Family: Iridaceae
Name: Iris versicolor - Blue Flag Iris
Bloom Time: June
Flowers: Purple, Lavender, Violet
Soil Condition: Average-wet, acidic, rich
Light: Sun to Partial Shade
Height: 24-36" tall by 24-36" wide
Native Range: Northeastern North America including Long Island
Zone: 2 to 7
Iris versicolor is a true low maintenance plant and can handle average garden soil as well as being submerged in a pond. Rhizomes are toxic and may cause a rash if touched without gloves. Blue Flag Iris spreads by seeds and rhizomes. A great plant for revegetating along streams and ponds as it filters excess nutrients to improve the water quality.
Maintenance: After the fall frost the foliage may be cut back to about 1" above the crown, watch for Iris borer and rhizome rot.
Benefits: pollinators including hummingbirds and bumble bees, birds will eat the seeds, deer and rabbit resistant
Companion Plants: Rhexia virginica - Meadow Sweet, Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed, Eupatorium perfoliatum - Boneset, Lythrum alatum - Winged Loosestrife, Symphyothricum novae-angliae - New England Aster, Carex brevior - Short-beaked Sedge
pics: KMS Native Plants LLC
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