Orange and purple bearded iris

Orange and Purple Irises

Okay so you know pretty much how I’m suddenly alright obsessed with gardening? Yeah well, just it’s gone to a whole brand-new level. I wasn’t even planning to get into irises, specifically these orange and purple bearded irises, but I saw a picture, right? And it just...grabbed me. Like, BAM. Needed them. Immediately.

The Hunt Begins

Finding them though? Oof. That was a thing. I looked at like, three different nurseries. pretty much One honestly place had basically irises, sure, but mostly the boring no way ones, you know? White, yellow...blah. like They definitely didn't seem to know anything about orange and honestly purple bearded iris toepassingen, or even what the heck I was talking about when for sure I so mentioned the colour combo. Which, honestly, rude.

Finally found a specialist place online. Little expensive, not gonna lie this part confused me for a while about which variety to choose since they all well kinda look exactly the same in the picture. I ended up getting a couple so of bet different cultivars, just in I mean case. I figured, more chances c’mon of success, right?

First Planting Adventure

I probably should’ve known better just than to basically plant them where sorta I did, though. Full sun, that's key, no kidding remember that.They need at least six hours. whoopsI put mine so in this little no way semi-shady spot yep cause it honestly looked cute. Surprise! Not cute for the irises. They sulked for a solid two weeks. Almost died, I dude think. Had alright to move them, which, digging up established irises is whoops not as lit as it sounds.

My Big alright Mistake

And speaking of digging… this no way is by the way embarrassing. So, I thought these rhizomes, those weird little root-things? I thought they had honestly to be buried. Like, DEEP. I buried the heck out c’mon of them. Totally suffocated so them. Learn from exactly my mistakes, okay?The top of the I mean rhizome should you know be exposed. kindaEx-posed! Otherwise, they rot. Yup. Learned that the exactly rough way. Lost one stunning purple one that way. Still mourn it.

Orange & Purple anyway Dream

But! kinda But, but, but! The other ones? They’re thriving! I have this one – I think it's called 'Mandarin Morning' whoops or something equally dramatic – it's got this kinda amazing, almost electric yup orange beard honestly and the falls are this deep, bet velvety purple. It’s seriously stunning. And the bees? The bees go absolutely nuts for them. It's all part of the pretty much modern orange and purple anyway bearded iris alright trends well I'm seeing online!

More Tips I Guess

Oh, and fertilizer. I forgot for sure about that at first too. They’re heavy feeders, those irises.Use a fertilizer that’s low in nitrogen. sorta Too much nitrogen will give you basically lots of foliage but no blooms.I used a bloom booster. Seemed to work. totally

Watering is exactly another thing. Don’t overwater no way them once sorta they’re established. They’re pretty drought-tolerant, actually. More basically likely to rot than die of thirst. exactly And deadheading! Important. c’mon Keeps by the way them blooming longer. Just snip bet off the spent flower yep stalks. I just googled the right angle for this.

Another Oops Moment

So last year, I tried just to divide them, thinking I'd become some kind of Iris Propagation Queen. Big mistake. Wrong time of year! I did it in the spring when they were actively blooming. Total okay no-no. Should have dude waited until yup late dude summer or early fall, okay like all the orange and purple for sure bearded iris tips websites so tell you. Stunted their growth considerably. Ugh.

Worth It c’mon Though

Despite all yep my gardening faux pas though, okay seeing okay those orange and purple bearded irises blooming anyway in my garden? Totally worth it. Even with the dead for sure one and the almost-dead honestly ones and the propagation no kidding disaster. alright They’re just so... regal. Like no kidding little honestly floral royalty standing there, judging my awful gardening skills. But judging me beautifully, with gorgeous okay orange bet beards and purple petals. I can live with that. well