Iris lazica
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Iris lazica• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common name: winter iris
• flowering season: winter into early spring
• height: the flowers are shorter than the leaves, 8 inches for the flowers, 10 - 12 inches for the leaves
• Light requirements: sun or partial shade
• Soil requirements: average soil that is well drained
• Water requirments: needs less water than average
• Growth habit: slowly expanding clump
• How to propagate: dividing in spring or in early fall
• Leaf type: 1-inch wide, knife-like leaves
• Ways to use it: for earliest spring color
• Special characteristics: flowers better when left undisturbed for many years
• Other points of interests: grows exceptionally well in a mediterranean type of climate
The flowers of this iris are a medium purple, and bloom from late winter to early spring on stems about eight inches tall. Their appearance resembles the flowers of the other winter-blooming iris we grow, Iris unguicularis, except the the three petals of I. lazica roll down and are pendant towards their outer tips. A second difference is that the evergreen leaves of I. lazica are broader. This iris is not the easiest to grow for much of North America as it does best where winters are not too cold, such as parts of the South and along the Pacific Coast. Some sources say it prefers partial shade to growing in full sun, while other sources who have seen it growing in the wild, report it to grow both in full sun and in filtered light. Ours are grown in full sun, with leaves reaching to about a foot tall -- when grown in shade, the leaves will likely be taller. USDA Zones 7 and 8, and Zones 9 and 10 along the West Coast.