breeding program that different strains bloom earlier and later, so you can help extend the season by growing two or more varietals. An even larger extension of the bloom season can be made by adding its cousins, Iris ensata and a new hybrid ‘Pseudata,’ to your mix of plantings, as they bloom a full month later.
Parts of the Iris The basic flower form of Iris laevigata is the same for others in the iris family, with multiples of three standards, falls and style arms with crests. The easy way to remember the parts of an iris flower are to think, “standing standards,” “falling falls” and “your coat of style arms with the family crests at your heart.” Flower parts can be changed up with some irises, most notably with Iris laevigata and Iris ensata, by converting the standards into a second layering of falls, thus making a double flower with no standards and six falls. The bloom of Iris laeviTop left: "Irises at Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges)" by Ogata Korin. Top right: Handsome foliage protrudes from this mature plant. Left: A variety of containers grow Iris laevigata — notice the double-potting. Bottom left: 'Semperflorens' naturalize on the shore of our pond. Bottom right: The parts of an iris flower are straightforward and easy to recognize.
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