Irises (Part 2)
Cut off dead blossoms and dead bloom stems when the flower stops blossoming, but don’t cut back the leaves until they begin to fade in the autumn, while the leaves are needed to produce blooms in the next year. Do not forget to feed your plants every autumn and after replanting. You can also feed them a month before they usually bloom if you like, but one feeding a year may be quite enough.
Most people buy their first flowers in the spring from garden centers, when they can see these plants in bloom. Larger growers often have colored catalogs with pictures of most varieties, so you have choice. But if you know a little terminology, you choice is much more wider even if there are no illustration.
The three petals that grow right on the top of the iris are called Standards. The three that hang down are called as Falls. The smaller often downy or hair like parts in between are the Beard. If the flower is all one color it is known a Self. Among the few flowers which come in a true black are Bearded irises. Actually, they turn in every color except green.
One of the most known old fashioned irises is purple Bi-tone called Lothario Again. Bi-tones, according to their name, are two shades of one color, in this case, violet silk Standards and deep purple velvet Falls. When the Standards and Falls have different colors they are called Blends.