June flowering or Bearded Iris

June-flowering or Bearded (Iris) - These are the noblest of a great race: moderns for which gardeners are indebted to enthusiasts like the late Professor Foster and Mr Bliss, who, happily, is still continuing the good work. In vigour, branching habit, freedom of flowering, stature, and fine presence, they are immeasurably superior to the older sorts; giants many of them, and of beauty unknown till recent years. In cultivation they ask for nothing more than a sunny garden or position, while revelling in light sandy or calcareous loam; indeed, in common with all the Flag Iris, they much appreciate a limy soil. March-April and September-October are the best planting seasons in the order given. In planting keep the rhizomes quite near the surface. The following is a selection of them:—Alcazar—a giant in flower and growth, bluish violet and purple—Azure; magnificent and free, and a most effective garden plant; Black Prince; Clematis—well named, giving an I. Kaempferi effect; Crusader—noblest of Irises and the bluest of the blues; Dominion—a Black Prince glorified: quite unique, as is also the prince, five guineas being asked for a plant; E. H. Jenkins—a great Iris in lavender and allied shades, branching to the ground; Eldorado—yellow, bronze, and heliotrope; Miranda—big deep blue self, early; Knysna—crimson and gold, absolutely unique, late; Lady Foster, Lord of June—two of the best in violet and blue; Phyllis Bliss—a great Iris with rosy lilac flowers of extremely handsome proportions; Prosper Langier—a notable in smoky bronze and rich crimson; Rosalind—a rosy pallida, very free; Sweet Lavender—lavender and blue; and Shelford Giant—bright blue and violet.

Related Flowers

Iris Gracilipes

Iris Gracilipes - Unique species from Japan virtually a miniature of the roof Iris (I. tectorum). The grassy leaf tufts reach dinner-plate dimensions, and yield numerous pretty fringed flowers of lilac hue with rich orange centres. A gem for the rock garden or choice border. Quite easy in sandy loam.

Iris Heldreichi

Iris Heldreichi - A beautiful bulbous species allied to I. persica, and first known as I. stenophylla. Native of the Cilician Taurus, and attaining 4 to 6 inches high. It flowers in February and March, the flowers, which have an exceptional expanse, being of lavender-blue color, and characterised by a large triangular dark velvety-blue blotch on the falls. A gem for the cold greenhouse. Rich sandy loam.

Iris Histrio

Iris Histrio - This beautiful bulbous Iris, when peeping through the ground in winter or early spring, reminds one of I. reticulata, but it is rather taller, and its sweetly-scented flowers are broader and more conspicuously spotted or blotched, the color being rich bluish-purple, flushed towards the base of the petals with rose-pink, whilst the markings are of the deepest purple, relieved by a crest of gold. Syria.

Iris Histrioides

Iris Histrioides - One of the most charming of the spring flowering bulbous Irises. Though it has only been in cultivation a few years, it has proved of easy culture. The flowers are larger than those of any of the group, the falls mottled with white and rich lilac both on the claw and on the broad rounded blade. It is a native of E. Anatolia, and blooms in early March.

Iberian Flag

Iberian Flag (Iris Iberica) - One of the most singular of Iris. The flowers are large, the standards white, pencilled and spotted with purple or violet, while the falls are veined with dark purple or purple-black on a yellowish ground, with a conspicuous dark blotch in the centre. The rhizome should not be planted deep, but only just below the surface, as in most cases the roots perish when planted deeply. Coarse river sand should be used, the rhizome being planted completely in it, and by this means it is kept rather dry during the winter. Dry borders or on the rock garden.

Rush-leaved Flag

Rush-leaved Flag (Iris Juncea) - A lovely bulbous Iris, graceful in habit and with bright yellow flowers of a delightful fragrance, whilst it can be grown almost as easily as the English Irises. It requires a light, rich, deep soil and will be all the better if planted where it can be kept fairly dry during winter. Spain.

Japanese Flag

See Japanese Flag

Iris Kolpakowskiana

Iris Kolpakowskiana - An ally of I. reticulata, perfectly hardy and flowering about the same time, and effective in groups. The chief difference from the netted Iris is in the bulb and leaves, which are narrow, linear, deeply channelled on the inner face, with a central band or rib like a Crocus leaf, and pale green without the glaucous tint usual to this group. The falls are deep violet-purple, with a beardless bright yellow keel, from which are purplish branchings, whilst the standards are pale self-lilac with creamy anthers. Turkestan.

Iris Korolkowi

Iris Korolkowi - Of this the leaves are tall, narrow, and upright, the scape, which is about 1 foot or so high, bearing two large flowers of delicate shades of grey and brown, and beautifully veined. Warm and dry spots on the rock garden.

Dwarf Lake Iris

Dwarf Lake Iris (Iris Lacustris) - A dainty, quite hardy Iris, with beautiful sky-blue flowers in spring and again in the autumn. It belongs to the rhizomatose group, is free both in growth and bloom, and succeeds in full sun and in sandy soil. N. America.

