Irises; Bearded or Siberian... Beautiful
By Jos Van Hage
Saturday, July 18, 2009 03:45 AM
Irises have been a favorite perennial in the garden for many years. The bearded iris varieties and the Siberian iris varieties both do very well in our northern Prince George climate. They are a grassy plant with attractive foliage so when they are not in bloom the plant still looks good in the landscape. Bearded Iris have broad, flat, sword like leaves while the Siberian iris leaves are narrower, and taller and more similar to grass.The flowers on a bearded iris are larger. They consist of three upright petals, called standards and three petals facing down called the falls and the fuzzy hairs on the falls are called the beard. They come in a wide range of color with many varieties having multi colored blossoms, and bloom in early summer. The Siberian iris flowers are similar but are smaller and more delicate looking. They tend to bloom a little later in the season, usually after the bearded iris has finished blooming the Siberian iris will start to bloom. When the flower is finished on the Siberian iris it will produce an interesting looking seed pod which can be used in floral displays. Both types are equally beautiful and I would have a hard time to choose one over the other.
Bearded irises are grown from rhizomes that can be bought in the spring or you can purchase the plant already grown in a container. They like to be grown in a full sun location, with good drainage as they may rot if the soil is too soggy. Do not plant the rhizome too deep as they prefer to be barely covered or if on heavy soil allow the top of the rhizome to be slightly on top of the soil. Irises spread out over the years and the center will die out so every 3-4 years they should be divided and replanted. This is done after they have finished blooming. Some varieties to look for are ‘Storm’, ‘Silverado’, ‘Tennison Ridge’, ‘Fireplace Embers’, ’Night live’, and ‘Immortaltiy’ all of which are a zone 3 and will do well here.
Siberian iris does best in full sun to partial shade. They tolerate wet conditions very well and prefer not to dry out. They are slower growing and only need to be divisioned every 8-10 years which is done in the fall. They are very hardy and a few varieties of Siberian iris that do well here are ‘Snow Queen’, ‘Butter Sugar’, ‘Chilled Wine’, and ‘Sky Wings’.
Irises are an easy to care for perennial that do not need a lot of upkeep. Although their bloom time is short (3-4 weeks) it is certainly very showy and the foliage is also an attractive asset to the landscape. In our yard we have both the bearded iris and the Siberian iris and they both do equally well and because they bloom at different times we have irises blooming for many weeks!
-Jos
Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George
- Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road
- Highway 16 West at Kimball Road
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Posted by: supertech on July 18 2009 7:26 PM