog that bearded irises simply won't grow for me in my garden. Since I really love them, I always felt very disappointed about that.

I had five rhizomes of a white variety called 'Platinum', that were perishing in the front yard, saved from sure death by potting them up in plastic containers. They were sitting in my pot ghetto forever and weren't doing well in the containers either. So a few months ago I decided I will give bearded irises one last chance and planted two of those half-dead rhizomes in a different location in the 'White Garden Bed' in the back yard.



One was thriving almost from the get go, producing plenty of the lovely green-blue lance shaped leaves and presented me with one lovely flower stalk not too long ago, just reminding me how incredible beautiful bearded iris flowers are.




The one, which was flowering was planted in the background on the left side of the rose. The other one you can barely see on the right site of the rose, just planted a few feet away from the first, wasn't growing and wasn't dying. On closer inspection I found out that the soil surrounding that one was bone dry and the sprinkler were obviously not reaching it. At least this is a cause for not growing that I can understand and hopefully fix. So I fertilized the iris and water it deeply once or twice a week and see how it responds.




I think 'Platinum' is a particular beautiful, reblooming, tall, bearded iris variety. The color of the flower is a grey-ish white and it comes with a light yellow beard. The blooms look quite sophisticated in my eyes. The iris was bred by Byers and introduced 1994. Besides the unusual flower color it also has a great fragrance. For me this iris certainly is a show stopper!



I think that bearded iris are very nice plants when they are not in bloom as well. Their blue-ish green-ish lanced shaped leaves look stunning at any time. They make perfect companion plants for roses, but are nice partners for many other plants, too.




I am still not sure if I can grow bearded irises in my garden successfully in the long run. But after being able to enjoy these gorgeous blooms I am certainly motivated to give those beauties more time to find out if I somehow can make them feel at home here.




Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween!

See you in the garden!

Christina