Spring Bulbs - Iris Bulbs

Irises , or flowers of the Iris genus, are named after the Greek messenger of the same name, who arrived on earth via a rainbow. Like their namesake, Irises come in a rainbow of colors: white, gold, orange, yellow, pink, and all shades of blue through to the deepest purple. All iris flowers have three upright petals called "standards", and three petal-like sepals called "falls"; in some irises, the standards and sepals have different colors, in others, they have the same color. Irises grow from bulbs or rhizomes -- the two terms can be used more or less interchangeably, although the correct term is rhizome. Two popular and easily grown irises are the netted iris ( Iris reticulata ), which gets its name from the coarse net-like covering on the bulbs, and the Danford iris ( Iris danfordiae ). The netted iris bulb comes in several cultivars, with a color range of blue, violet, purple, maroon, and bi-colored varieties. The Danford iris has a bright yellow flower.