Carlton CarnivoresA surprise discovery outside in the trays today: an off-season flower on this young Iris speculatrix!
A native to mountainous regions in southeastern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, it’s one of the few irises I have currently that are not cold-hardy in my area, and is also what one might call a dwarf species. The entire section this species belongs to are fairly small, which is why even despite having leaves barely a foot tall and flower stalks that max out at 14 inches, speculatrix is still the tallest in the group. Flowers are somewhat variable but generally of very slender build (though this bloom is still showing an extreme in that tendency), with narrow standards and falls in various shades of extremely pale to rich violet and marked closer to the base with deeper purple, surrounding white and brilliant golden yellow. Warm conditions, potentially year round, are appreciated by this species (though its montane habitat means it also likes nighttime temp drops).
I may offer a sibling specimen of this species later this year, but likely only one; I had three seedlings establish themselves and am keeping at least two.
#iris #irisspeculatrix #wildflowers #flowers #species #plants #educational #strangeplant #botany #plantsathome #horticulture #plantsmakepeoplehappy #gardening #carltoncarnivores
A native to mountainous regions in southeastern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, it’s one of the few irises I have currently that are not cold-hardy in my area, and is also what one might call a dwarf species. The entire section this species belongs to are fairly small, which is why even despite having leaves barely a foot tall and flower stalks that max out at 14 inches, speculatrix is still the tallest in the group. Flowers are somewhat variable but generally of very slender build (though this bloom is still showing an extreme in that tendency), with narrow standards and falls in various shades of extremely pale to rich violet and marked closer to the base with deeper purple, surrounding white and brilliant golden yellow. Warm conditions, potentially year round, are appreciated by this species (though its montane habitat means it also likes nighttime temp drops).
I may offer a sibling specimen of this species later this year, but likely only one; I had three seedlings establish themselves and am keeping at least two.
#iris #irisspeculatrix #wildflowers #flowers #species #plants #educational #strangeplant #botany #plantsathome #horticulture #plantsmakepeoplehappy #gardening #carltoncarnivores
