The Differences Between Iris Reticulata & Ruthenica

Irises

• The Iridaceae family of perennial flowering plants grow from bulbs, corms or rhizomes that require little care once established in sunny, moist and well-drained locations.

  Fan-shaped iris flowers bloom from erect stems, which support single or multiple blooms. Leaves are sword-shaped or conical. Flowers have six petals; three reflexed (curved downward) sepals on the bottom called falls, and three upright called standards.

Two Irises

• Iris ruthenica Ker-Gawl, Subgenus Limniris, and I. reticulata, genus Linneaus, subgenus Hermodactyloides, are from Asia; ruthenica from Western Asia and reticulata from Eastern Europe and Asia.

  Both are beardless dwarf irises that grow to 4 to 6 inches. Each produces fragrant flowers in the blue to violet range. They are among the first to flower in gardens from zone 3 and warmer. They grow in partial shade in hot zones--or full sun in northern gardens--and require a period of dry summer dormancy after blooms fade to set flowers for the next season. They are dug up when flower quality wanes, divided, and old, damaged or decayed bulbs or rhizomes removed before replanting.

Differences

• Iris ruthenica grow from creeping rhizomes or fleshy roots. The large flowers have perpendicular top petals and dark-veined, white-splashed falls that emerge from a base of 3 to 10 gray-green, sword-like leaves. Clumps are divided in midsummer by laying rhizomes on top of the soil in temperate climates or covering with 1/2 to 1-inch of sand in colder zones (to zone 3).

  Reticulata irises are small and hardy, known as netted irises for the net-patterned skins on their bulbs. Flowers emerge from long tubes, with petals most often in deep violet to purple hues with their characteristic bold yellow ridge on the falls. Leaves are cylindrical, stiff, narrow and erect. Bulbs are divided in early fall when leaves begin to yellow and replanted deep--twice the height of the bulb or more--to prevent splitting and ensure successive seasons of blooms.

Uses

• Dwarf irises are ideal for rock gardens, where their small size blends into the hardscaping and large flowers produce a flood of color in late winter or early spring. They go dormant, allowing other plants to take over. Mini irises are used as groundcovers and borders, where their blooms start the season, then recede as taller, later-blooming flowers take over. They are also used in containers to brighten homes with early blooms in spring.