Iris versicolor 'Bridesmaid'

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Iris versicolor 'Bridesmaid'

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Kemper Code: B824

Common Name: blue flag
Zone: 3 to 9
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Iridaceae
Missouri Native: No
Native Range: None
Height: 2 to 2.5 feet
Spread: 2 to 2.5 feet
Bloom Time: May - June
Bloom Color: Creamy yellow and lilac
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Low

Plant Culture and Characteristics

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Uses:		Wildlife:	Flowers:	Leaves:	Fruit:
Hedge	Suitable as annual	Attracts birds	Has showy flowers	Leaves colorful	Has showy fruit
Shade tree	Culinary herb	Attracts	Has fragrant flowers	Leaves fragrant	Fruit edible
Street tree	Vegetable	hummingbirds	Flowers not showy	Good fall color	Other:
Flowering tree	Water garden plant	Attracts	Good cut flower	Evergreen	Winter interest
Gr. cover (<1')	Will naturalize	butterflies	Good dried flower		Thorns or spines

General Culture:

Grow in medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. This iris may be grown in up to 2-4” of shallow standing water (muddy bottom or containers), or in moist shoreline soils or in constantly moist humusy soils of a border. Propagate by division after bloom. Wear gloves when dividing the rhizomes. After fall frost, plant leaves may be trimmed back to about 1” above the crown.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Iris veriscolor is a clump-forming iris that is native to marshes, swamps, wet meadows, ditches and shorelines from Manitoba to Nova Scotia south to Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Minnesota. It is a marginal aquatic plant that forms a clump of narrow, arching-to-erect, sword-shaped, blue-green leaves (to 24” long and 1” wide). Flowering stalks rise from the clump to 30” tall in late spring, typically producing 3-5 blue flowers per stalk. Clumps spread slowly by tough, creeping rhizomes. ‘Bridesmaid’ is a cultivar that features flowers with creamy yellow falls and standards blushed with lilac. The rhizomes of this plant are poisonous.

Problems:

No serious insect or disease problems. Susceptible to a number of insect pests including aphids, iris borer and iris thrips. Susceptible to a number of diseases including various rots and viruses.

Uses:

Best grouped in sunny areas of ponds or water gardens. Also may be grown in moist border areas.