Iris japonica 'Aphrodite'
Iris japonica'Aphrodite'• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• flowering season: spring
• height: 10 to 12 inches
• Light requirements: filtered light or shade
• Soil requirements: average, well drained
• Water requirments: average
• Growth habit: does not grow as a tight clump but has a running root; you may have to reset it every few years to keep it from moving away from the place where you want it
• How to propagate: dividing in early summer
• Leaf type: 1 or 1½ wide leaves of green and cream
• Ways to use it: brightens up a shady garden
• Special characteristics: delicate and beautiful flowers, several to a stem
From Japan, this woodland iris needs shade. Pale blue flowers, several to a stem open in spring. They are fringed and there are spots of orange and yellow dotted at the base of the falls. They are an inch to an inch and a half across and have something of an exotic look to them, a bit orchid-like. Plants will spread moderately by thin rhizomes. The leaves are equally streaked in green and cream. Height of the plant is ten to twelve inches. Hardy in USDA Zones 7-9, although it can grow as cold as Zone 5 in a protected location. It has been planted to good effect as a groundcover in some of the large greenhouses and conservatories of botanical and municipal gardens.