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Iris germanica Vitrail - Bearded Iris

Iris germanica Vitrail
Bearded Iris

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This intermediate iris lives up to its name: its creamy white flowers are striped, edged and marked with purplish red, like coloured fragments around a pale centre. The bronze beards, washed with lilac blue at the tips, add a precious touch to the throat. A mid-season variety, it blooms in May on medium-sized stems.
Height at maturity
65 cm
Spread at maturity
40 cm
Exposure
Sun
Hardiness
Hardy down to -18°C
Soil moisture
Dry soil
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Best planting time July to October
Recommended planting time February to April, September to November
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Flowering time May
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Description

The ‘Vitrail’ iris is a intermediate bearded iris whose flowers, with their plicata pattern and contrasting colours, resemble small stained-glass windows. A creamy white background is painted with reddish-purple markings, denser on the edges and shoulders, like a coloured setting around lighter areas. This fairly low variety deserves a prime spot. Its burgundy and cream colouring is best admired up close.

Iris germanica ‘Vitrail’ is an intermediate bearded iris: it reaches 60 to 65 cm in flower, a height placing it between dwarf irises and tall garden irises. This perennial forms a clump of sword-shaped, glaucous green leaves gathered in dense fans. Its thick rootstock protrudes slightly from the soil; new shoots gradually appear at the edge of the stump, which expands over time. Flowering occurs in May. The flower of the ‘Vitrail’ iris displays a plicata pattern. In irises, this term describes a flower with a light background, heavily coloured on the edges, showing veins or shoulders of a stronger colour.
In ‘Vitrail’, the three upright petals are creamy white, striped and edged with reddish purple. The three falling sepals have a white background, broadly marked with reddish purple. The markings concentrate on the edges and rise towards the shoulders, while the centre remains lighter. The beards are bronze at the base, lilac-blue at the tip.

‘Vitrail’ is a creation of Richard Cayeux, registered in 2003 under seedling number 9820C. It results from a cross between ‘Hoodlum’ and ‘Change Of Pace’.

You can combine this intermediate iris with cream, white, deep purple or brownish-purple blooms. Try it with the Iris ‘White Lady’, Orlaya grandiflora, the double late tulip ‘Mount Tacoma’ and a few clumps of Stipa tenuifolia ‘Pony Tails’. Leave a little space between plants to keep the rootstocks in the sun.

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Garden iris, bearded iris: planting, care
Family sheet
by Virginie T. 13 min.
Garden iris, bearded iris: planting, care
Read article

Flowering

Flower colour two-tone
Flowering time May

Foliage

Foliage persistence Semi-evergreen
Foliage colour medium green

Plant habit

Height at maturity 65 cm
Spread at maturity 40 cm
Growth rate normal

Botanical data

Genus

Iris

Species

germanica

Cultivar

Vitrail

Family

Iridaceae

Other common names

Bearded Iris

Origin

Cultivar or hybrid

Product reference26084

Planting and care

Plant the iris ‘Vitrail’ from July to October, when the rootstock can root before winter, or in spring in heavy soils that remain damp in autumn. Choose a very sunny position, with at least six hours of direct sunlight per day. Prepare a light, friable, fairly rich soil, neutral to calcareous or slightly acidic, but above all well-draining. In clay soil, plant on a slight mound and mix gravel or coarse sand into the planting soil. Place the rootstock almost on the surface, back visible to the sun, then cover only the roots. Water after planting, then only during prolonged droughts in the first year. Remove faded flowers as they appear. Cut the spent flower stalks at the base, but keep healthy leaves until they yellow. Apply some well-rotted compost in spring, around the clump, without covering the rootstocks. Divide the clumps every three or four years, in summer, when the centre flowers less.

Planting period

Best planting time July to October
Recommended planting time February to April, September to November

Intended location

Suitable for Meadow, Rockery
Type of use Border, Edge of border, Slope
Hardiness Hardy down to -18°C (USDA zone 7a) Show map
Ease of cultivation Amateur
Planting density 5 per m2
Exposure Sun
Soil pH Neutral, Calcareous
Soil type Chalky (poor, alkaline and well-drained), Silty-loamy (rich and light), Stony (poor and well-drained)
Soil moisture Dry soil well-drained, fairly rich

Care

Pruning instructions Cut the faded flower stalks.
Pruning Pruning recommended once a year
Pruning time May
Disease resistance Good
Overwinter Can be left in the ground

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