Iris 'Silver Edge'

Iris 'Silver Edge': True Blue with a Silver Outline

Medium blue flowers with a thin silver-white edge on the falls, like the trim on a dress uniform. 'Silver Edge' is crisp, sharp and SHARPER THAN YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW'S COMEBACKS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Iris sibirica 'Silver Edge'
• Common Name: Siberian Iris
• Height: 70–75 cm (28–30 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Medium blue with a thin silver-white edge on the falls and a yellow and white signal patch
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Narrow, upright green leaves with a slight blue tint
• Features: Tolerates moist soil, good cut flower

Where to Plant: Use it along a stream or pond, in a rain garden, or in a sunny border with decent moisture, and it's happy in clay. Plant three or more together for a real drift of blue.

Companion Plants: Use 'Silver Edge' in a moist bed in sun or part shade with red bergenia, pink foxgloves and pink meadowsweet. Bergenia 'Winterglut' opens deep pink to red flowers at 30 to 40 cm in April and May. Filipendula 'Kahome' adds feathery pink plumes at 20 to 30 cm in July and August. Digitalis 'Candy Mountain' brings rose-pink foxgloves at 90 to 120 cm in June and July. Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' rises at 120 to 150 cm with very narrow, silvery blades.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun, in moist, rich soil that's slightly acidic to neutral. Set the rhizomes a few centimetres deep and water them in well. Keep the soil evenly moist in the first season, and water during long dry spells after that. Cut spent flower stems back if you'd like a tidier look. The foliage can stay up through winter. Cut it down in late fall or early spring. Divide large clumps when the centre opens up, ideally in late summer or very early spring.

History: 'Silver Edge' was bred by Currier McEwen, the Maine physician who did more than almost anyone to modernize Siberian irises, and it won the Morgan Award, the top honour for Siberian irises, in 1978. The species Iris sibirica grows wild in damp meadows from Europe into western Asia.

Final Thoughts: Deer resistant, fine in moist soil and a great cut flower. Plant it and enjoy the competitive edge, because SECOND PLACE IS NOT AN OPTION.