Iris reticulata Katharina Hodgkin

The Iris reticulata Katharina Hodgkin is a small botanical iris with a precious and very early flowering. It offers fragrant flowers in a combination of very bright shades. Their washed white colour veined with more or less intense sky blue, dotted with navy blue, enhanced with yellow touches at the base of the sepals, is a marvel of delicacy. This small bulbous plant is grown in well-drained soil, in full sun or partial shade, in borders, rockeries or even in containers.

According to sources, this Iris reticulata Katharina Hodgkin is the result of a cross between Iris histroides major (blue) and Iris winnogradowii (pale yellow with spotting in the throat), or the marriage of Iris histroides major (blue) and Iris danfordiae (deep yellow with spotting in the throat). These plants are all native to the Caucasus, and naturally grow in alpine meadows and rocky habitats (on limestone and gneiss-rich soil), between 1000 and 2500m (3281 and 8202ft) altitude. Forming a small, erect and spreading clump of 15 cm (6in) in flower, this perennial spreads without theoretical limit through the production of bulblets. It blooms at the end of winter, when the days begin to lengthen, usually in February-March. Its solitary flowers, 7 to 8 cm (3in) long, are relatively large compared to the size of the plant, and highly fragrant. They are composed of spatulate tepals, with the 3 upper ones narrow and upright, and the 3 lower ones wider, rounded, and strongly veined. Each flower is enclosed at the base in two scale-like bracts of a purplish green. The fruits are swollen capsules containing ovoid seeds. The foliage, short during flowering, elongates afterwards. The basal leaves are glaucous green, quadrangular in section, sheathing at the base. They are deciduous and disappear in summer.

The reticulated iris is perfect in rockeries, borders, flower beds, or even to decorate ephemeral flowering pots, to bring indoors and enjoy its fragrance up close. It pairs well with iris pumila, botanical crocuses, anemone blanda, or Algerian iris. Let the bulbs naturalize, they will form beautiful clumps after a few years, heralding the return of spring.