Iris pallida Variegata - Sweet Iris

Iris pallida Variegata with bright green foliage variegated with yellow and cream, is a very beautiful form of this perennial, also known as Pale Iris.  This plant is ornamental even when not in flower and similar to our garden irises with large rhizomes and big puffy flowers. But it blooms longer in spring, and has a delicate fragrance. Its flowers are simple and of moderate size, a crystalline lavender blue, warmed by a golden to orange throat. It is an excellent garden plant that will adapt to all climates and dry summers but prefers limestone. A bright, sculptural, easy-to-grow iris that will even please those who generally don't like irises.

The Pale Iris is an upright, deciduous rhizomatous perennial of the iris family. Its origins are found in rocky areas of Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean regions, up to higher altitudes in Montenegro. This species gets its other name, Iris of Dalmatia, from its native region, which includes the coastal areas of Croatia and the Adriatic Sea, from Herzegovina to Bosnia. Iris pallida should not be confused with the Florentine Iris (Iris florentina or pallida Ten.), with white flowers, whose dried rhizomes are used in perfumery. The Iris of Dalmatia can be recognized by a papery, silvery sheath enclosing the base of its flowers, which resembles tissue paper.

The well-known 'Variegata' form may be a spontaneous mutation of this botanical species. it is a bit smaller, 70 cm (28in) high when flowering. Each rhizome produces one to two solid, branched flower stalks, from March to June depending on the climate. Each flower stalk has a total of 5 to 9 flowers. They open successively or in pairs, from dark blue twisted buds, over the course of 4 to 5 weeks. The flowers consist of 3 upright petals dominating 3 drooping sepals. Each sepal has a yellow to orange beard in the golden throat of the flower. Their size varies from 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4in) in diameter and they are bright lavender blue. The fragrance is typical of iris, sweet and powdery.

Iris pallida Variegata spreads fairly quickly, with no theoretical limit over time, with the central rhizomes becoming bare in favour of the outer rhizomes. The foliage is long swords, 20 to 50 cm (8 to 20in), with prominent veins, traversed along their entire length by large yellowish streaks on a green background that also takes on different, glaucous or vibrant shades. The vegetation disappears in winter, leaving only the rhizomes on the surface of the soil.

To accompany irises, choose plants that thrive in the sun and dry soil, preferably low-growing or with light foliage so as not to cast shade on them, and consider their decorative appearance and flowering time. Gaura, for example, meets these criteria, and its later flowering will keep the bed attractive in summer. California poppies, perennial geraniums, salvias, and ixias also complement irises very well. Tall irises can be used against a wall, relatively sheltered from the wind. They can also be planted in the foreground of shorter and earlier varieties. The vegetable garden can be adorned with a few clumps or borders of irises for cutting. The particularly bright Iris pallida Variegata will be highlighted if planted en masse along a pathway or in a large rockery.

Iris pallida, even more than Iris germanica, is the ancestor of our modern irises: it has been used by horticulturists since early hybridization and selection work. Its Plicata form, discovered in 1612 is shorter and bears smaller but speckled flowers, and is the origin of many horticultural varieties classified in the 'plicata' type.