Iris Lorteti

Iris Lorteti - In general features it is near to I. Sari, but its wonderful coloring makes it, perhaps, the most beautiful Iris in the world. "In a plant flowered by myself this summer (1893)," writes Prof. Foster. "the falls showed a creamy-yellow ground marked with crimson spots, concentrated at the centre into a dark crimson signal, while the standards were nearly pure white, marked with very thin violet veins, hardly visible at a distance." Lebanon.

Iris Mariae

Iris Mariae - Belongs to the iberica group, and was discovered on the confines of Egypt and Palestine. The rhizome is compact, rather slender, the foliage being not unlike that of iberica, but narrower. The flowers, on a stem of about 6 inches high, are somewhat smaller than I. iberica, of a uniform lilac color, though marked with veins, but the uniformity is broken by a conspicuous "signal" patch of deep purple on the fall.

Iris Media

Iris Media - Native of Persia, and has a small, slender, and compact rhizome. The leaves are narrower than I. iberica, and for the most part erect, the stem being about 6 inches in length, more or less, but it seems to vary a good deal. The fall, which spreads horizontally, is narrow and pointed, the blade being sharply curved back on itself.

Missouri Flag

Missouri Flag (Iris Missouriensis) - A Rocky Mountain kind, graceful, and with delicate purplish-blue flowers, which are valuable to cut in the month of May. It grows well in a border of good soil.

Iris Monnieri

Iris Monnieri - A noble Flag, distinct from any other in cultivation, the leaves being dark green, and the flower-stem nearly 4 feet high, whilst the outer divisions of the flowers, which are very fragrant, are recurved, and of a rich golden-yellow, margined with white. It is a native of Crete, and succeeds best in rather moist soil, whilst increased easily by division or seed.

Iris Neglecta

Iris Neglecta - One of the tallest growing species, having given rise to numerous garden varieties. Its flowers rarely measure more than 2 1/2 inches across, the standards being of a pale blue, with darker shading, and the much reflexed falls are of a deep blue, veined with purplish-red; the crest or beard is bright yellow, and very striking.

Yellow-banded Flag

Yellow-banded Flag (Iris Ochroleuca) - A stately vigorous Flag and an old plant in our gardens, the foliage slender, about 4 feet long, and coming up in a graceful twist. The spikes usually bear four or five flowers, white or nearly so, with large yellow blotch on the fall, and some reach nearly 6 feet in height, strong clumps producing four or five. Few Flags will thrive better in the shrubbery border. There is a variety called gigantea, which has larger and finer flowers.

Iris Orchioides

Iris Orchioides - Distinct in its rich, dark yellow blossoms, with black spots on the lower petals and a vigorous leafy growth. It is a profuse flowering kind, often bearing as many as six blossoms on a single spike. It is a tuberous-rooted species, hardy and free at least on warm soils.

Great Purple Flag

Great Purple Flag (Iris Pallida) - One of the stateliest and most beautiful of Flags. When in full vigour, the spikes will reach 4 feet in height, with a succession of from eight to twelve of its large pale mauve or purple flowers, scented like the elder. There are forms of it, such as the Dalmatian and also Mandraliscae, which have deep blue flowers. It is a fine border plant, and charming in large groups.

Iris Paradoxa

Iris Paradoxa - A singular Cushion Iris, native of W. Persia and the Caucasus, and fitly called "paradoxical." The fall is reduced to a narrow strap half an inch or less in width, but the standard is large, erect, and while the small fall is stout and firm, almost leathery, is delicate and flimsy in texture. The ground color of the claw is a rich crimson or deep pink, but beneath the claw and for some little distance in front of it the crimson hue is all but entirely hid by numerous short dark purple, almost black, hairs, so thickly set as to imitate velvet very closely indeed. The plant varies much in size and color, and the effect of the flower is very striking.

Persian Iris

Persian Iris (Iris Persica) - One of the most charming of the early kinds, it deserves a place wherever the soil is warm and dry. Its flowers, produced from a tuft of bright green leaves that just peep over the soil, are white, suffused with pale Prussian blue, and blotched with velvety purple. It is somewhat tender, but in warm sheltered spots, in light sandy soil, succeeds, and flowers in winter and spring.

Common Water Flag

Common Water Flag (Iris Pseudo-Acorus) - Common as is this Flag, every one who has grown it fairly will admit its beauty. Whoever has in his garden a pond or a ditch, or even a thoroughly damp spot, ought to plant this Flag.

Dwarf Flag

Dwarf Flag (Iris Pumila) - The best of the dwarf Flags, for to it we owe the many lovely varieties that give us such a rich display of bloom in spring. It grows from 4 to 8 inches high, and has deep violet flowers, unusually large for its size. There are several named varieties, the most attractive being the sky-blue (coerulea), which in early spring forms sheets of bright color edgings in free soil.

