My Love Affair With the Blackberry Lily {Iris Domestica}
For many years I have had this in my gardens. It is not a native flower but it has some very appealing qualities making it a must have in the garden.
It grows in almost any soil (I have red clay) and it can tolerate full sun to dappled shade. It will grow to over 4' tall in zone 7 and an average of 2-3' in lower zones making it a perfect backdrop in the garden. The Blackberry lily 'plays well with others' and will look stunning in the garden along side coneflowers, Salvia, iris, sedum, and rudbeckia in the sun or with hosta, toad lily, astilbe, and ferns in the shade garden (mine gets morning sun). This beauty does not like wet feet so no matter what soil you have, make sure that it is well drained.
The pod of the Blackberry lily will turn brown and crack open to reveal a cluster of round black seeds which resemble a large berry. You sow the seeds in fall to have blooms the following year and leave some pods on the plant to self sow to keep the clump full. There is nothing easier than that and there are no real insect problems!
To read more about my love affair with this non-native beauty from Asia, check out my blog.
Happy gardening!
Create. Inspire. Gardening without the rules!
It grows in almost any soil (I have red clay) and it can tolerate full sun to dappled shade. It will grow to over 4' tall in zone 7 and an average of 2-3' in lower zones making it a perfect backdrop in the garden. The Blackberry lily 'plays well with others' and will look stunning in the garden along side coneflowers, Salvia, iris, sedum, and rudbeckia in the sun or with hosta, toad lily, astilbe, and ferns in the shade garden (mine gets morning sun). This beauty does not like wet feet so no matter what soil you have, make sure that it is well drained.
The pod of the Blackberry lily will turn brown and crack open to reveal a cluster of round black seeds which resemble a large berry. You sow the seeds in fall to have blooms the following year and leave some pods on the plant to self sow to keep the clump full. There is nothing easier than that and there are no real insect problems!
To read more about my love affair with this non-native beauty from Asia, check out my blog.
Happy gardening!
Create. Inspire. Gardening without the rules!
Right after a rain-could not resist taking a pic of this garden beauty
Started blooming in early July in zone 7 many lower zones this would start in mid to late July. Mine bloom for about a month and then sporadically from smaller plants throughout August.
The flower opens in the morning to close at dusk and a few days later the pod appears
The leaves are very similar to an Iris. I love how the blooms look when they are emerging.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 3 comments
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I am sad to say that mine are not loaded -blooms are about 1/2 of last year. And I have many that are not growing very fast
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This plant accidentally showed up in my flower bed one year, took me forever to figure out what it was, and everyone who I described it to was clueless as to what it was. I finally discovered it online. Needless to say, that one little plant multiplied like crazy in two years. I don't harvest the seeds, but rather let them self seed, and they are blooming beautiful right now, which is surprising since some of my other perennials froze out from the harsh WI. winter.
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