My Corner Online

Flower Index Index by Family 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6

Iris | Iris

2017 April 14

2018 April 30

2019 April 26

2022 March 10 Wild Blue Iris

2022 May 6

2023 April 17

2024 April 7

Iris | Iris

Iridaceae (Iris Family) Pronounced Eye-reh-DAY-see-eye

The common name is the scientific name as well.

A NOID is an iris with "no ID." It is an Iris an unknown that has lost its name or never had a name.

The species in my garden.

Wild Blue Iris Reticulata 'Harmony' ( no longer blooming)

A. Bearded Iris 'Pure as Gold' - (2020) bright yellow with ruffled edges (Bloomed in 2021, lost)

B. Bearded Iris 'Hemstitched' - (2020) Bicolor – Lilac Falls, White Standards (do I have it?)

C. Bearded Iris 'Cherry Blossom Song' - (2020) - Purple Falls, Light Pink Standards (I have it!)

D. Bearded Iris 'Easter Candy' - (2020) - Blue/Purple Falls, Yellow Standards with ruffled edges (Never Saw)

E. Wild Blue Iris Reticulata 'Harmony (2020) - Dwarf Bulb Iris

Iris cristata | Crested Iris (2020) (5 - 10 inches)

NOID#1 - (2011 and before) - All bright yellow, yellow beard

NOID#2 – (2011 and before) - Pale yellow with veins - I do not like this one and am pulling them in 2024

NOID#3 - (2011 and before) - Dark purple Falls, Light Purple Standards, yellow beards

NOID#4 - (2018 and before) - Deep burgundy Falls, Light maroon standards, white veins, yellow center with purple stripes; this is my favorite of the ones that were in my yard when we moved in

NOID#5 - (2018 and before) - All dark purple, with white veins and white beards

Observing the parts of the Iris are best to understanding it better.

TEPALS

An iris has two types of tepals called 'standards' (petals) and ‘falls’ (sepals) and together they are called tepals.

The standards are three petals that are standing straight up.

The falls are the three sepals that are curved downwards. There are often veins on the falls.

BEARD

The beard is a fuzzy patch at the base of each falls petal.

Don’t be fooled by a color patch in this same location. If the petal is not fuzzy, it is not bearded.

CREST (Non-bearded)

An Iris with a crest has no beard! It is Non-bearded. A crest is raised tissue that is located in the same spot as a beard described as a ridge or cockscomb. You can see and feel the higher crest but it will not be fuzzy.

LEAVES

The Iris has 3 – 10 sword-shaped leaves.

POLLINATION PARTS

Remove the long thin anther (part of the stamen) (father) that has pollen on it with tweezers and rub it on the stigma (mother) of this plant or another to cross-pollenate. The anther is under the stigmatic lip. The stigma is under the style arm. Do all three sets on the flower.

The stamen is the male part that is made up of the anther at the top and the stalk or filament that supports the anther. The pistil is the female part which is made up of the sticky-surface stigma at the top and the pollen.

BUD AND SPATHE

The bud comes out of the spathe. The spathe is also known as the bract.

RHIZOME OR BULB

This is step one to identifying an Iris.

A bulb is a round or tear-shaped bundled package with everything a flower needs to grow that is planted underground.

A rhizome is a horizontal-shaped elongated plant stem that grows underground from which roots grow down and shoots grow up into a new plant.

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The American Iris Society has official classifications for Iris with abbreviations, and descriptions.

Iris Encyclopedia

BULB IRIS

Iris Reticulata | Dwarf Iris | Netted Iris

Pronounced EYE-riss Reh-tik-yoo-LAY-tah

If your plant has a bulb and blooms in early spring along with snow drops and before tulips, it is a reticulata type.

Iris hollandica | Dutch Iris

If your plant has a bulb and blooms in mid-summer it will be a Dutch type.

RHIZOME IRIS

Iris pseudacorus | Beardless Iris

--Siberian Iris (SIB) 24 to 48 inches

These are hybrids mostly from two blue-flowered Asian species: Iris sibirica and Iris sanguinea. Grass-like foliage after bloom is attractive. Blooms after TB.

--Louisiana Iris (LA)

Lacks the fuzzy, downturned beards. These are hybrids from five native species most prevalent in the Gulf Coast area: Iris fulva, Iris hexagona, Iris brevicaulis, Iris giganticaerulea, and Iris nelsonii.

--Iris ensata | Japanese Iris (JI)

Has large blooms. 'Amethyst's Sister' and 'Freckled Peacock' often exceed four feet in height. Blooms a month after TB.

--Spurias (SPU) 24 to 60 inches

Flower similar to an orchid

--Pacific Coast Natives (PCN) or Californicae (CA)

Intolerant of climatic conditions so not often grown.