Netted Iris

See Netted Iris

Iris Rosenbachiana

Iris Rosenbachiana - A charming bulbous Iris, and found on the mountains of E. Buchara, Turkestan, at an elevation of 6000 to 7000 feet, we are told, in two varieties, both growing together, the flowers of one form being blue, those of the other of a fine violet, whilst the bulbs of both the varieties are small, with thin tunics, never reticulated as in the netted Iris.

Iris Sari

Iris Sari - Derives its name from the river Sar, in Cilicia, in the neighborhood of which it was found. It comes near to I. susiana, having a compact rhizome, relatively large foliage, a fairly tall (a foot or less in height) stem and large flowers; indeed, the var. lurida, which Prof. Foster mentions as the only one he has seen in cultivation, is often mistaken by a casual observer for I. susiana.

Siberian Flag

Siberian Flag (Iris Sibirica) - A slender plant, 2 or 3 feet high, with narrow grassy leaves, and in summer somewhat small showy blue flowers, beautifully veined with white and violet. There are several varieties, the white variety, also called I. flexuosa, being pretty, and so is I. acuta, but the double-flowered form is not. The finest variety is I. orientalis, having larger flowers of a deeper color, with a different veining, and the falls especially broad and expanding. The Siberian Iris is very hardy and spare plants are easily established in ditches or damp spots.

Iris Sindjarensis

Iris Sindjarensis - An interesting species with the habit and general character of I. caucasica, but having bluish flowers and a distinct crest. It flowers, however, at a time when no other Iris except I. reticulata is in bloom, and possesses a certain distinctive charm.

Algerian Iris

Algerian Iris (Iris Stylosa) - A beautiful plant, flowering in mid-winter, its flowers hidden in grassy foliage. When mixed with even the most delicate flowers of the stove or Orchid-house, its silky sky-blue fragrant flowers possess a charm and softness equalled by scarcely any other flower of the same color. Although hardy, its flowers are so delicate that it should have protection from heavy rains unless the position is well sheltered. There are several varieties in catalogues, speciosa being one of the best, this having larger flowers of a deep blue color. Syn. I. unguicularis. They all thrive best on very light warm soil on well-drained borders in sheltered gardens. Division.

Mourning Iris

Mourning Iris (Iris Susiana) - One of the most singular of all flowers, from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 feet high; the flowers very large and densely spotted and striped with dark purple on a grey ground. It should be grown in sunny nooks in the rock garden, or on sheltered banks or borders, but always in light, warm, or chalky soils. I have seen it flowering well in a border in the Archbishop of Canterburys garden near Broadstairs, where it is hardy. Asia Minor. Division.

Snake's-head

Snakes-head (Iris Tuberosa) - This is an interesting if quiet-colored kind, 12 or 13 inches high, the flowers small, brownish-green marked with yellow, and a purplish-brown tinge on the upper part. There are usually two tubers. It is not showy enough for every garden, but where admired it may be naturalised in light soil. S. Europe.

Iris Variegata

Iris Variegata - A handsome Flag of the Germanica group, 1 to 2 feet high, with large, slightly fragrant flowers, having bright yellow standards and claret-red falls beautifully veined. Similar in aspect is I. aphylla, with deep lilac falls and white standards veined with purple, whilst there are numerous varieties, the colors of which are varied and beautiful. I. lurida and its varieties also come under this group.

English Iris

English Iris (Iris Xiphioides) - A beautiful flower, and the many garden varieties are amongst the finest things we have in early summer.

The English Iris got its popular name in a rather curious way, being sent from its Pyrenean home, where its distribution is limited, to Bristol traders, thence to Holland. The Dutch, supposing it to be a native of our shores, called it the English Iris. The flowers are quite distinct in aspect from those of the Spanish Iris, and appear a fortnight or so later. They are broad and display a beautiful diversity of color, from deepest purple to pure white. Among the good varieties are Leon Tolstoi, Mont Blanc, Grande Celeste, King of the Blues, La Charmante, and Vainqueur. There are, of course, many other varieties in which one gets flowers splashed and mottled with various colors. These are not so fine as the bold self kinds, and raisers should think less of them, rather giving us self-colors, which are always more effective, both in the garden and when gathered for the house. There is a curious variety called Thunderbolt, which is of a dusky dull color.

Spanish Iris

The Spanish Iris must not be waterlogged in autumn and winter, preferring a loose, friable, sandy soil, which, however, should not be too poor, for it repays feeding with thoroughly rotten leaf-mould or manure. Sun it must have, but as its slender stalks suffer from winds, it should have shelter without shade. The golden rule of not meddling over-much applies distinctly to the Spanish Iris, as the new roots begin to shoot out almost before the old stalk has withered, and the bulb must not be kept out of the ground. Plant, then, the Spanish Iris in clumps on some rich, loose, friable plot, where their bright color may be shown to advantage, and let them stay there year after year until the dwindling foliage tells you that they have exhausted their soil. The beautiful varieties of Spanish Iris are well worth a place in the reserve garden for supplying cut flowers.