Iris Kempfer

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Iris Kempfer Is an amazingly beautiful plant that will surely become a good addition to your reservoir. In nature, this plant is common in the Far East, Japan, Korea and China.

According to its development cycle, Kempfer's iris belongs to the representatives of perennial plants. The height of such a plant, together with peduncles, will, on average, be about eighty centimeters, but some varieties can even reach more than a meter in length.

As for describing the appearance of this plant, Kempfer's iris is very similar to smooth iris, however, these two species differ from each other. Kempfer's iris is characterized by the fact that it grows in the form of a dense bush, this plant has narrow leaves, in which the middle vein is quite pronounced. In this case, the flower stalks of the plant will be hollow, they may have about two to three leaves and about two flowers. It should be noted that purple shades will prevail in the color of Kempfer's iris flowers. The seeds of the plant are flat, and they are winged along their edges.

As for the rich decorative properties of this amazing plant, not only flowers, but also leaves should be noted. The leaves of Kempfer's iris can reach eighteen millimeters in width, they are xiphoid, the leaves are narrowed at the ends, they are light green in color, and at the base the leaves will be reddish-purple, while the middle vein is pronounced.

For Kempfer's iris, it is difficult to name a special peak of decorativeness: after all, this plant looks great all season, regardless of its flowering. Flowering begins around mid-July.

As for the flowers, there are two purple-violet flowers on the stem, which are not endowed with a scent. In the perianth, the outer lobes are obovate, with a yellow stripe in the center of the marigold. The inner perianth lobes are about one and a half to two times shorter than the outer ones, they will be raised up. The size of the inflorescence is on average about eight to twelve centimeters, but with very good care, these values can be from fifteen to twenty centimeters.

Care and cultivation

This plant requires moist soils, which must be drained. At the same time, it is very important that there are no specific planting dates: this process can be carried out during the entire growing season. The distance between plants when planting should be about forty to fifty centimeters.

As for the soil, in principle, Kempfer's iris is not particularly whimsical in this regard, however, the best plant development is possible on fertile clay-sandy soils. The soils should also be acidic. However, today varieties of this plant are available that can be resistant to slightly alkaline soils.

Planting in the ground is recommended around the end of August and the beginning of September. It is important to note that both leaves and roots should be shortened by about a third of their length before planting.

Kempfer's iris tolerates winter quite well, however, for young plants in central Russia, it will be necessary to equip a shelter with spruce branches.

This plant is recommended at least six to eight hours of intense sunlight per day. If you grow the plant on calcareous soils, then Kempfer's iris will turn yellow rather quickly. During the flowering period, this plant is quite resistant to temporary flooding. In order for young plants to take root faster, they will need constant moisture maintenance. In winter, however, this plant does not tolerate excessive moisture, this explains the need for drainage for certain Kempfer iris varieties.