Iris tuberosa

By Joy Quinn



Iris tuberosa

Another winter flowering iris in the reticulata family Iris tuberosa [hermodactylis].  A native of the Mediterranean region, it is found in the northern Mediterranean littoral and western Europe – the dryish rocky slopes, free draining - and in wind protected spots.

Plant them deeply 8cm or so, in pots or in the garden in autumn.  They will need time to establish before blooming begins so you need to be patient. They grow best in warm sun to partial shade in a sheltered spot.  Wind protection is needed as although the spikes are only about 25cm tall they are fragile and bend easily. 

The mature tubers look like dried little fingers.  The foliage is grass like and the flower spikes appear later and are usually shorter.  The flowers are a translucent green with black falls and a light perfume.  The foliage will die down after spring and the tubers need a good baking.

They are an ideal rockery plant given wind protection and, given time to establish, will increase in number.

Miniature iris

Article and photos by David Glenn from Lambley

Two of the most beautiful winter flowering bulbous Iris are, fortunately, two of the easiest to grow.

Iris ‘Harmony’ is a hybrid between Iris histrioides, from a small area in north central Turkey and the more widespread Iris reticulata, a native of the Caucasus, northern and eastern Turkey, north eastern Iraq and Iran.



Iris reticulata 'Harmony'

‘Harmony’ has sapphire blue standards and royal blue falls. White stripes surround a thin raised yellow ridge on the falls. The flowers, held on 15cm tall stems, have a delicate primrose fragrance.

Iris reticulata 'Alida'

Iris ‘Alida’ is a pale sport of ‘Harmony’ and just as good a doer in the garden. It has pale grey-violet flowers and blue grey falls. It too has the delicious primrose fragrance.

In my garden these jewels of the bulb world grow in a hot dry garden bed with small dry climate rock garden plants. This bed is watered only once or twice a year, just enough to keep the dwarf shrubs and perennials alive. The Iris themselves need no summer water at all. As my soil is naturally very acid I add a good dusting of ground limestone to the soil before planting.

The bulbs increase prolifically and where I planted single bulbs a few years ago there are now up to twenty flowering sized bulbs in each clump.



Iris reticulata 'George'

Iris ‘George’ is another hybrid from the same parentage with rich purple flowers. It is a bit taller and is just as vigorous. During the dull grey days of winter the colour can look a bit leaden but given a glimmer of sunshine it sparkles.

Iris histrioides 'Lady Beatrix Stanley’

Iris histrioides grows wild in a small area in Amasya Province which, although close to the Black Sea has hot dry summers and cold winters due to its altitude. ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’ is the only form of Iris histrioides I grow. The soft mauve grey flowers have an indescribable luminescence and the intricate spotting on the falls adds to its beauty. It is a little slow to build up but otherwise holds no terrors.



Iris reticulata 'Cantab'

I grow about a dozen forms of Iris reticulata from the rather thin textured white of ‘Natasha’ to the dark ‘Purple Gem’ and the soft blue ‘Cantab’. All do well in my garden as long as their few wants are taken care of. They are planted 12-15 cm deep in well drained soil which is given minimal summer supplementary irrigation.



Iris reticulata 'Natascha'

Whilst these Iris do well in pots for a season or so they are difficult to keep happy if grown this way in the long term. I do dig the occasional clump in when it’s in bud, put it in a pot and enjoy it inside the house for a week or so before planting it back in the garden. Sometimes I’ll split and replant congested clumps soon after flowering. 

Iris reticulata 'Purple Gem'



The Victorian Bulb Society wishes to thank David Glenn from Lambley Nursery & Gardens for kindly providing the this article and photos for our website.

Local knowledge

Crocus tommasinianus "Yalta"

Nothing beats local knowledge for growing your bulbs and plants. Quite often you will read that a bulb likes a "summer baking" yet the summers here in Melbourne, Victoria are quite different to other parts of the world (more like summer roasting). You can find out the hard way through trial and error or make life easier for yourself (and save your bulbs in the process) by learning from local growers and gardeners.

Our society has members growing a large variety of bulbs, corms (like the Crocus above), rhizomes and tubers. If you come along to one of our meetings you could learn more about the best growing conditions for this part of the world, either from one of our local speakers or through talking to our members over a cuppa and a piece of cake during supper. And who knows, you could teach us a thing or two about your bulb growing experience!

Our meetings are held on the 4th Wednesday of each month (2nd Wednesday in December).

Plant liliums now

OT lilium

Summer may seem like a long way off but June is the time to start preparing for your summer display of liliums.

The photo above is a lilium (Conca d’Or) that Adrian entered in the Ferny Creek Horticultural Society summer show. This stunning OT lilium won a blue ribbon and is listed in his current catalogue.

Now is the time to plant liliums if you haven’t done so already. Most like at least 6 hours of sunlight per day and a free draining soil that is enriched with some organic matter. Some protection from the hot late afternoon sun would be beneficial. They like to have cool roots so use either mulch or low growing perennials.

Our bulb society

Geissorhiza radians

Welcome to the Victorian Bulb Society. We meet monthly in Vermont (Melbourne, Australia) to learn about bulbs, purchase plants and show off our flowers on the show bench. Our society started in July 2014. This is our blog where we post interesting information and show photos from our meetings  Click on the "When & Where" tab above to find out more about our meetings or the "About Us" tab for information about our society.