Iris versicolor 'Purple Flame' - BLUE FLAG IRIS 'PURPLE FLAME'

Showstopper with eggplant purple leaves in the spring (before the heat comes) and blue-purple flowers in late spring-early summer. Loves moisture, but can be grown in average soil, if it doesn't get too dry.

Flowers in clusters of 2-3, with the heat the leaves turn green. Easy to grow and tough.

It's an ideal plant for naturalization, erosion control along streams, in wet meadows, or in medium-moist flower beds.

Good cut flower.

Blooming Time: May to June
Size: usually 2.5-3’ tall and wide
USDA Zones: 3 to 9
Culture: sun, half shade, average soil, loam, boggy soil, saturated soil or shallow standing water
Moisture Needs: moderately moist to moist/wet, may be grown as an aquatic plant in shallow water (up to 4" deep)
Origin: 'Purple Flame' was introduced Mt. Cuba Center (Delaware) in 2020, where it was discovered and thrived at the pond edge for long time. It was discovered in "garden conditions" as a plant - random seedling, so we can still consider this wildflower.Part of the Mt. Cuba Collection™. The species of I. versicolor is native to Eastern United States and Canada (see the USDA distribution map). Wild Blue Flag used to be common in northern boggy areas, but increasing development has restricted its habitats.
Deer/Rabbit Resistant: yes / yes
Attracts Butterflies or Pollinators: butterflies and some native bees
Attracts Hummingbirds: yes
Pot Size: square 3.5" x 5" deep pot

Picture copyright: Mt. Cuba

Plant combinations: Plant this Iris in rain garden,along pond edge or even in several inches of water, or in the moist, wet, or swampy soil. Can be planted in average soil with average moisture (best, if the soil doesn't dry out much). Combine with along with Asclepias incarnata, Boltonia asteroides, Caltha palustris, Chelone, Eupatorium, herbaceous Hibiscus, Lobelia siphilita, Lobelia cardinalis, Packera aurea, Physostegia, Vernonia, and Carex (sedges) and other moisture-loving perennials. It can also be grown in a moderately moist flower bed, combined with Amsonia, Coreopsis palustris 'Summer Sunshine', Phlox paniculata, Persicaria amplexicaulis, Sanguisorba, Senna hebecarpa.