Most Spectacular Iris in Bloom Now…The Japanese Iris

May 1, 2009 at 3:50 am · Filed under Iris, Summer

Here we are entering the month of June and with it the last of the large iris family. The Japanese iris are the most spectacular of all iris, having blooms to over 1 foot across and brilliant colors, deepest cobalt blue,violet, purples, pure whites, pink, variegated patterns and veins contrasting with the base color of the petals.
Dramatic clean foliage, always nice looking, even after the flowers finish. These iris like moisture and must have acid soil in order to thrive. They like heavy fertilizing with acid plant food as well, this promotes strong vigorous growth. Under good culture, these plants can grow to over 5 ft tall, and have 3+ branches, thus promoting more flowers, extending the flowering season.
a somewhat daunting thing about them is that most have Japanese names, so to the average gardener, in person inspection to see those blooms is necessary. In many cases, a paragraph is needed to describe the color patterns of the flowers, so varied are the blooms.
Petals can number between 3 and 6 most often, but some varieties have 9 ormore petals. Iris are classed as having two basic types of petals, upright petals are usually shorter in Japanese iris and are called standards, the lower, often hanging petals are called falls. Depending on variety, standards can develop into falls, and other floral parts, stamens, etc. can also become falls, thus giving a more ‘double’ shaped bloom with numerous petals.
three fall varieites are the classic types, proportions are exquisite. The six fall types give the impression of a rounded flower, some people call them ‘dinner plate’ shaped flowers. Here the petals can be held to the horizontal or can hang. These are very showy, since the petals are large and there are more of them than ‘singles’/ three fall cvs.
Of course, multiple petalled forms present an even fuller blossom since there are many more larger petals often giving the impression of a very double flower or pom pom.
The styles (female parts of the iris flowers) can also be multiple and also give quite a contrasting show of color to the blooms. In some cvs. they can look like pom poms in the center of the flowers. If they are of a contrasting color to the petals, they can give a bicolor effet to the blossom.
These iris can be grown in water, but do not need it to thrive. They need a lot of water and will do fine in any perennial border. Just give additional water.
They can also be grown as bog plants or on the shore of bodies of water. They look lovely planted near water, or in water. Just let them not be in water in winter since they can die if the water freezes.
These iris have been bred and cultivated in Japan for over 200 years and have been developed into the largest flowering of all iris. as the dark colors are in the blue range, they give a truly spectacular effect when in bloom. If dark forms are planted with whites, the effect is beyond compare….it is so spectacular, it will remain a cherished memory forever in the mind’s eye.

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