Bearded Iris

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Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) is a very popular perennial for home gardens throughout the United States. The name comes from the fuzzy hairs on the petals that hang down (called falls).

According to the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden (v XXII, 1920), "It is evident that between 1800 and 1850 the growing of Iris in gardens began in earnest, and that several breeders, among them Lemoin, Jacques, and Salter, began their work and produced quite a number of new forms of Iris as of many colors. These Irises were all the progeny of two species, pallida and variegata, and they combined colors which today are known in the six sections, pallida, variegata, amoena, neglecta, plicata, and squalens. These six groups were until recently considered all species, but it has now been proven that they are all the result of pallida and variegata"

Since then, literally thousands of Bearded Iris varieties have been created and used as garden borders or garden blocks.

© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels