Northern Blue Flag Iris, Harlequin Blue Flag - Shipped
Northern Blue Flag Iris is a marginal deciduous perennial with a clumping habit. The long blue-green sword-like foliage is erect and lightly arched. Long sturdy stalks grow from the center of the plant and are topped with soft bluish-purple flowers with deep purple veining and a central yellow splotch surrounded by a white zone in summer, attracting bees. Grows best in rich, slightly acidic, moist to wet water-retentive soils.
Iris versicolor is pollinated by various types of bees but is still a good food source for butterflies and highly attractive to hummingbirds.
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 Type:  | 
 Perennial  | 
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 Origins:  | 
 Northeast US and Canada  | 
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 Height:  | 
 2' - 2.5'  | 
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 Spread:  | 
 2’ - 2.5'  | 
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 Spacing:  | 
 2’  | 
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 USDA Hardiness Zone:  | 
 3 - 9  | 
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 Culture:  | 
 Full Sun, Part Sun  | 
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 Bloom Color:  | 
 Purple  | 
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 Season of Interest:  | 
 Summer, Fall  | 
MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Medium Maintenance. Water regularly, then occasionally once established. Can cut back any dying foliage after flowering. In winter, it is intolerant of wet or boggy soils- the roots may rot- move to dryer ground for fall and winter.
LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Water Gardens, Ponds and Streams, Naturalized Areas, Foundation Plantings, and Containers.
COMPANION PLANTS: Joe Pye Weed, Spiderwort, Turtlehead
IMAGES: Photo by Bob Gutowski, Iris versicolor, (2) Photo by John Munt, blue-flag-iris, (3) Jean-Pierre Guillet, Iris versicolor au parc national du Bic, CC BY-SA 4.0, (4) Ryan Hodnett, Northern Blue Flag (Iris versicolor) - Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, CC BY-SA 4.0, (5) PantaRhei, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) - Naturschutzgebiet Feldberg (Black Forest) - Bild 3 Feldsee, CC BY-SA 4.0
*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.