Iris foetidissima 'Variegata'
Iris foetidissima 'Variegata'• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common name: gladwyn iris
• flowering season: late spring, early summer
• height: 12 to 24 inches
• Light requirements: filtered light, afternoon shade
• Soil requirements: average
• Water requirments: average
• Growth habit: grows as a slowly widening clump
• How to propagate: dividing in early summer
• Leaf type: upright inch-wide blades of leaves striped in dark green and light cream
• Ways to use it: likes to grow under or at the edges of taller plants; grows well on the east or north side of a house
• Special characteristics: evergreen and variegated leaves are colorful at all seasons
Prefering shade over sun, the dark green leaves irregularly striped in creamy white will turn yellow if planted in too much light. They reach a height of about eighteen inches. Flowering is infrequent on this variegated plant, the flowers being pale lavender and plum. The non-variegated form of this flowers more prodigously. When it does flower, they turn into large seed pods that open to reveal bright orange berries at the end of summer. The colorful leaves are reason enough to grow this, for they are evergreen and decorate the garden throughout the year. In gardens where winter temperatures drop into the teens Fahrenheit, the leaves may be damaged and need to be cut back in late winter. Cold hardy to USDA Zone 6.