Blog by Nanelle Jones-Sullivan
Bearded iris (Iris germanica) should be a perfect perennial here. Drought-tolerant, with instructions like “let the tubers bake in the sun”; yes, please!
The flowers can be beautifully complex with the beard acting as a landing pad for pollinators, three upright petals or “standards,” three petals that fall downwards, or “falls,” and sometimes contrasts in color, veining, lines, and dots. Also interesting are their color pigments: Anthocyanins produce blue, purple, and red shades. Carotenoids produce yellow, orange, and pink shades. Six of their ornamental characteristics, including their various heights, are genetic! Intriguing, especially if you are into breeding.
They are dormant in the heat of summer, when I am also dormant, and full of hope in spring, when I am also full of hope. The biggest problem, for me at least, is that they are easy to take for granted. They don’t demand anything from you, and after a while, they just stop being “seen.”
They will wait without protest, but they benefit from being divided every three or four years. Dividing them reduces competition for nutrients, rejuvenating the plant and increasing flowering. Division also allows for better air circulation, reducing rot, and provides new rhizomes for sharing and replanting. Several metaphors there!
Part of my problem is that most sources say to divide in the summer when both of us are dormant. I finally divided some that had not bloomed in five years. I did it in June, and it worked out fine. I like to think I will not let that happen again.
So pretty!
https://ucanr.edu/blog/napa-master-gardener-column/article/bearded-iris