10 Reasons You Should Plant Siberian Iris

Siberian Iris deserve to be in your yard! They offer gorgeous color and are totally care-free. And you can sometimes get them for free!

Siberian Iris are drought tolerant plants and they come back every year with no effort on your part. My kind of plants!

10 Ways Siberian Iris Can Benefit Your Landscaping

1. Plant iris where you want to stabilize a sloping area. Like common iris, Siberian Iris have such matted roots that they really hold the soil. This prevents erosion or sinking of the soil in sloping areas. I planted some Siberian Iris along the edge of our sloping back yard. Where the iris are the original edge of the yard held. Where there are no iris, the yard has slipped even more down the hill. You can see this in the picture of the stairway. I planted the Iris there because the dirt of the slope was pulling away from the top step. These clumps have gotten larger and held the soil wonderfully.
   

   Iris Beautifully Preventing Erosion

   A whole row of Iris can hold back wilder areas from intruding into your yard also. And it’s gorgeous!

2. Siberian Iris do well in hot areas that other plants do not. Clumps of these Iris thrive right next to our street at my mailbox garden. They do not mind the salt from salt trucks in the winter and are comfortable with the extra heat being right next to the street that is common in summer. And they looks so nice by the mailbox!
3. Siberian Iris are drought tolerant. I have never watered them although we are not in a drought area.
4. Siberian Iris do not need fertilizer. I have never used any on them and the foliage and flowers are gorgeous. And the clumps become so dense that no weeds can get through!
5. The foliage is attractive even when no flowers are blooming. You can add it to any flower arrangements for nice greenery. The flowers themselves last only one day, but look wonderful brought indoors to enjoy their intense color.
6. The dried seed pods on their stalks add great texture and interest to dried flower arrangements or fall decor. Spray paint them silver or gold to add to holiday decorations! Just let them dry naturally on the plant and pick in the fall.
7. Siberian Iris are usually left alone by deer. I only had one year (out of 20) when the deer ate a few flowers. Their food supply must have been low that year.
8. Siberian Iris can give you new plants for free. A small clump of Iris slowly gets bigger and more beautiful. You don’t have to do anything with the clump, but if you divide it (right after they are finished blooming is a good time for this) you can plant the divisions where you want more to grow.
9. You might be able to get your first Siberian Iris for free if you know someone who grows them. Just admire their Iris and ask about growing them. They are likely to give you some. Gardeners are like that. In turn you can give some away one day. My first Siberian Iris came from a friend and now I am happy to have swathes of gorgeous color every year just from those few plants.
10. Imitate Van Gogh’s gardens and plant these Iris artfully in clumps along the edge of a garden or pocket garden. You’ll enjoy the view every year!

Varieties of Iris to Choose From

Siberian Iris come in a variety of colors, but my favorite is still the purple. I prefer Siberian Iris to the common iris because the flowers and foliage look more delicate to me. I like the brighter green color of the foliage on Siberian Iris compared to the dull foliage on the bigger varieties. It just looks more fresh to me. Since the blooms on the Siberian variety grow closer to each other they give that wonderful hit of intense color to your yard. The larger blooms on the common Iris and German Iris are set father apart on the plant so they are more like individual blooms. You don’t get the large swathe of color effect. With a swathe of my purple Siberian Iris it sometimes looks like intense lavender!

Common iris, also known as “flags,” have most of the same habits. The German Bearded Iris come in a wider variety of color combinations, many of which are stunning. Any of these Iris varieties will be drought tolerant and prevent erosion. It’s just a matter of personal preference. They are all super easy to grow and come back year after year with no maintenance. I’ve seen places where the iris outlived the residents!

For more gardening ideas, including water-saving gardening, tap any of the tags below this post. Happy gardening!