(1914) Winter Flowering Irises In the Rock Garden by Armitage

Gardeners' Chronicle p.103, February 14, 1914

WINTER-FLOWERING IRISES IN THE ROCK GARDEN.

One of the charms of the rock garden is the evergreen character of most of the Alpine plants
Hence, furnished with attractive tufts and cushions of many tinted foliage, the garden looks well all through the winter.

The miniature trees and bushes of Veronica, Cistisus, Hypericums, Iberia, Acaena splendens and Othonna all retain their leaves. The mossy Saxifrages display mats of vivid green; the crustaceus ones provide glaucous tufts of silver edged rosettes; the Sempervivum’s crowns show many warm tints: while the Aubrietias in themselves give, several shades of rich verdure, intensified by the golden and silver variegations.

What more delightful setting than this for the winter flowering bulbous Irises!

Fortunately, these little Irises are easily procured and are quite hardy. When we have a succession of favourable seasons they will increase year after year: but prolonged cold, wet weather during summer plays havoc with these Eastern plants which love to bask in the sun that is, figuratively, for they are then underground --As much as do the Persian cats.

The earliest to flower is Iris Vartanii, a native of Palestine and named after Dr. Vartan, who found it at Nazareth. I have had it in blossom on November 20; mid-December is its usual time, January 16 being the latest date I have recorded. It is a delicate, refined-looking flower about 3 inches across, pate lavender above and pale green beneath, with long, narrow standards and deeply bifid styles ; the elongated falls have a white ground and darker lilac stripes with a fleshy yellow crest. The pollen is white, in blue anthers. It is deliriously 6cented, like vanilla. The glaucous-green quadrangular leaves grow up early and are about 10 inches long at flowering time, over-topping the scape, which is 5 inches long. This is the floral tube, for the seed-vessel is subterranean.

The small bulbs are narrowly oval with netted coats, and many tiny offsets are produced. Several bulbs should be planted in a group, facing south-east if possible, with a rock behind to shelter them from the north. The soil should be a warm loam lightened with leaf-mould and sparingly enriched with old manure.

There is a pretty pure white variety of this Iris with a pale-lemon crest on the fall. One of these produced a monstrous flower which had five styles, four falls, four standards and five anthers ; three of the latter were perfect, the other two were petaloid. Monstrous forms of flowers are not uncommon in Irises, and usually consist in an extra number of parte ; but sometimes they are reduced and come in twos instead of threes.

Very closely allied to the last and the most beautiful of this section is Iris Histrio (see Gard. Chron., fig. 34, January 23, 1909), well named the play-actor from its brilliant garb. The flower is nearly 3 inches across and is carried about 4 inches above ground. The styles and standards are a pure light-blue ; the oval falls have a creamy-white ground mottled over with large deep-blue spots and a line of gold down the centre. There is some slight variability in colour in individuals of this species. The soil should be similar to that for I. Vartanii. and a sunny, southerly position near the top of the rock garden, where it cannot be dripped upon, is essential. I. Histrio is an early flowerer, beginning at the end of December and continuing until the early days of March, the greatest number of flowers being produced from mid-January to mid-February. It has a slight fragrance of attar of Rose. The leaves begin to appear in November, and, like those of all the winter Irises, they greatly need protection from the only too marked attentions of slugs and small snails. Powdered slug destroyers may be placed around the clumps, but they need constant renewal in rainy weather. The most efficient slug guard is made of strips of perforated zinc, 3 inches deep and 24 inches long, bent into a ring and fastened with wire, and then placed over the clump and pressed an inch or so into the soil. Even then the eager slug will try and force its way through the meshes if it is a very slender one. This plant is a native of Asia Minor and the Lebanon.

Iris histrioides differs from those species already described in its mode of growth. Flowers and leaves shoot up simultaneously through the frosty ground, and when the flowers open on their short scapes the leaves are but 1 to 3 inches high. It does not usually begin flowering until January 21 and .then continues till the first week in March; but last winter (1913), which was a mild season, the first flower opened on New Year's Day.

