Iris germanica Marron Chaud - Bearded Iris

The 'Marron Chaud' German Iris is a beautiful bearded variety with a subtle colour that hesitates between red and brown. Its well-branched flower stems offer a magnificent spectacle in spring, just after the peonies have bloomed. Its corollas are numerous, well distributed along the stems and succeed each other for three weeks. It is a variety that brings a soft and warm note to the garden. Stunning alongside pink or blue flowers!

The 'Marron Chaud' Iris is a rhizomatous perennial plant that develops in spring in elegantly upright clumps, with foliage disappearing in winter. It belongs to the Iridaceae family. It is one of the many cultivars obtained over the centuries, whose controversial origins revolve around the number of chromosomes of potential ancestors. It should be noted that bearded irises have European origins. They are plants that thrive in alkaline soils and require plenty of sunlight, with their rhizomes needing to "cook" in summer in order to bloom. A minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day is generally required.

'Marron Chaud' is derived from the 'Bold Encounter' and 'Dude Ranch' varieties. The plant will reach an average height of 85 cm (34in) when in bloom, with an average of 8 buds per stem. The clump will spread indefinitely over time, with the central rhizomes becoming bare in favour of the outer ones. The foliage consists of long, wide, sword-shaped leaves, of a slightly glaucous green colour, with parallel veins. In April floral stems appear that will produce numerous rather rounded, beautiful-sized flowers in the middle of May, opening from the top downwards to the lower branches. Each flower is composed of 3 erect light brown-red petals dominating 3 wider, garnet red sepals, almost horizontal, with dentate edges. In the centre of these sepals are yellow beards extended by a median line measuring 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2in) in length, of the same yellow colour. As always with bearded irises, the colour is enhanced by the thick, iridescent texture of the flowers.

Bred by Cayeux, 2013.

To accompany the irises, choose plants that are either low-growing or with light foliage, in order not to shade or suffocate them. For example, Gauras won't create shade, and will keep the bed attractive all summer after your irises have finished flowering. California poppies and love-in-a-mist will tolerate a dry soil in summer, just like irises. Sage and Libertia also complement irises very well. Slopes and retaining walls can be stabilised by dense plantings of old iris varieties that can remain in place and require little care. If the goal is more decorative and you have easy access for maintenance, choose more modern varieties such as intermediates, which are less likely than tall irises to be flattened by wind and rain.

The vegetable garden can be enhanced with a few clumps or borders of irises, as it is also the classic place for the cultivation of cut flowers.