--Species

Iris confusa (Evansia) requires conditions similar to azaleas

Iris missouriensis likes wet springs and dry summers.

--Iris pseudacorus | Yellow Flag Iris

This Iris is invasive and thrives in the wetlands. It should be grown responsibly so as to prevent it from escaping into nearby wild areas, especially lake areas. It is best controlled in containers.

Iris germanica | Bearded Iris, German Bearded Iris

The categories are by height, shortest to tallest.

--Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) 8 inches

Early bloom. Great for rock gardens and a carpet of color.

--Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) 8 to 16 inches

Bloom as the MDBs are ending. Best in clumps

--Intermediate Bearded (IB) 16 to 27 ½ inches

Bloom season overlaps SBDs and TBs. Great for bouquets.

--Border Bearded (BB) 16 to 27 ½ inches

Small versions of the TBs, blooming at same time as TBs.

--Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB) 16 to 27 ½ inches

Dainty and delicate flowers smaller than BBs. Often called "T

and the stems are thin and wiry. An MTB clump looks like a cloud of butterflies. They are often called “Table Irises” because they are so well suited for arrangements.

--Tall Bearded (TB) 27 1/2 inches and up

Branching and many buds. Look for ruffling and lacing varieties

Iris cristata and Iris tectorum – Crested Iris

A crest is raised tissue that is located in the same spot as a beard described as a ridge or cockscomb. You can see and feel the higher crest but it will not be fuzzy.

2024

This is NOID#2 and I just do not have a good feeling when I see them in the garden. At first, in 2024, I was going to create their own patch, but in the end I decided to pull them. They pale yellow is lackluster although the half lines (that I call veins) are interesting. These have been in my yard since before I moved in, in 1986.

NOID#5

NOID#5 I decided to share one photo of the bud before it opened.

NOID#1 This is prolific in my garden! In 2024 I have given away or thrown away hundreds, if not a thousand of these. I am keeping one patch because they do really make my yard bright, but they drown out all other Iris. If it blooms yellow, it goes! Any others are being marked by yarn and I am going to dig them when it is safe after July 4 and move them into patches of like kind. I will still have a patch of those that have not bloomed in 2024 and each year I will do the same, marking them to move them later in the year, or pull them if they are yellow, until all unknown are gone. I do like that I am finally organizing my Iris after all these years.

NOID#2

NOID#2 I am keeping these on the website as I may never see them again.

NOID#4 is my favorite of the old Iris in my garden. I was so glad to see one of them bloom this year.

NOID#4

These two photos were taken at the SEMO Iris Society Iris show in Cape Girardeau while filming the above video (it's at the end of the video).

C. Bearded Iris 'Cherry Blossom Song'

2023

I took few photos in 2023 because hubby and I were having our fued. These were just to mark the first bloom date.

2022

E. Wild Blue Iris Reticulata 'Harmony

NOID#1 In 2024, these have all now been removed from the front garden bed. I am going to miss them, but then again look forward to doing something new with the bed. Only the Cherry Blossom Song one remains in this bed.

NOID#1

NOID #5

A. Bearded Iris 'Pure as Gold'

C. Bearded Iris 'Cherry Blossom Song'

NOID#2 and NOID#3 and NOID#5

NOID#2

NOID #5

ris cristata | Crested Iris (2020) (5 - 10 inches)

E. Wild Blue Iris Reticulata 'Harmony

2020

D. Bearded Iris 'Easter Candy' - (2020)

C. Bearded Iris 'Cherry Blossom Song'

B. Bearded Iris 'Hemstitched' - (2020) Bicolor

E. Wild Blue Iris Reticulata 'Harmony

A. Bearded Iris 'Pure as Gold' - (2020)

Iris cristata | Crested Iris (5 - 10 inches)

NOID#1 looks great with the Allium!

I need to plant some Allium in the Autumn of 2024 near my one new patch of NOID#1.

NOID#1

NOID#5

2019

NOID#1 with Spiderwort

NOID#1 and NOID#2 and NOID#4

NOID#1

NOID#3

NOID#4

NOID#2

NOID#1

NOID#3

NOID#4

2018

NOID#1

2017

These photos were taken of the Hybridizer O. David Niswonger (1925-2022) gardens and he is in his scooter. I would visit him once a year when I saw him out in his garden as we lived near each other. Near the end of his life, I would watch him crawl out of his scooter (and I believe his wheelchair too in the last years) to crawl on the ground to care for his Iris. He was one determined man! He had another Iris garden in Gordonville that I never saw. He is world famous for the many Iris he created. I wonder if some of my NOID's that were in my yard before I moved in were not from his collection.