Iris x hollandica Rosario

The Iris (x) hollandica 'Rosario' is a variety of bulbous iris that offers a new colour, lavender-pink, enhanced by a beautiful golden yellow spot. It blooms in late spring for 2 to 3 weeks. Elegant, the stylized flowers of Dutch Irises stand out for their real beauty in the garden, as well as in bouquets. They are easy to grow in full sun, in fertile and well-drained soil.

Dutch Irises, or bulbous irises, have an underground storage organ in the form of a bulb, not a rhizome like their famous cousins, the Bearded Irises or Garden Irises. Belonging to the same botanical family as the latter, the Iridaceae family, they also differ from them by the absence of "beards," those pretty little fluffy and coloured tongues found on the drooping sepals of bearded irises. The first Dutch Irises (x) 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, both native to Spain and North Africa, and Iris tingitana, from Tangier and northern Morocco. The genealogy of Dutch hybrids is sometimes confusing, but the result is always remarkable. Their flowers, somewhat underused in the garden, are highly appreciated in floristry.

The Rosario cultivar forms over time a narrow and upright clump of about 50-55 cm (20-22in) when in bloom, this perennial extends indefinitely through the production of bulblets. This cultivar blooms in late spring, usually in May-June, for 2 to 3 weeks, on sturdy wind-resistant stems. Its solitary or paired flowers on the stems, 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4in) in diameter, are relatively thin compared to those of Bearded Irises, but of undeniable elegance. They are a pinkish mauve colour. Each flower consists of 3 erect, slender, translucent petals of small size. Underneath this trio are 3 nearly horizontal petals, closely connected to the petaloid styles with serrated edges, arranged in a quincunx pattern. Wider, they are spatulate, marked with darker veins, illuminated by a beautiful golden yellow spot surrounded by a thin white margin. Each flower can live for 5 to 7 days, even in a vase. The bulb is round, 2 to 3 cm (1in) wide, covered with a fibrous tunic of a pinkish beige colour. It produces some linear, thin, leathery leaves, somewhat resembling those of a grass, with a slightly glaucous green colour, often slightly striated and folded in half towards the ground. They often appear in autumn, persisting more or less depending on the severity of the winter and drying up in summer, during the dormant period.

Less known and less used by gardeners than Bearded Irises, Dutch Irises are nevertheless easy to grow in fertile and light soil, with undeniable elegance and indifferent to wild grasses that struggle to infiltrate their very vertical clumps. Plant them in groups of 10 to 20 bulbs of the same variety; they will come back year after year to offer you even more refined and cheerful flowers, which go well with the spring flowering of flowering shrubs. They are also stunning when planted among perennials such as peonies and daylilies, which will cover their absence in summer when they are dormant. Their Mediterranean origins give them excellent adaptation to summer drought. Finally, pick their flowers to make bouquets with roses, arums, or even late tulips. All irises need a sunny exposure to bloom well. Offer them at least half a day of full sun per day.