The Dutch Iris is a type of iris that produces blue, yellow, or white blooms. These plants grow one to two feet tall, and they need full sun to grow well. They don’t spread much, only about half a foot at most, and you grow them from a bulb. They need well-drained soil to grow well, and they bloom between May and June.

Dutch iris, also known as Iris hollandica, have orchid-like flowers with silky petals. Flower colors range from pale blue and lemon through deep purple, bronze, rose and gold. Unlike other types of iris that grow from thickened roots called rhizomes, Dutch iris grow from teardrop-shaped bulbs that are planted in fall.

Iris × hollandica, commonly known as the Dutch iris, is a hybrid iris developed from species native to Portugal, Spain and North Africa  (Iris tingitana × Iris xiphium).

Two varieties of Iris xiphium (var. praecox) from Spain and (var. lusitanica) from Portugal, were crossed with Iris tingitana (from North Africa). This was carried out by a Dutch bulb firm ‘Van Tubergen’ (based in Haarlem) in the 19th century.

Because the bulb could be forced in a greenhouse to flower early, it was popular with florists. Since the 1900s it has been crossed with other species to create various cultivars. After the Second World War, stocks of bulbs were imported to America. They then increased the colour range mainly the yellows.

Iris × hollandica has a bulb of about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and can reach a height of about 60 centimetres (24 in). This bulbous iris has narrow linear green leaves and bears largish blue to yellow to white flowers. They do not have any fragrance. They mainly bloom in May–June in the northern hemisphere, and in September–October in the southern hemisphere.

We’ll be sharing more about this flower in future.