PEREN N I AL FOCUS
BOBBIE SCHWARTZ, FAPLD Bobbie’s Green Thumb Iris cristata is an excellent plant for early spring bloom in a shaded area of the rock garden, perennial border or woodland garden.
IRIS CRISTATA DWARF IRIS
One of the challenges of designing a perennial garden is ensuring a variety of textures. The linearity of the foliage of the genus Iris is a wonderful component of textural variety. Siberian Iris have narrow leaves but those of Miniature Bearded Iris and most of the Dwarf Iris species are short and wide. The best known of the dwarf Iris species is Iris cristata (Crested Iris). A North American native of the woodland edge, and hardy to zone 3, this tough dwarf has shallow rhizomes that creep close to the surface; therefore, the clump increases to form a sizeable clump within a few years, particularly in humusy, well-drained soil. It is much slower to naturalize in dry soil although it is tolerant of such a site, once established.
The short (4-6”) but wide leaves are very attractive and a good reason to include this iris in your designs. Although the blooms are lovely, we can only admire them for a very short period, usually a week, perhaps two if rain does not destroy the flowers. In my garden, they bloom in early May. The blooms of the species are pale blue with a yellow crest. I have several cultivars: ‘Eco White Angel’, ‘Eco Orchid Giant’, and ‘Powder continued on page 10
8 | Official Publication of The Ohio Landscape Association