Heritage Siberian Iris - Purple

These irises have a delicate beauty about them but they are very hardy and easy to grow. They are a clump forming perianal that grows between 60 and 90cm with a mature plant capable of producing many flower stems. Flowering starts in spring and continues to early summer. They prefer a sunny position but can handle some shade and well drained soil that is more on the acidic side. Siberian Irises can handle some dryness but it is best to keep them well watered during hot summers and in their first year of being transplanted. Maintenance is simple, remove dead foliage in autumn and mulch. This is also a good time to fertilise with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer and again in spring (but not in the first year of transplanting). To extend your flowering period, select a mixture of early and late flowering varieties.

How to Harvest Iris Flowers

Harvest your flowers early in the day. Choose buds that are just beginning to open rather than flowers that are fully open. These buds will open within a few hours with the rest of the buds on the stem opening over the next couple of days. Place your flowers in a bucket of tepid water until you are ready to create your arrangement. When you are ready to arrange the iris flowers, re-cut the stems about 2cm above the original cut at an angle under water. Remove spent flowers immediately. Take care as some irises colours will bled and can stain. Check the water level of your vase often and top up as required. Replace water and recut stems every second or third day. Place your vase in an area that is cool and away from direct sunlight and drafts.

Growing irises from seeds is a bit of a process but so worth it.

• Place seeds in a bowl and cover with water. You may need to place something on the seeds to keep them submerged. Change the water everyday for two weeks. Soaking and rinsing the seeds is to remove the seed germination inhibitor present in the seed or seed coat. If you are somewhere like Tasmania where you have both wet and cold winters, you can sow the seeds in pots and leave them outside where they will be exposed to the weather.

• Next, rinse the seeds are covered with a 10 % solution of bleach for 10 minutes (10% solution created by mixing 1 part bleach with 10 parts water). Remove the seeds from the bleach solution and wash the seeds with water a couple of times. This treatment is to prevent mould growing on the seeds while in the fridge. Now place the seeds in a plastic bag and secure the end with a rubber band.

• Seeds need to stay in the fridge for 14 weeks. Seeds are then removed from the fridge and left at room temperature for 3 days. Seeds can now be potted up. Keep damp but not wet. Place in a warm spot. Temperatures should be around 20C. Seeds will sprout, leave them to grow on in the pot until the plants are around 15 to 20cm high. Plants will be ready to plant out the following spring.

Seeds currently available.

$5.00 - 10 open pollinated seeds

$4.00 - postage within Australia

Email to order - fascinatingbotanicals@gmail.com

Payment - Bank Deposit or Paypal