Terry started by explaining that the plural of iris is iris. The flower is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow. They come in every colour of the rainbow except for red which is a genetic impossibility.These flowers have been cultivated for nearly 8000 years, there are pictures of them in the tombs of the pharaohs. The roots were believed to be valuable as medicines and cosmetics but have been discovered to be poisonous.The flowers are associated with royalty (fleur de lis) and they were used to dye cloth purple. It took 30 kilos of the flowers to dye 1 square metre of cloth. Only the clergy and royalty could afford the cloth.Iris came from Turkey and the Middle East and require very cold winters. They are very hardy. They do not need a lot of water and so are drought tolerant. But they need a minimum of 8 hours of sun a day in summer and as much as possible in winter. They need bare soil, but should not be mulched. Plant them on the surface in well drained soil, the rhizomes need to be level with the surface. Flood water them, do not use a sprinkler or hose. They grow well with roses as both need little waterand similar conditions in which to grow. They are heavy eaters and benefit from Rooster Booster or Dynamiclifter. Add a small amount of lime to the soil in February.Replant every two years, they do better when they are dug up after they have flowered, the end of December to March, leave them out of the ground for about a month. Cut the leaves when you replant them, if you are not replanting them pull off the dead leaves. They should be broken up at least every five years. Each rhizome only flowers once but then throws up more rhizomes.They can be grown in pots of at least 15cm diameter. Plant them against the side as they grow across the pot. Tall bearded iris are best to grow in Melbourne. Dutch iris are bulbs not rhizomes. Pacific coast iris are ideal in rockeries. Japanese iris live in water.
