Iris x hollandica Red Ember

The 'Red Ember' Dutch Iris is a flamboyant variety of Iris x hollandica. This perennial plant offers magnificent bicoloured flowers in unique shades of dark purple-red and brown, enhanced by a golden yellow spot. Perfect for borders and flower beds, this iris variety also produces beautiful flowers for cutting. Easy and reliable, this iris blooms effortlessly every year in late spring to early summer, depending on the climate.

Dutch Irises have an underground storage organ in the form of a bulb, unlike their cousins the bearded iris. Belonging to the same botanical family of Iridaceae, they differ as they don't have "beards," those pretty little fluffy and colourful tongues found on the drooping sepals of German Iris. Dutch irises have never grown wild in Dutch soil, but are the result of cross-breeding between two main botanical species: Iris filifolia, sometimes confused with Iris xyphium which resembles it, originating from both Spain and North Africa, and Iris tingitana, from Tangier and northern Morocco. The genealogy of Dutch hybrids can seem confusing, but the result is always remarkable. Their flowers are somewhat underutilised in the garden and appreciated in floristry.

The 'Red Ember' Dutch Iris is a cultivar registered by Maveridge International B.V. on June 7, 2012. It won the "Field Trial Certificate" award the same year. The plant forms an erect and very narrow clump over time, reaching a height of 50-55 cm when in bloom, and spreads indefinitely through the production of bulblets. This 'Red Ember' cultivar blooms in late spring, typically in May-June, for 2 to 3 weeks, on rigid stems. Its flowers are grouped in pairs or threes on the stems and measure 8 to 10 cm in diameter. Describing colours in irises can be quite difficult, as they look different depending on the light. The official description of 'Red Embers' flowers is as follows: finely rounded and bicoloured flowers, combining shades of dark purple-red and dark brown. The outer sepals are dark brown with a light green tint in the middle, which turns light yellow at the base of the sepals. The inside of the flower displays shades of yellow-brown with slightly reddish velvet highlights. The inner petals are purple on both the inside and outside, while the anthers and pollen are yellow. Its flowering offers an explosion of vibrant and warm colours in the garden. Each flower can last 5 to 7 days, even in a vase. The bulb of this iris is round, measuring 2 to 3 cm in diameter and covered with fibrous, rosy beige skin. It produces a few linear, thin, and leathery leaves, similar to a grass, with a slightly glaucous green colour, often streaked and folded in half towards the ground. They usually appear in autumn, persist more or less depending on the severity of the winter, and dry out in summer, during the resting period.

Dutch Irises are easy to grow in light and fertile soil and have undeniable elegance. Plant them in groups of 10 to 20 bulbs of the same variety: they will come back year after year to offer you more and more elegant and joyful flowers. All irises need a sunny exposure to bloom well. Provide them with at least half a day of full sun.

The 'Red Ember' Dutch Iris thrives in flower beds, borders, and pots. This plant fits perfectly in classic and contemporary gardens. To create harmonious combinations you can pair it with Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Black Beauty' (fountain grass), Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' (lavender), Achillea millefolium 'Cassis' (yarrow), and Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' (woodland sage).