I love serendipitous plants—those crafty covert operatives of the horticultural world that seem to spring up unbidden and surprise you with their beautiful flowers. Not long ago a friend had a serendipitous experience with nodding star of Bethlehem or Ornithogalum nutans. Touring her garden one day, she caught it in the act of showing off its elegant, pale green and white striped flowers in a garden corner. She hadn’t planted it, but, as stars of Bethlehem are wont to do, it had taken up residence anyway. Luckily for the nodding star, my friend was enchanted.
My own most recent bout of serendipity happened with a dwarf crested iris—Iris cristata– that had been lurking for nearly a year at the base of a new lilac bush. Since I purchased and planted the iris, the whole experience wasn’t as dramatic as my friend’s, but the little flowers still surprised me. I had grown accustomed to seeing the circle of sword-shaped leaves and thought occasionally that the plant was spreading awfully quickly for something that was yet to pop a single bloom. Still, most of the time I focused on the flashier plants, taking largely undeserved pride in the big clumps of daffodils and the impressive size of the tree peony growing only about eight feet from the crested iris.
Last week I came home one day and there they were—three perfect, diminutive iris blooms staring at me from beside the lilac bush. I hadn’t noticed the buds, which, typical of most iris, remained as tightly furled as an expensive umbrella until they opened.
Crested iris are an American original, hailing from the southeastern quadrant of the United States. They are a woodland plant and crave the kind of shady situations present at the edges of wooded areas. Growing between six to twelve inches tall, they sprout from rhizomes or fleshy roots, just like their statuesque German or bearded iris relatives. The flower structure is similar as well, with three slender petals or standards and three larger, droopier petals, known as “falls”. The falls feature golden fuzzy “beards”. The petals on my serendipitous crested iris are pale blue, with white central “crests” surrounding beards that are outlined in darker blue. Though the plant tag has long since disappeared, my iris looks very similar to a cultivar called ‘Vein Mountain’. Depending on the variety, crested iris petals may be white or shades of blue-purple or purple, all with the characteristic gold-centered crest.
People who live with shady garden spaces frequently complain about their inability to grow flowers. This is generally because they surrender to the urge to define themselves and their gardens by what won’t grow rather than what will grow easily. Crested iris falls into the latter category, requiring absolutely nothing once it is watered in and established. Now is a good time to plant the rhizomes, making sure that they are barely covered with soil. If the weather is dry, water regularly until the iris are settled in. Next spring you will most likely have plenty of blooms just slightly before the larger iris show their petals.
These smaller iris are especially well-suited to growing on shady embankments, either steep or small. Shady rock gardens are also good sites. All the colors are complementary, so you can mix up varieties to create a crested iris tapestry. I am partial to the large, light blue-purple flowers of ‘Powder Blue Giant’. For those who must have an all-white garden or need a bright accent, pick ‘Montrose White’.
Allegedly deer-proof, like other members of the iris clan, the crested varieties make good companions for a number of shade lovers. Plant them at the feet of shrubs, as I have, or intermingle them with varieties of epimediums or “mourning widow” geranium—Geranium phaeum—for a carpet effect. They might also front for taller, later blooming shade lovers like bears’ breeches—Acanthus mollis—or monkshood, also known as Aconitum.
If your crested iris are happy, you will want to keep them that way by dividing them every few years. This is very easy. Dig up the entire clump, brush off excess soil, cut away any dead rhizomes and separate the clump so that each piece has a healthy number of attached roots. Replant in sites with the same light and soil conditions and you will be on your way to creating the kind of repetition of horticultural elements that makes garden designers swoon.
In spring, larger nurseries and garden centers may stock crested iris. If you can’t find them locally, try Plant Delights Nursery, 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, NC; 919-772-4794; www.plantdelightsnursery. For a printed catalog, send $7.00, which will be used as a credit towards your first order.