Iris America's Cup - Tall bearded Iris

Iris germanica 'America's Cup' is a white garden iris that has proven itself. This excellent variety produces large white flowers beautifully undulated, barely touched with cream reflections, with a white beard at the base, also with a lemon yellow base. Each rhizome produces a tall floral stem adorned with numerous delicately scented flowers that succeed each other for 2 to 3 weeks in spring.

Iris 'America's Cup' is a rhizomatous and deciduous perennial plant, with an upright tufted habit from spring. Its foliage disappears in winter. It belongs to the Iridaceae family. It is one of the many cultivars obtained over centuries, whose controversial origin is debated around the number of chromosomes of potential ancestors. It should be noted that Garden Iris have European origins.

'America's Cup' will reach a height of 1m (3ft) when flowering. Its sturdy floral stems bear numerous buds, guaranteeing a long flowering period, and the clump will spread without theoretical limit over time, with the central rhizomes thinning out in favour of the outer rhizomes. The foliage consists of long sword-shaped leaves, glaucous green and highly veined. Its flowering is slightly earlier than that of tall bearded irises. In April, floral stems appear, which will produce tightly packed flowers on the stems, blooming from the top downwards towards the lower branches. The colour of this plant is particularly pure and, as always with Garden Iris, enhanced by the texture of the petals and sepals, iridescent.

Obtained by McWhirter in 1988

To accompany irises, choose plants to associate with them based on their needs (exposure, soil...), their "respectful" vegetation towards irises (low plants or light foliage), and their decorative complementarity (appearance, flowering date). For example, Gaura will provide little shade to the irises and will keep the deflowered iris bed attractive throughout the summer. Eschscholzia will be satisfied with a dry and poor soil, just 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 can remain in place and require little care. If the goal is more decorative and access for care is possible, one can choose more modern varieties, for example intermediates that are less likely to be knocked over than tall varieties.

At the base of a wall, the relative shelter from the wind allows for the use of tall irises, whose floral stems are sensitive to bad weather. The vegetable garden can be embellished with a few clumps or borders of irises because it is also the place for growing cut flowers.