Praising Iris bucharica

Iris bucharica has just finished up in my rock garden.  I had planted four
good-sized bulbs above a couple of boulders, and they came up among the
purple leaves and violet flowers of Viola labradorica.  The plants grew to
around eight inches in height before they bloomed, with glossy green leaves
looking like little corn plants.

The terminal bud blooms first.  The standards are insignificant, being very
small and floppily deflexed; the color is contributed by the contrast
between the pure white, large style arms and the buttery yellow falls.
Each flower seemed to last about 2 or 3 days, but they were blooming at the
time of our strange warm spell, when daytime temperatures were approaching
90.  Lower buds opening eventually led to three or even four flowers on
each stalk open at the same (fleeting) time; up to eight blooms were
produced the largest of the plants.

This is a great iris for the rock garden or even for a sunny, rather dry
border, where it will go well with grape hyacinths or blue and white Greek
anemones.  It seems fairly long-lived for me, since I have one plant that
still returns (though it didn't bloom this year) seven years after having
been planted.

I wish it were easier to get other Junos, and that more of them were
adaptable to our gardens.

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
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