Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris is a rhizomatous perennial that brings early spring color to gardens across zones 3 through 8. This hybrid class grows between 8 and 16 inches tall, producing showy flowers up to 4 inches wide in May and June with distinctive upright petals (called standards) and drooping lower petals (falls) adorned with prominent beards. Deer leave them alone, and once established, they handle drought well, making them low-stress additions to sun-soaked borders that form expanding clumps year after year.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-8
12in H x 12in W
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Moderate
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Each flower showcases that classic iris architecture: erect standards reaching upward while softer falls cascade down, their centers marked by a bushy beard that gives this iris class its name. The narrow, linear green foliage stays neatly upright, usually staying at or just below bloom height, so flowers aren't buried in leaves. These hybrids are genuinely tough plants that shrug off deer pressure and established drought stress while performing best in light, sandy, well-drained soil with consistent moisture from spring through six weeks after flowering ends.
Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris flowers in spring borders, front-of-bed plantings, and rock gardens where their compact stature and cheerful blooms brighten early season displays. They work well in mixed perennial beds and can be used in cut flower arrangements when blooms are harvested at peak freshness.
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