And why are bearded so popular?
They are the first iris I remember from my childhood. We had two kinds: purple and cream, and I would take bouquets to my grade school teacher.
They survived, no matter what. (We don't have rot and borers here, but the leaves do get spotted.) You could pull off one of those big rhizomes and give them to a neighbour, and they would thrive for them, too.
I have bearded iris that have been growing in my garden for almost forty years. They haven't bloomed for the last twenty five of those years because the trees I planted shaded them, but they are still healthy plants.
You can't beat those sturdy qualities.
The siberians faded away in the shade. I have only two still surviving in a slightly sunnier spot.
Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
