Iris ensata Gold Bound - Japanese Water Iris

Iris Ensata 'Gold Bound' has 15cm (6in) diameter flowers, pure white, maculated with gold in the centre. They bloom in late summer at 80cm (32in) in height for 3 good weeks between June and July.

Grow this variety in moist soil with perennial white flowers: Anemone rivularis, Astilbe 'Diamant', and Lysimachia clethroides.

The better-known Iris ensata are called Japanese Iris and have nothing in common with our classic garden irises. They live in full sun or partial shade, in moist to wet soils. The 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) diameter flowers are composed of 3 large flat sepals topped by 3 finer petals. There are many cultivars with pink, violet, blue, white flowers... some of which have sepals that are occasionally striped or spotted with black, blue, or violet.

Often grown on the banks of ponds and basins, Iris ensata, like many marsh plants, can live with their "feet" in water during the summer but do not tolerate being submerged during the winter, especially if it is freezing. Plant them in heavy soil forming a slight depression, at the bottom of a slope, or on a bank where the soil becomes moist through capillarity.