Iris germanica Agrippa - Bearded Iris

The 'Agrippa' Germanica Iris is a variety of historic Garden Iris, obtained by Cayeux around 1936. Old cultivars are once again attracting the attention of collectors and gardeners due to their vigour and graceful flowering, so different from the enormous frilly corollas of modern varieties. 'Agrippa' presents to the eye light, generally bicoloured flowers, in a range of warm tones. It possesses all the characteristics of diploid irises that bring so much charm to old gardens: it is a prolific and undemanding plant.

The 'Agrippa' 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 centuries, whose controversial origin is debated around the number of chromosomes of potential ancestors. It should be noted that Garden Iris has European origins. They are plants that thrive in limestone soils and require plenty of sunlight, with their rhizomes needing to 'bake' in summer to be able to flower. A minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day is generally required.

'Agrippa' will reach a height of between 70 and 80cm (28 and 32in) when in bloom. Its floral stems are slender, with few branches, and bear some elongated and pointed buds in the shape of a ogive. These stems are sensitive to wind and rain, just like the flowers. The clump will spread without a theoretical limit over time, with the central rhizomes becoming bare in favour of the outer rhizomes. The foliage consists of long and wide sabre-shaped leaves, with a slightly glaucous green colour, traversed by parallel veins. The flowers, not very large and of a simple shape, open from the top towards the lower branches. The upright petals are a coppery pink-yellow colour with a smoky purple-pink edge, and they surmount narrow sepals that are Bordeaux red to garnet, lighter at the edges, and striated at the shoulders. The beard is orange-yellow, surrounded by white stripes. Mid-season flowering, in May.

To accompany irises, plants should be chosen 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 cast little shade on irises and will keep the faded iris bed attractive all summer long. Eschscholzia will be satisfied, like the iris, with a dry soil in summer. Geraniums, salvias, and Libertia also accompany irises very well. Slopes and terraced edges will be stabilized by dense plantings 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 than tall ones to be literally blown to the ground by wind and rain.

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