Yellow Flag Iris

An improved, garden variety (tetraploid) of the wild flag iris, the Yellow Flag Iris is a tall plant that makes a bold vertical accent even when not in flower. The slender green leaves rise up in a large clump, each one gracefully bending over at the tip. The flower spikes develop in summer, and produce flowers over several weeks, each bloom a sun-bright golden yellow. Yes, they do catch the eye like a waving flag, and look great in natural settings in your garden, and also at the edge of water. Needing no special care it soon grows into a dense clump 3 feet across, and in good conditions the flower stems can rise as much as 6 feet tall, although more usually they are around 4 feet tall. The flowers form a striking triangle, slender trumpets opening to a flared mouth that is marked with dark-brown feathering on the broad lower lip. If left uncut the flowers become fat green pods by late summer, which burst open. Cut and dried, these seed heads are attractive winter decorations.

• Forms a large clump of slender upright leaves – a good vertical accent in the garden
• Beautiful bright golden yellow blooms on 4-6 foot stems in early summer
• Handsome seed pods in fall can be dried for decoration
• Will grow in regular soil, wet soil and in shallow water
• An improved version of the wild plant, with much larger flowers

Grow the Yellow Flag Iris in full sun or partial shade, continuing to flower even with just a few hours of sunlight each day. Grow it preferably in acidic soil that is rich and moist – good drainage isn’t necessary. It grows in regular garden beds, and also in wet soil and directly in shallow water. It is hardy in zone 4 and stays green most of the year in hot zones. Deer and rabbits leave it alone and it never has the problems seen so often in bearded iris. It can be left to naturalize itself along the edges of a stream or lake. Remove spent flower heads if you wish, but it isn’t necessary in a natural planting. Cut down the dead foliage in winter – avoid cutting the new, green leaves that often show at the base from fall on.