IRIS TERMS
Amoena..............White standards,colored falls
Beard...................Line of fuzzy hairs at the top of the falls
Bicolor.................Light to medium standards,darker contrasting falls
Blend...................Two or more colors blended together
Falls.....................Three lower petals of iris flower
Flounces...............Appendages extending from the tip of the bleard like little petals
Hafts......................Top part of the falls (area surrounding the beard)
Horns.....................Spears extending from the tip of the beards
Luminata.............Wash of color in falls with paler veining
Neglecta..............Blue standards, darker colored falls
Plicata.................Stitched or stippled color on lighter ground color
Rebloomer...........Iris that blooms in any other season in addition to its normal spring bloom time (also called remontant)
Self......................Iris of one color
Space Ager.......... Iris with flounces, horns, or spoons
Style Arms............Small still segments above the beards
BEARDED IRIS
Minature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) Smallest of the bearded irs from
2" (5cm) to 8" (20cm)tall. They are the earliest to bloom
Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) Range in height from 8"(21cm) to
15"(40cm) tall. They start blooming when the MDB's are ending.
Intermdiate Bearded(IB) From 16" (41cm) to 28" (70cm) tall their
bloom time overlaps the the SBDs and TBs.
Border Bearded(BB) Bloom size and height the sam as the intermediates.
They are small versions of TBs.
Minature Tall Bearded(MTB) From 16"(41cm) to 28"(70cm) the flowers are
smaller than the BB with thin stems. Also known as Table iris.
Tall Bearded(TB) Bloom stalks are 28" (70cm) to 40" (102cm) tall, and are
the last to bloom of the bearded iris.
GROWING IRIS
Tall bearded iris are easy perennials for the
gardener. These colorful plants grow in zones
3-8 with some areas further south . To grow
tall bearded iris choose a sunny well drained
area. Work the soil to a depth of about 10 inches
or more and work in bone, fertilizers and soil
amendments at this time. To plant the iris
rhizome, dig two trenches with a ridge in the
middle. Place the rhizome on the top of the
ridge and spread the roots out in the trenches.
Space the iris at least 18 inches apart.
Cover the roots and make sure to leave the
top of the rhizome exposed or just barely
beneath the surface depending on how
heavy your soil. Keep the iris watered well till
they have become established. Iris are prone
to rot if they have poor drainage. The ideal
time to plant iris is in the late summer and
early fall,between the first of August till
the end of September. The colder your area
the sooner you want to plant the iris so they
become established before the onset of
winter. Iris need to be divided every 2-5 years
depending on the vigorousness of the variety
and the spacing.
In the following pages I have included some
pictures of some of the tall bearded iris
that I grow.
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