The choice of plants for a flower bed has long ceased to be a problem - a huge amount of seeds, seedlings and bulbs are sold in stores, nurseries and markets. The main thing is to decide on the composition of the flower bed and choose the necessary palette. Each grower is like an artist. But beauty is created not by broad strokes of oil paints, but by delicate flower buds.
A win-win option for decorating large and small flower beds can be Dutch iris. This is a bulbous plant with large beautiful flowers of an unusual shape.
What an iris bulb looks like
This is a perennial herbaceous plant with an elongated bulb instead of a rhizome. The bulb itself is a modified and shortened underground shoot resembling a kidney. With a vertical cut from the top to the bottom, in the middle part of the bulb, you can find the embryo of the flower arrow. Around it, like wrappers, are the rudiments of leaves. They are entrusted with the function of accumulating nutrients.
Axillary and central buds are located between the embryos of the leaves. The outer layer of the bulb is the integumentary scales. The diameter of the bulbs is not very large -it ranges from 2 to 3.5 cm.
Botanical description
Rhizome species of irises are more familiar to our gardeners. These are the flowers that in childhood we called cockerels and irises. However, bulbous irises are no longer exotic either. The most common of these is the Dutch iris. The scientific name of this flower is Xiphium. Despite the fact that the xifium is in the Iris family and belongs to the genus Iris, it is recognized as a separate representative of the genus. Sometimes, by the way, this causes confusion in the specialized literature.
Dutch bulbous iris, planting and care of which is described in this article, gives flower stalks of different heights. A dwarf species can give a peduncle 30 cm high. Ordinary xifium reaches a height of 80 cm.
The plant has narrowly grooved leaves, and the flower has a complex structure. There are 3 outer and 3 inner perianth lobes in a bud. The inner lobes are arranged vertically and have a narrow and broadly lanceolate shape. The outer lobes are rounded and directed downwards.
Usually on the outer perianth segments there is a yellow or orange spot in the center. The Dutch iris bud has several color options and leaf widths. What's more, it can be single color or dual color.
The following color of petals is possible:
- white;
- yellow of varying intensity;
- different shades of blue and cyan;
- different shades of purple;
- lilac;
- combined versions of all the listed colors.
Where Dutch irises are used
Dutch iris is often planted in household plots and garden beds. Landscape designers are actively promoting the look, using it in mixborders and alpine slides. Bright flowers make up bouquets that are appropriate to give to men, especially blue and purple bouquets. Low growing bulbous irises can be grown as houseplants.
It is worth noting that the cut flower of the bulbous Dutch iris will stand in a bouquet much longer than the root varieties. It is especially good to use rainwater for a vase, as it does not contain chlorine.
How to choose soil for planting
When Dutch iris is described, planting is seen by many as a daunting task. But it is not so. It is enough to have information about a few nuances of this process.
One of them is the choice of soil for the plant. The main thing you need to know is that irises do not tolerate excess moisture. They quickly die from rotting of the bulb and roots. Before planting, it is important to take care of drainage. However, it is not necessary to place it directly under the plants. Shallow trenches filled with gravel or broken bricks, dug near the flower bed along its entire length, have proven themselves well.
For those who are going to plant bulbous Dutch iris for the first time, planting and care begin with the choice of soil. The ideal soil for this plant is loose, with highair permeable, nutritious, neutral or slightly alkaline. In addition, it must be permeable.
Soddy and leafy soil is mixed into sandy and peaty soils, acidity is adjusted if necessary. Do not use fresh manure and excessive doses of chemical fertilizers. The ideal option is well-ripened compost or humus (a bucket of compost per 1 m² of land). After making top dressing, thoroughly mix with the soil. In the future, irises are fed with wood ash.
How to plant bulbs
Do you want Dutch bulbous iris to bloom under your window? Planting is done as follows:
- With a round peg (diameter about 5 cm), they pierce the soil 15 cm deep. A distance of about 10 cm is maintained between the pits.
- A handful of coarse river sand is poured into the hole, into which the bulb is buried by 1-2 cm.
- The bulb is covered with the same sand from above.
After purchase, any bulbs should be treated with a fungicide solution and dried slightly. Before planting, no later than 2 days in advance, a flower bed or flowerpot is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and potassium humate.
Slightly sprouted onions, with sprouts and roots, are planted in a trench. The depth can be from 15 to 20 cm. This helps to carefully position the roots and not damage them. In this case, the sand is filled up to about 2/3 of the height of the trench. From above, Dutch irises (bulbous species), are gently squeezed with sand and covered with soil mixture. Then watering is done. soilcan be mulched with sand, small stones, gravel.
Another convenient way to drop off
Dutch bulbous irises can be planted in a special basket. This is a plastic container with a large number of holes and holes for air access and water outflow. It is inexpensive, you can find it in flower shops or order it on the World Wide Web.
The basket must be put on the ground and circled with a shovel, remove the sod along the contour and dig a hole about 15 cm deep, add the necessary fertilizers into it, then put the basket on top and pour loose earth mixed with compost into it. Further, the required number of bulbs is placed in the basket, which are covered with earth from above. At the end of flowering, the container is dug up, and all the bulbs are stored.
Flower time
Flowering begins at the end of May. Depending on the variety, the difference in the time of appearance of flower stalks with buds is 2-3 weeks. If the street is humid and cool, then the flowers delight up to three to four weeks. In dry sunny weather, they fade faster.
If you choose varieties of bulbous irises with different flowering, then a chic flower bed will delight even longer. And then there will be juicy and beautiful foliage, which can also serve as a decoration.
How to care for a blooming Dutch iris
During flowering, the Dutch iris is not very whimsical. It should be watered only in very dry summers. Usually xifium has enough naturalhumidity and morning dew. If neighboring plants require watering, then the irises are simply covered with a film so that water does not enter the holes. Bulbous irises do not need regular top dressing. It is enough to feed with wood ash or a mineral mixture a week before flowering. Time is determined by the beginning of the formation of buds, they look like seals between the leaves of the plant.
What to do next
So, the buds have faded, the Xifium foliage has completely dried up. What to do next? Does the Dutch iris require care after flowering? After the leaves of the plant have completely dried, the bulb should be dug up. What is nice, where the gardener planted one bulb, there will be a small nest of them. Each onion can be planted separately next year, or you can leave them as a nest for 3-4 years. If the gardener divided it, then only the largest bulbs will bloom next year, and the little thing will grow for several seasons, preparing to bloom.
The bulbs are dried and stored in a dry place until the beginning of the Indian summer. Then they can be planted again in flower beds, but if the climate in the region is cold, then the planting should be covered for the winter. Thus, you can understand the color scheme, the timing of flowering and the height of the peduncles, and form the perfect flower garden next year.
Diseases and pests
Dutch iris is damaged by sheet drills. In this case, damaged leaves are cut off, and the plant is treated with insecticides. Be sure to dig up the ground in the fall and remove last year's foliage and cut stems andbranches of other plants.
Of the diseases, the most dangerous for irises are various forms of spotting.
Reviews of flower growers
There are a lot of varieties of Dutch irises. As flower growers note, these plants have a very large flower. In the reviews, most people praise the Dutch iris, as it is unpretentious in care and has a rather beautiful appearance. Such a plant takes root well in the temperate climate zone.
All flower growers are unanimous that Dutch irises (planting and care were described in this article) will decorate any garden plot or flower bed.
