Bearded Iris

Sun-Lover: Bearded Iris

Posted on by Ann Mackay

NB: A note for WordPress Reader users – you need to click on the title of the post again to come out of the reader and go to the post itself. This allows you to see the whole of the top photograph. (Otherwise you may see just a tiny section!)

This bearded iris (I believe it’s Iris germanica ‘Indian Chief’) burst into flower with a dramatic flourish during some recent hot weather. It’s glory didn’t last long. The short life of the flowers was made even shorter by heavy rain not long after I’d taken these photos. But I enjoyed seeing them while they lasted.

There would be more flowers on this iris if its rhizomes were not being overshadowed by a neighbouring geranium. The rhizomes really need to bake in the sun during summer. Unfortunately, however, I haven’t had time to do anything about the geranium’s sudden growth spurt and encroachment on the iris. It might be easiest to move the iris to a less crowded area and this is almost the right time to do it.

This is an amazingly active time in the garden, with the plants moving fast in growth and flowering. It’s a very busy time for me too, so it would be easy to miss the opportunity to enjoy and photograph those flowers that don’t last long. I’m glad I had the time to appreciate the iris’s presence before its flowers went over. Now I must decide whether to move it or the geranium…

Bearded Iris
Probably Iris germanica ‘Indian Chief’, a popular iris bred in the 1920s.
Unknown's avatar

Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

17 thoughts on “Sun-Lover: Bearded Iris”

  2. The bright yellow and pink reminds me of some of our Lantana. It’s a lovely combination, and not one I’d expect to see in an iris. I suppose that’s because it’s a cultivar, and I rarely see those. Most I come across are natives, and they tend toward lavenders, purples, and blues, with some yellow accents.

    Your comment form has changed — we’ll see if this goes through.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s a relief to see that the comment form still works. I’m hoping that it will remove any problems with folk being asked to log in. Phew! 🙂
      When I was a girl, I was entranced by the sight of the yellow native irises (Iris pseudacorus – yellow flag iris) that grew in the wet, boggy areas in the countryside near our home. They seemed quite exotic to me then!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes, I don’t know how folk cope with learning English as a foreign language, especially when you consider words that are spelt differently but pronounced the same too… 🙂

        Like

  3. A beautiful colour combination. That’s the trouble I find with these rhizome irises, they do need to have them baked in the summer months. I guess the clever thing to do is have them all in their own bed so nothing can interfere! I removed all my Iris pseudacorus a few years ago as they were mostly leaf and not flower. Or so I thought. Three spikes this month and one about to flower! They are in a position where the rhizomes are covered by Japanese anemones so I’m not sure what to make of that!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d love to be able to have a bed just for irises, but haven’t got room at the moment. That could change, though, as gardens do! 🙂 The Iris pseudacorus must be pretty tough to cope with the Japanese anemones!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Those colours are so warm and eye-catching! Love ’em. We’ve had so much rain this summer and autumn, it’s been unbelievably dreary weather-wise in my part of NZ. Hoping that soon I’ll have a little more time to catch up on a few of the many blog-posts I’ve missed during the last months. This is a beauty! Thanks Ann, and wishing you all the best with your garden.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Dramatic flourish, indeed, Ann. The colour combination of this particular iris is really eye-catching. We are enjoying our irises, too, and luckily they are lingering.
    I hope the right solution for your garden situation will reveal itself to you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Irises are wonderful for their colours and it would be tempting to buy more. Fitting them into the garden is another thing though – it’s getting crowded here in my wee patch! I think I’ll probably have to move this one, so will miss the flowers for a year.

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to Steve Schwartzman Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.