Iris cultivars are a delightful addition to any flowerbed, known for their beautiful flowers and distinct foliage. With a wide variety of options to choose from, there is an iris cultivar to suit every taste. From elegant Japanese irises to vibrant German varieties, these plants are sure to bring color and charm to your garden. Let’s explore some of the different types of iris cultivars available.
Prized Petals and Striking Features
Most iris flowers have three upright petals called standards and three down-drooping petals called falls. Some have beards or signals to attract pollinators, while others resemble faces with open mouths or extended tongues. The blooms can reach up to 8 inches in width, making them a focal point in any landscape. The foliage of irises is also noteworthy, with upright, fanning leaves that add texture and interest to your garden even after flowering is complete.
Lion King
One beloved Japanese iris cultivar is the Lion King. With large, loosely ruffled petals that can reach up to 8 inches wide, this iris is a showstopper. The blooms have a white base that feathers out into grape margins, creating a stunning contrast. The centers feature prominent yellow signals that attract bees and butterflies. This iris is perfect for planting near streams and ponds to create a natural effect. The foliage is thin, strappy, and bright green, adding to its attractiveness in the landscape.
Pink Frost
The Pink Frost iris is a beautiful cultivar with pale lavender flowers and a bright yellow throat. The blooms are thin and delicate but large in size, making them a standout in any garden. The foliage is thin but sturdy and has an ornamental grass-like presence in the landscape. This iris can handle waterlogged soil during the growing season but not during dormancy, so it is best planted near a body of water that meets these conditions.
Variegata
Also known as the Silverband Iris, the Variegata cultivar is often featured in midcentury and Japanese landscape design. It has variegated leaves with cream and dark green stripes, creating a striking foliage display. The flowers of this iris are deep purple with subtle yellow signals in their centers. The standards are small and delicate, while the falls are large and ovate without ruffles. This iris is perfect for planting in a large group to create a dramatic effect.
Queen’s Tiara
The Queen’s Tiara iris is a stunning Japanese iris with papery white falls that curl upward at the edges and delicate purple veining all over. The standards are small but striking in a solid violet hue. The flowers have an overall orchid shape and typically reach 6 inches in width. The foliage is thin and upright, providing a shade of dark mossy green. This iris is well-suited to cutting and will last a long time in a vase.
Flashing Koi
The Flashing Koi iris is a sturdy Japanese iris with flat petals that have a crepe paper texture. The blooms have dark plum centers that fade into white margins, creating a beautiful contrast. This cultivar has large multicolor falls and small, solid standards with a yellow signal. It is often selected for marshy or creek-side plantings, as it can tolerate standing water during the season. However, it is important to ensure good drainage in the winter to prevent root rot.
Alpine Majesty
The Alpine Majesty iris is a lovely Japanese variety with large, double flowers in white with distinct veins and sunny yellow fine markings in the middle of the falls. The blooms are large and showy, making them a standout in any garden. The foliage is sage green and upright, providing some unusual texture. This cultivar grows best in slightly acidic and moderately wet soil.
Acapulco Gold
The Acapulco Gold iris is a beautiful German variety with ruffled flowers in a finely veined gold hue. The blooms are fancy and intensely ruffled, making this iris a standout. It is best planted in full sun, and the soil should have a neutral to alkaline content. This variety will perennialize reliably, but overcrowding may become a problem, so division every 2-3 years is recommended.
Above the Clouds
The Above the Clouds iris produces large flowers with ruffled, sky-blue petals with darker veins. The falls are large, oval, and drooping, with white petals and dark purple veins. The blooms typically reach a width of 6 inches, creating a magnificent display. The foliage is wide, sword-like, and a shade of dark green. This iris is perfect for planting in a large drift for a natural effect in the landscape or in a container on the patio.
Before the Storm
The Before the Storm iris is a German variety with dark, inky purple flowers and violet-purple veins at the base of their falls. The blooms are loosely ruffled and have an overall brooding presence in the garden. The foliage is thick and sage-colored, enduring in the landscape like an ornamental grass long after the blooms have faded. It is important not to cut the leaves back until the first frost, as they store energy for next year’s blooms.
Better Than Butter
The Better Than Butter iris is a fragrant variety with incredibly delicate buttery cream flowers with slightly ruffled petal edges. This iris is a sequential bloomer, offering 8-9 buds per stem over the course of 4 weeks. The foliage is wide, strappy, and dark green, reaching heights of up to 4 feet. It is best planted in full sunshine and provided with some relief from hot afternoon sun in warmer zones.
Beverly Sills
The Beverly Sills iris is a standout in the Tall Bearded category, offering salmon pink petals with peachy beards and ruffled edges. The blooms are intensely ruffled and have a distinct cottage vibe. The foliage is thin but sturdy and has a waxy green color. This cultivar grows best in slightly acidic soil that drains well and will multiply quickly.
Champagne Elegance
The Champagne Elegance iris is a repeat-flowering German variety that produces large, fluffy flowers with creamy white standards and champagne to apricot falls. The blooms open in late spring and come again in late summer or early fall, offering an abundance of color. The petals are loosely ruffled and delicate, offering a soft, orange blossom fragrance. This iris is perfect for planting where you can enjoy its beautiful scent.
Dangerous Liaison
The Dangerous Liaison iris is a contrasting variety with upright lavender standards and dark plum falls with purple edging. The blooms are a striking combination and add drama to any garden. The foliage has a blueish tint and a matte finish, rising 2-3 feet around the unique blooms for a firm show of support.
Grand Canyon Sunset
The Grand Canyon Sunset iris is an enchanting German variety that produces large flowers in shades of plum, copper, mandarin, pink, and gold. The falls and standards are both large and firm, offering a vibrant display of color. This iris grows up to 3 feet tall and produces multiple branches with about 10 buds each per season. The display is full and bright, creating a magnificent focal point in your garden.
Pink Attraction
The Pink Attraction iris has romantic ruddy flowers with thin veins and sheared petal edges. The blooms are blush-colored and have a delicate appearance, adding a touch of romance to your garden. As a reblooming cultivar in the Tall Bearded class, this iris will dazzle you twice each season with an abundance of flowers. The fragrance is delightful, and the foliage is thin but sturdy. This iris is perfect for planting where you can enjoy its lovely scent.
Sugar Blues
The Sugar Blues iris is a reliable double bloomer, offering flowers the color of a summer sky not once but twice per season. The petals range from cornflower blue to violet, with standards typically being a bit lighter than falls. The centers are white with light blue veins and feature white beards tipped with yellow. This iris is very cold hardy and will rebloom reliably in colder hardiness zones.
Titan’s Glory
The Titan’s Glory iris produces impressive purple flowers with a strong fragrance. The blooms are a rich, royal purple and have a regal appearance. The standards are upright and tightly clustered above looser, open falls, all sharing the same intense hue. Stems have multiple bracts and produce up to 8 irises per season. This iris has a strong scent and holds up very well in a vase.
Silverado
The Silverado iris has pale lavender ruffled petals with lighter centers. The blooms are soft and elegant, adding a touch of class to your garden. This iris grows up to 4 feet tall and produces around eight buds per stem. The foliage is thick and swordlike, providing a lovely contrast to the delicate blooms.
Pink Parfait
The Pink Parfait iris is a Siberian variety that produces large, double lavender flowers with spotted veins. The blooms are showy and add a touch of elegance to any garden. The foliage is slender and less rigid than German varieties but still provides structure and interest in the landscape. This iris is perfect for planting alongside other flowering perennials.
Sunfisher
The Sunfisher iris is a Siberian variety that brings
