Iris 'Double Standards'

Iris 'Double Standards': Rule-Breaking Blooms with Bonus Petals

Light blue-violet flowers with extra petals stuffed in the centre, because one set wasn't enough. 'Double Standards' holds itself to a higher bar than everyone else, AND HONESTLY, SO SHOULD YOU.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Iris sibirica 'Double Standards'
• Common Name: Siberian Iris
• Height: 75–85 cm (30–34 in)
• Spread: 60 cm (24 in)
• Flowers: Light blue-violet, with extra petals in the centre and blue-violet falls marked by a gold signal and a white sunburst halo
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Narrow, grass-like green leaves forming a large, upright clump
• Features: Tolerates moist soil

Where to Plant: Plant it where people will see the flowers up close: near a path, a patio or the front of a mid-height border. It also does well by ponds and in low, damp spots, and it takes clay soil and hard winters in stride.

Companion Plants: Use 'Double Standards' in a moist bed in sun or part shade with blue bells, burgundy pincushions and lavender fluff. Campanula 'Rapido Blue' edges the front with deep blue bells at 15 to 20 cm from June to September. Astrantia 'Star of Fire' adds burgundy pincushion flowers at 60 cm from June to August. Thalictrum 'Black Stockings' brings lavender-pink fluff on black stems at 120 to 150 cm in July and August. Deschampsia 'Northern Lights' adds cream-striped blades at 30 to 40 cm.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun to part sun, in moist, fertile soil. Set the crown about 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) below the surface. Water well through the first season and during summer dry spells. More sun means more flowers. Cut the flower stems down once they finish. Cut the foliage back in late fall, or leave it for winter and tidy it in early spring. Divide when the clump gets crowded or thin in the middle, in late summer or early spring. Keep new divisions watered until they settle in.

History: Bob Bauer and John Coble bred 'Double Standards' and introduced it through their nursery, Ensata Gardens, in 2000, with the Siberian iris 'Shebang' as one parent. Its registration describes stamens converted into extra standards and, on some flowers, a second set of three falls in the centre, a form known as hose-in-hose, and its name is a pun on those doubled standards.

Final Thoughts: Deer resistant, easy going and fine with moist soil. It expects more from the garden than the garden expects from it. RULES ARE FOR THE OTHER IRISES.