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Reblooming Irises Offer Twice the Fun

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | September 21, 2009 15 Comments

Last updated on June 25th, 2013


I love irises of all kinds, and the reblooming beardeds, Iridaceae germanica, in particular. These send up ruffled fleur-de-lis not only in spring, but in early autumn, too. Just now a clump of alabaster-white ‘Immortality’ (above) is in flower beneath the Yoshino cherry tree in my Serpentine Garden, a glowing vision at a time when my other perennials are beginning to wane.

Like all bearded irises, the reblooming varieties have three definite requirements: good drainage, plentiful sunshine, and early-autumn planting. The rhizomes need 5-6 weeks of rooting time to establish themselves before the ground freezes. Denied this pleasant rooting period, they may still survive the winter, but they will wait until fall, not spring, to set their first flowers. Be sure to plant the rhizomes with the top of the fleshy roots only half an inch or so under the surface of the soil. For the best blooms, give the plants a light sprinkling of bone meal in the fall, and of a balanced fertilizer when new growth appears in spring.

You will find among the twice-blooming beardeds a tremendous variety of color, from peaceful pastels to screeching red-and-yellow bicoloreds. For both garden and vase, I prefer the single-hued whites, blues and purples. In a mixed border, repeated groups of just a few varieties are far more effective than a nervous blend of numerous kinds.

Indispensable and irresisible are:
‘Immortality’ – white; sweetly scented, hardy in zones 3-9
‘Cloud Ballet’ – icy-blue, fragrant, zones 5-10
‘Feed Back’ – violet-purple, zones 5-9
‘Rosalie Figge’ – reddish-purple, perfumed, zones 3-7
‘Forever Gold’ – cheerful yellow, zones 3-8

If I were you, I’d find room in my garden for at least one of these sturdy performers. For the twice-blooming iris gives the flower bed weeks of rich, pure color, and its sword-like foliage provides architectural interest throughout the growing season.

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup with Sherry & Thyme
Color in Early-Autumn: A Photo Gallery

Comments

  1. 1

    Donna says

    September 21, 2009 at 4:42 pm

    What a great post, Kevin. I've been researching irises on line, and the info you've provided here is really useful. I just need to order some!

  2. 2

    Holly says

    September 21, 2009 at 5:58 pm

    I'm thinking of how beautiful 'Immortality' would look in a tall, crystal vase…

  3. 3

    Sharon says

    September 21, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    Were I to get married (again) I'd want these at my wedding! I love the frilly quality of the flowers.

  4. 4

    Justin says

    September 21, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    I was thinking the same thing…great for a wedding. Just not mine. People would snicker if I had ANYTHING white at my wedding. Red 'Rosalie Figge' irises would be more appropriate.

  5. 5

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    September 22, 2009 at 11:18 am

    Donna, I'm so glad you found the article helpful.

    Holly, I will take your suggestion and put some Immortality stems in a vase today!

    Sharon & Justin, and now you can both have September weddings, instead May ones.

  6. 6

    Eric says

    September 22, 2009 at 6:46 pm

    Lowes had bearded irises, but they were missing labels, and the clerk (of course) had no idea if they were reblooming varieties or not. Can I get them by mail-order? Are they expensive?

  7. 7

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    October 1, 2009 at 11:57 pm

    Eric, you can definitely get these through mail-order. Try this: http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com

  8. 8

    Anonymous says

    February 28, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    Garden Gate Magazine Dec. 2009 Issue#90 has an article about the Best Mail Order websites..with a comparision shopping, using 10 “Carlton” daffodil bulbs and there was quite a difference in prices. Seems like Easytogrowbulbs.com came out as less expensive. If you subscribe to this magazine and hate to throw your back issues away, this article is shown on pages 28-29.. I think about the shipping cost..if you live on the East Coast and the bulb co. is on West coast, you're going to pay a lot more shipping cost, then if you bought closer to where you live. Or at least this is my own personal opinion.

  9. 9

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    February 28, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    Anonymous – thanks for the tip. Although Easy to Grow Bulbs is on the West coast and I am on the East, I still find them less expensive than any local mail-order concern. Plus, they always return my phone calls/emails promptly. I've enjoyed doing business with them for many, many years.

  10. 10

    Bob says

    June 25, 2013 at 9:14 am

    Hi Kevin,
    Thank you, for the wealth of information you share with us.

    There is a small typo, fleur instead of fluer. That’s a good way to see if your readers have been attentive enough 😉
    I’m sure you’re aware that the roots of our iris germanica are the famed, Orris root 🙂

  11. 11

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    June 25, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Bob – Fixed, and thank you!

  12. 12

    Bob says

    June 25, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    Most welcome.

  13. 13

    Janice Scott says

    September 6, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    When does one dig up the reblooming irises?

  14. 14

    Faye says

    May 17, 2015 at 9:09 pm

    I had no idea there were twice blooming irises.. Thanks! I prefer the single color iris as well. I’m definitely going to look for the “Immortality” iris. A local gardener grows hundreds of different kinds of irises and as you walk thru her garden, you write down the ones you want to purchase, pay for them, and pick them up in July. It’s quite a show.

  15. 15

    Rocky says

    June 24, 2015 at 7:00 pm

    I realize this is an old post but I love iris and have been looking for a list of good rebloomers in zone 5. thanks! I’m I’m zone 5a Maine and I’ve read that zone really matters for rebloom. If these varieties been reliable rebloomers in your garden I’d think they’d be a fairly good bet for me. I have immortality and love it!

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