I. histrioides has large flowers nearly 4 inches across of a gorgeous blue. They vary somewhat in the shape of the fall and the markings, but usually the standards and styles are an intensely bright blue, and the falls are further embellished with dark-blue spots and a gold crest down the centre on a cream ground. The species is found at Amasia in Asia Minor, and is scentless.

Iris Bakeriana (see Gard. Chron., fig. 33, January 23. 1909), named after Mr. J. G. Baker, formerly of Kew, is a distinct and very pretty little flower, a native of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, but is now increasingly difficult to obtain. The leaves are 8 to 12 inches long at flowering time and are round in section, with eight deeply-marked furrows. The scape is 6 inches high and the flower less than 3 inches across. It makes up for its small size by its very pretty colouring. The styles and standards are deep violet-blue, while the falls are white with a yellow line and spots and streaks of deep purple ending in the rather pointed tip, which is velvety-black. It has golden pollen and a delicate fragrance of violets. The flowering season is rather prolonged — from January 19 almost to the end of March. This plant is impatient of moisture and should be placed in full sun on a well-drained plateau of the rock garden and given a light, dry soil.

After flowering the foliage of these bulbous Irises continues to grow for about two months and should be carefully preserved and tied up to a stick. The leaves of I. Histrio will reach 2 feet in length and those of I. reticulata (see Gard. Chron., fig. 149, November 2, 1912) 3 feet. The next Iris to flower is very different in colour from the other early ones. Iris Danfordiae (see Gard. Chron., fig. 54, March 17, 1900) is golden-yellow, and, grouped with the blue ones, forms a delightful contrast. As it flowers from the end of January to the middle of March it comes in well with them. The flowers grow about 4 inches high and are 2£ inches across. The oblong golden f all6 have an orange crest and small brown spots on the claw. The standards are reduced to a tiny yellow bristle a quarter of an inch long, which makes this species a link with the Juno group. The species itself has been split up into two named forme, on account of the colouring of the styles ; the one has green stripes on a yellow ground (Bornmulleri), while the other is without stripes (Danfordiae). This is a native of the eastern part of Asia Minor, having been brought first from the Cilician Taurus by Mrs. Danford, after whom it is named. The flower is scentless. It should be treated like the others.

After the foliage has withered all the species should have a piece of glass placed over them, supported on wires or stones, to keep the bulbs dry and help the ripening process when they are not lifted. This precaution also prevents their being planted over or smothered by encroaching vegetation. The two last Irises must be treated together, as they are two forms of one species. The blue-violet flower is named Iris reticulata, and the red-purple one I. Krelagei. I. reticulata, named from the netted coat of the bulb, is the hardiest and best known of this section and will flower in the ordinary border, but is at its best on the rockwork. It needs a good, well-drained loam with some lime added ; and as it is addicted to a fungous disease, the bulbs should be lifted occasionally, the decayed ones removed and the offsets planted out. It is a native of the Caucasus and smells sweetly of Violets. The dark-green leaves are 8 inches long at flowering, the scape about 6 inches. The flowers are 3 inches across ; the styles and standards deep violet-blue ; the narrow falls dark velvety-purple with an orange crest edged with white, purple spotted. Iris Krelagei, named after the well-known Dutch nurseryman, differs in having broader styles and falls ; the colour is a rich reddish-purple, contrasting well with the golden crest. It has only a faint Violet perfume. I Krelagei begins flowering quite a week earlier, the respective dates being : I. Krelagei, January 25 to April 7 ; I. reticulata, February 6 to April 25.

While winter Irises are coming up they may be protected in wet or rigorous weather by glass overhead or a bell-glass, but the glass should be removed after flowering to avoid injury to the foliage.

These little Irises are very satisfactory from the length of time each blossom will last — from seven to ten days. Also, when gathered in bud, they can be packed quite easily and sent by post, and may often bring a message of cheer to a sickroom. Eleonora Armitage.

For more information on historic Irises visit the Historic Iris Preservation Society at

-- BobPries - 2014-07-09