Iris Daring Do - Dwarf bearded Iris

Iris Daring Do is a dwarf iris with pretty multicoloured flowers early in the season. Its flowers are beautifully coloured and of good size compared to the height of the plant. This iris is perfect for creating a lovely spring decoration in rockeries, containers, borders, and on large slopes, including windy locations.

Iris Daring Do is a small rhizomatous perennial plant from the iridaceae family. It is part of a horticultural group called SDB (Standard Dwarf Bearded). In this group, hybrids between the pumila iris, which is truly dwarf, and the Grand Garden Iris can be found. These irises flower before the large irises, but after the true dwarf irises. All these plants belong to the iridaceae family.

Daring Do Iris forms small upright clumps of deciduous foliage, absent in winter. The plant reaches 25 cm (10in) high when flowering and the clump will spread indefinitely over time, with the central rhizomes becoming bare in favour of the outer rhizomes. The foliage consists of long sword-shaped, glaucous green leaves. Short flower stems appear in March and bloom in April, earlier or later depending on the climate. The flower stems generally bear a solitary flower at their tip. The flower is 7 to 8 cm (3in) in diameter and consists of three upright blue-violet petals, overhanging 3 trailing, velvety, reddish-brown sepals, bordered by violet. The beards are a bright bluish-purple.

To accompany the irises, choose plants based on their needs (exposure, soil...), their vegetation (low-growing plants or light foliage), their decorative appearance and flowering date. For example, Gauras will provide little shade and will keep the faded iris bed attractive throughout the summer. Eschscholzia will be happy with dry and poor soil like the iris. Geraniums, salvias, and Libertia also go very well with irises. Slopes and terraced edges will be stabilized by a 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. Flower beds are the domain of border irises and dwarf irises.