Due to its eye-catching flowers, the iris, also known as the sword lily, is one of the oldest cultivated ornamental plants in this country. Due to the frequent planting and propagation in private gardens, there are now a variety of flower shapes and colors.
Smaller irises flower as early as April, while larger irises do not flower until June
The characteristic shape of the iris flower
The name iris goes back to the pointed leaves and the characteristically shaped flowers of the iris. Botanically, each iris flower consists of three "flowers" that can be pollinated individually by insects, each of which is composed of the following components:
- Drop leaves with conspicuous beards or crests
- Standards that are often erect
- scar branches
If you do not cut off the flowers immediately after flowering, the seeds will develop in the capsule fruits, which as loculicidal capsules rupture at the dorsal sutures of the carpel when ripe.
tips and tricks
The timing of flowering depends on the size of many iris species: smaller bearded irises can flower as early as April, while an iris over 100 centimeters high usually only begins to flower from June.