Scientific name: Iris germanica
Synonym: Iris mesopotamica, Iris ‘Florentina’ blue
Family: IRIDACEAE
Common names: “bearded iris” “common German flag” “common iris” “orris root”
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Conditions:
Zone: 3-10
Light: Full sun
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil:Alkaline, sandy loam, doesn’t like clay
Moisture: Well drained, dry, needs to dry out in the summer
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 2-3′ W 1-2′
Leaf and Stem shape: Grey-green linear leaves 
Flower: Fragrant flowers with bluish-violet standards and falls, with yellow beards
Maintenance: Low, cut out flowered stems when finished, dead leaves can be pulled out gently, avoid covering the rhizomes with soil or mulch, when planting leave the tops exposed and stake them in place with chopsticks, divide every 4 years or when the clump starts to grow in an O shape
Landscape use: Mediterranean garden, flower beds, cut flowers
Propagate: By division
Pests & Disease: Slugs, snails and rots will quickly take over if too wet
*Deer resistant, Attracts hummingbirds
Comments: Plants will spread around the flower bed if happy and can be a bit thugish with the more tender flowers, but not so bad as they are easily dug up and divided or removed, native to the eastern Mediterranean area
Cultivars: ~AGM winner: I. g. ‘Florentina’ – source of orris root used in perfumery
I. g. ‘Edith Wolford’ – completely yellow standards with purple falls
Vancouver Island Grows 