Holland has been for centuries, the country that has played a major role in the development of Tulips, Hyacinths, Daffodils and the bulbous irises we know as Dutch. The Dutch also hold the registration book for Dutch irises, and have no connection with the American Iris Society register for all other iris varieties.

As Iris lovers we are ambiguous in our attitude to this group. Harry Randall (Irises, 1969) says of the Xiphiums in general “I cannot enthuse over them, I do not know of any experienced grower who takes their cultivation seriously”. Graeme Grosvenor (Iris, Flower of the Rainbow, 1997) deals with them far more generously, with 7 pages of notes, including a page dedicated to the varieties available here in Australia.

The various xiphium species originated in Mediterranean countries, with hot dry summers France, Turkey. They prefer rich heavy soil, slightly alkaline and with good drainage.

The Spanish irises, developed earlier than the Dutch, were mostly varieties of the I. xiphium. They were taken up by the Dutch in the early 20th century, and crossed with other species to produce the modern cultivars. Dutch firm Van Tubergen crossed the popular blue Spanish variety “Praecox” with the yellow “Lusitanica” to produce their first commercial variety. The de Graaffs crossed “Praecox” with other commercial Spanish forms, and both companies made further crosses, bringing into the mix species such as I. tingitana, I. filifolia, and I. fontanesii. The result was commercial forms with larger bulbs, more colour variety, bigger blooms on taller stems, with more vigour, and flowering 2 weeks earlier than the already popular Spanish varieties.

In Australia, with our relative warm winters, Dutch irises perform well. With their tendancy to produce foliage before winter, many countries find them difficult to cultivate well.

The popularity of Dutch irises in the florist trade has come about not so much from public demand, as from the ease in which they can be forced to bloom at any time of year, and have a vase life of 1 to 2 weeks.

While old varieties such as “Apollo”, “Wedgewood”, and “Professor Blaauw” are commonly grown both commercially and in our gardens, there is still much hybridising work going on, and many new varieties coming onto the market.