The Bearded Iris – a graceful worker

One of my all time favourite plants has to be the Bearded Iris. Its leaves are sculputral, the flowers are soft, ruffled and exotic looking and you can get some incredible colours and colour combinations.

But as you will have seen in my blog on Erigeron, a plant has to tick three other boxes to be one of my favourites. It needs to be versatile, easy to care for and easy to propogate.

The Bearded Iris delivers on all these fronts too.

Bearded Iris – versatile

You often see Bearded Irises standing like soldiers outside houses, but you can use them in many other ways.

For instance, I’ve planted them in a mixed border along with hellebores, roses, stachys and white astrantia. The border is in front of my garden’s ugliest shed. It’s my ambition to demolish it one day. However, it’s used as a sort of gym by my kids, so it’s not coming down any time soon! Clearly I’ve got to make the best of it. That’s where the border, with the Bearded Irises comes in. The majestic plants make the shed almost look classy!

It’s not just the flowers which work so well with an Iris. Its sword-like leaves, with their straight edges, are so impactful. The hard lines contrast nicely with the soft leaves of the Stachys (Lamb Ear). In fact it’s one of my top plant combinations. Equally, the Bearded Iris stems silhouette very effectively against walls and other hard surfaces, even when they’re not in flower.

To prove this point, I’ve just stood in my sitting room and photographed the shed in the pouring rain. The shed is a good 65 feet away, the light is terrible and the Bearded Irises are no longer in bloom. Yet the Iris stems and leaves still look great against the stonework. That’s why I generally leave the spent flowers stems on until winter.

Bearded Iris – good in tricky spots

The Bearded Iris also works in tricky spots. For instance, the bed outside my potting shed is very very shallow. It gets incredibly hot and dry there. It hasn’t much soil and the shed is covered in ivy. So while it looks lovely (like something a Hobbit might live in) it’s awkward when it comes to planting. However, my Bearded Irises work here beautifully.

Planted alongside Euphorbia Martini and my old friend Stachys, the Bearded Iris provides formality to the bed. The bed could look a bit of a mess – especially against the ivy. However, I think the sculpted Iris leaves, create a strong shape. The whole effect combines well with the lavender hedge running the other side of the path.

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Bearded Irises – perfect in a pot

You can also use Bearded Irises in pots. I’ve read that wide and shallow pots are better than narrow and deep ones for irises. And you must check the drainage is good.

I’ve never put them in a pot before. I cannot think why, especially given that I’m such a potahollic (67 pots and counting)! So that’s going to be a next project.

Beared Irises – where to buy

When looking for Irises you might like to check out The English Iris Company. They’re a new find for me. The company has an incredible specialist collection of British Irises to choose from. All bred for this climate. If you have a moment, do take a look at the company’s website. It has a facinating history/pedigree – rooted in the work of the founder’s father, Bryan Dodsworth, who over 50 years of Iris hybridising created what became a national collection.

Some Like it Hot!

I’ve just ordered some hot coloured irises from The English Iris Company to replace the ones in front of my potting shed. Although my mauve ones I have there already look good shape-wise, I think the colours in the bed could work better. So I’m going to switch-up the colour scheme, by having oranges, reds and yellows. (I’m going to blog separately about this hot colour planting in future weeks).

When looking for Bearded Irises in hot colours I was utterly spoilt for choice on the English Iris Company site.

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After much deliberation I have gone for Old Hall and Red Kite. I think this hot combination will look incredible against the cool, dark green ivy on my potting shed.

Tips for Caring for your Bearded Iris

A plant needs to be easy to care for to be one of my top plants. I think Irises are. They’re pretty disease and pest resistant. So long as you have put them in a well draining, sunny spot to start with, it’s all pretty straightforward.

• Feed with bonemeal in the Spring and Autumn – don’t give a nitrogen feed as if you do you will get all leaves!
• I leave the flower stems (spikes) on until the winter as I think they look good. Tidy them up by removing in November, I do this by hand, pushing at the base of the flower spike.
• The experts say to also trim back the leaves in winter to a 6-inch fan shape. This helps keep the plant clean, healthy and prevents slugs. I’ve not typically done this – but will definitely put it on my ‘to do’ list for this winter.
• Every 4 or so years divide up the clumps, as if they become too congested they stop flowering.

Easy to propogate by division – here’s how

Another reason why the Beareded Iris is one of my top plants is that it’s easy to increase your stock of the plant through division. After all my entire garden’s collection of 50 mauve Bearded Irises has come from 3 or 4 original plants!

Here’s how it’s done.

• Wait till flowering is over.
• But don’t leave it too long. The plants will need some time to create new growth before they go into dormancy.
• Using a fork lift the clump, taking care not to spike the rhizome (the bulbous tuber-type part).
• I separate the rhizomes by hand, discarding the old damaged bits.
• For each plant you want some rhizome, with leaves and roots.
• Cut the leaves down to about 6 inches – so when it’s replanted the plant isn’t easily blown over in the wind.
• Bury the healthy plant in a sunny spot – relatively shallowly, and spaced about 9-12 inches apart.
• The rhizome needs to be protruding from the soil. This is really important as it needs to bake in the sun – it’s the baking that creates the flower cells aparently.
• So if you are planting the Iris in a mixed border think about the other plants near it. You want to take care that they aren’t blocking the rhizome’s access to the sun.
• If it’s really dry you will want to water your newly replanted Irises for the first few days to settle them in, but don’t overwater them.

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Bearded Iris – great for gravel drives

As a result of this division technique, from four plants I’ve been able to add mauve Bearded Irises to many beds and borders. I’ve even moved a number to the front of my house, where they grow directy in the gravel. It’s a south facing spot, so it’s very sunny and thanks to the gravel it offers lots of drainage. All in all it’s perfect for a Bearded Iris.

To be honest, when I first thought of planting them in the drive I didn’t think it would be possible. We’ve replenished the gravel over the years, so as you can imagine the driveway has over 25 years’ worth of compacted stones! Digging down to create holes for the plants is hard work. But if you persevere (I use a metal spike and then a trowel) you do eventually scrape away enough to reach soil. And the resultant spot drains beautifully because it has so much gravel in it! The Irises love it. So if you have a gravel drive like ours, Bearded Irises may be ideal!

Here are some Irises (those with the chopped leaves) which I have replanted alongside some more established ones. With swathes of 20 identical irises like this either side of the front door, I’m hoping for quite a show in future years.

The luck of the Iris!

So that’s it. For their gorgeous colour, exotic looks, statuesque form even when not in bloom and the ease with which you can divide and grow your supply, the Bearded Iris takes some beating. And the ideal planting time is June to October…so what are you waiting for!