Welcome!  Here you can find answers to your questions about  irises.  You’ve never grown them before?  You have a brown thumb?  You’re not sure where to start?  We can help!  Choose an area below and you’ll find loads of information at your fingertips.  You’ll have a beautiful iris garden in no time!

Some things to know before you start: first, irises are clonal, which means each child plant is a genetic duplicate of the parent plant. Because irises don’t mutate often, nor do they create seeds easily, we can grow the identical irises that our great-grandmothers grew. Irises are truly “living history.” What a fascinating thought!

There are over 70,000 registered bearded irises, all of them unique. Many have long since disappeared, but many historic irises remain. HIPS defines a “historic iris” as one that has been commercially available for at least 30 years. Many historic irises date to the mid-1800s or earlier.  Let us show you how to grow them yourself!

Buttered Popcorn2 - Mu(Note: this information pertains to bearded irises, but we will be adding information on other irises soon.)

Parts of an Iris:  here are several illustrations that show the various parts of a bearded iris.

Bearded Iris Classifications:  the AIS website has a great overview of the different classes of bearded irises.  They come in all sizes! Check out this great chart from the American Iris Society blog.

Iris Colors and Patterns:  what’s a variegata, or an amoena, or a bitone Find out here.
Getting Started:  selecting a site, preparing the area, and growing in raised beds and pots.
Choosing Your Irises:  how to select irises, various types of garden beds, and where to get the irises you want.
Planting and Caring for Your Irises:  information on planting, watering, fertilizing, etc.
Dividing and Sharing:  how to divide irises and replant them, and where to share the divisions.
Companion Plants:  what grows well with irises?