Saturday, April 11, 2009

Iris japonica



Iris japonica is not an outdoor plant here except in the summer, but it lives (and blooms) happily in my greenhouse over the winter. it is about 18" tall in the pot, though it would be half again as tall if it could live in the ground. It is from Japan and China and is found there in relatively wet grasslands on hillsides, or at the edges of open forests. As a potted plant it has no problems I can think of and I've never seen any pests on it. The blooms last a few days and it often blooms twice a year, once in the greenhouse and then again outside during the summer. I have 2 pots of it now since it had gotten way too big for one. The blooms are about 4 inches across and mostly white with just the little bit of purple and gold. I've had these pretty much forever and would recommend them even if you have to grow them in pots.
We had an inch of rain last night - yeah!
Jane

2 comments:

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

What a pretty Iris.

Hoot Owl Hollow Nursery said...

I think it will grow outside in zone 7, but I just wish it would do it here in zone 6 since it would make such a nice addition to the garden.