Iris Storm Center - Bearded Iris

Iris 'Storm Center' is a variety of Iris with real elegance, whose flowering stems carry large and beautiful flowers of particularly deep violet. Its large flowers are slightly ruffled and silky in texture and uniform in colour with matching beards. Among the tallest, it will work well alongside pastel blooms.

'Storm Center' Iris is a perennial rhizomatous plant that forms upright clumps. Its deciduous foliage disappears in autumn and reappears in spring. This plant belongs to the Iridaceae family. It is one of the many cultivars obtained over centuries, whose controversial origin is discussed around the number of chromosomes of potential ancestors. Note that Garden Irises have European origins.

The 'Storm Center' Iris is a tall variety, reaching 95 cm (37in) in height when flowering. It will sometimes be necessary to stake it, as its flower stems are affected by wind and rain. Each rhizome produces a well-branched stem that carries numerous flower buds. The clump will spread very quickly, with no theoretical limit over time, with the central rhizomes thinning out in favour of the outer rhizomes. The foliage consists of long sword-shaped, glaucous green, strongly veined leaves. Floral stems appear in April and produce flowers in May, in the middle of the season for tall irises, blooming from the top to the lower branches. The deep colour of this plant is, magnified by the silky texture of the petals and sepals. 

Schreiner 1979 hybridization - Award: Honorable Mention in 1981

To accompany irises, choose plants to associate with them based on their needs (exposure, soil...), their vegetation (low plants or light foliage), and their decorative appearance and flowering time. For example, Gauras will cast little shade on the irises and will keep the faded iris bed attractive throughout the summer. Eschscholzia will be happy with dry soil like the iris. Geraniums, perennial salvias, and Libertia also accompany irises very well. Slopes and terraced edges will be stabilised by a dense planting of old diploid varieties that require little care. If the goal is more decorative and access for care is possible, choose more modern varieties, for example, intermediates that are less likely than tall ones to be laid flat by the wind and rain.

At the foot of a very sunny wall, sheltered from the wind, tall irises can be used. They can be planted in the background of shorter and earlier varieties. The vegetable garden can accommodate a few clumps of irises for cut flowers.