Iris Pseudatas; The New Eye Shadow Irises

I just came back from a Master Gardener training session with Ken O'Dell maven plantsmen and a long time volunteer for the Overland Park Arboretum. Ken was a wholesale grower since retired and his major push with the Arboretum is a the major grower for their spring plant sale. Ken presented a wide ranging discussion of working with perennials. It was a standing room only crowd of over 300 people andKen overwhelmed us all with three hours of PowerPoint slides.

However it was two types of rare species iris that inspired me to ask a volunteer sitting next to me to write down the names for me. Iris pseudatas is a cross between iris pseudacorus and the Japanese iris ensata. By water these irises can reach 5 feet but generally around 3 feet in common garden conditions. They are hardy in our area and reportedly bloom over three weeks, but who knows in Kansas at this time of year.

Pictured is 'Beyakuya No Kumi' or Land of the Midnight Sun.