All About Iris

The Iris is one of the easiest to grow perennials.  They really require little of your time and give so much back to your garden.  They are hypnotic, as you investigate every fold and fall to see how they blend colour in front of your eyes like a Picasso painting.  Sometimes even their form seems like an illusion, that there must be more flowers behind it all contributing to a glorious waterfall that attracts eyes as easy as pollinators. Which is why the name Iris, which is Greek for Rainbow, was chosen to represent this genus.  

If you are not an Iris grower you have been missing some of the most fragrant members of the garden too.  Some are so sweet-smelling, the fragrance will leave you as spellbound as their intricate patterns.  We also adore the ability to place a single stem in a vase.  Imagine turning heads with blooms like this.

Schreiner’s Iris Gardens is synonymous with amazing Tall Bearded Iris, with over 100 acres under cultivation, and is widely accepted as the premier grower.  Schreiner’s has numerous nationally recognized awards to their credit, including more than a half dozen from the Florence International Iris Competition, and eleven Dykes Memorial Medals.  

It has been a thrill to work with the 4th generation of the family to bring some of the best of Schreiner’s Tall Bearded Iris’ to the Canadian market. Like our seed selection we pride ourselves on only dealing with the best breeders, so you can grow the best Tall Bearded Iris we can find.  We even have a few that Floret herself, Erin Benzakein, calls her favourites and grows in Mount Vernon.

They do however seem to get labelled as “underappreciated”, as even Erin Benzekein says, and yet they are without equal in terms of impact.  We love Irises for their ability to grow strong in our Canadian climate and the production of more rhizomes makes this perennial easy to divide and expand in your garden without a great deal of technical knowledge.  They don’t require much for upkeep other than giving them a competition free home, so careful weeding and some space is all they need.  

Our Iris Collection is available starting Wednesday, September 15 at 6pm Eastern and start shipping immediately.  Your fall planting will never be any easier than our Iris Collection.