Irises: From Elegant Dutch Iris to Classic Bearded Favorites

Few garden plants possess the elegance of the Iris. Their extraordinary flowers—sometimes stately, sometimes delicate—have been cultivated and admired for centuries, and the genus offers far more variety than the familiar tall bearded Iris alone.

Our seasonal Iris collection at GoGardenNow includes several distinct groups, each bringing something different to the garden.

Dutch Iris: Graceful Flowers from Fall-Planted Bulbs

Dutch Iris grow from true bulbs and are generally planted in fall for flowers the following spring and early summer. Their slender stems carry beautifully formed blossoms in shades of blue, violet, purple, yellow, white, and handsome combinations of these colors.

They are particularly fine planted in groups through sunny borders and cutting gardens. Their long, straight stems also make Dutch Iris excellent cut flowers.

Plant the bulbs in well-drained soil during the appropriate fall planting period for your climate, and allow winter and spring to bring them into growth.

Species Iris: Small Plants with Remarkable Flowers

Species Iris reveal another side of this remarkable genus. Many are smaller and earlier flowering than their stately garden relatives.

Among the best known are the little reticulata Iris, which emerge remarkably early with jewel-like flowers of blue, violet, purple, and yellow. These diminutive bulbous Iris are splendid in rock gardens, along paths, at the front of borders, and in containers where their intricate flowers can be appreciated up close.

Though small in stature, species Iris can be among the most eagerly awaited flowers of the late-winter and early-spring garden.

Bearded Iris: The Great Classics of the Garden

Bearded Iris are quite different. Rather than bulbs, they grow from fleshy rhizomes, which are planted shallowly near the surface of the soil.

These are the grand, old-fashioned Iris familiar from generations of American gardens—the plants with broad fans of sword-like foliage and magnificent flowers composed of upright standards and cascading falls, each marked by the characteristic fuzzy “beard.”

Their range of color is astonishing: white, cream, yellow, apricot, pink, lavender, blue, violet, burgundy, bronze, nearly black, and innumerable combinations and patterns.

Give bearded Iris plenty of sun, good drainage, and room for their rhizomes to grow. Properly situated, they can remain garden fixtures for years, gradually forming substantial clumps that can be divided and shared.

An Iris for Nearly Every Garden

From the tiny flowers of species Iris appearing near winter's end to elegant Dutch Iris and the magnificent bearded forms of late spring, the Iris family offers an extraordinary succession of color and form.

Plant them in groups, mix them among perennials, grow smaller kinds along walks and in rock gardens, or give bearded Iris a sunny place where their magnificent flowers can command attention.

Explore our collection of Dutch, species, and bearded Irises at GoGardenNow and discover just how varied this ancient and beautiful garden flower can be.