Iris Brannigan - Dwarf bearded Iris

'Brannigan' Iris is a dwarf iris with tone-on-tone purple flowers that blooms quite early in the season. Its flowers are a good size compared to the height of the plant, which quickly forms beautiful, colourful clumps, perfect for creating a lovely spring decoration in rockeries, planters, borders, and on large slopes.

Iris Brannigan is a small rhizomatous perennial plant in the iris family. It belongs to a horticultural group called SDB (Standard Dwarf Bearded). In this group, hybrids between the dwarf iris pumila and the Tall Bearded Iris can be found. These irises bloom before tall irises, but after true dwarf irises. All these plants belong to the iris family.

From spring onwards, the Brannigan Iris forms small upright clumps of deciduous foliage. The plant reaches a height of 30 cm (12in) when flowering, and the clump will spread without a theoretical limit over time, with the centre rhizomes becoming bare in favour of the outer rhizomes. The foliage consists of long sword-shaped, slightly glaucous green leaves. Short flower stems appear in March and bloom in April, earlier or later depending on the climate. Each flower stem usually bears a solitary flower at its tip, 7 to 8 cm (3in) in diameter, consisting of three upright violet petals surmounted by 3 almost horizontal sepals of the same violet but striped with a darker shade. The beards are thick and white at the base, strongly coloured with violet-blue.

To accompany the irises, choose plants based on their needs (exposure, soil...), their growth (low-growing or light foliage plants), and their decorative complementarity (appearance, flowering time). For example, Gauras will cast little shade on them and will keep the iris bed attractive throughout the summer. Eschscholzia will be content with dry and poor soil like the iris. Geraniums, salvias, and Libertia also go very well with irises. Slopes and terraced edges will be stabilised by dense planting of old diploid varieties that require little care.

Rockeries, rocky and dry meadows, limestone plateaus, rocky slopes, green roofs: use the full range of irises. Border edges are the domain of border irises and dwarf irises!