Iris wilsonii Seeds | Wilson Iris
LATIN NAME: Iris wilsonii
COMMON NAME: Wilson Iris
Plant Profile
Wilson’s iris is a beardless iris from the wet mountain meadows of central China, named for Ernest Henry Wilson, who collected it in Hubei in 1900. It grows forty to seventy centimetres tall, with narrow, grey-green leaves and stems that carry one or two flowers in late May and June.
The flowers are a clear, pale yellow, unusual in the genus, with a network of fine purple or brown veins on the falls and a small, pale signal; a form with white flowers also occurs. The plant grows from a slender rhizome into a loose clump, and it is one of the Chinese irises that has entered cultivation relatively recently. It is a plant of damp grassland and stream edges, and it needs moisture in spring.
Science & Biotechnology
The species belongs to the series Chrysographes of the beardless irises, a group of Chinese species with a signal patch rather than a beard, and it is close to Iris chrysographes, which has dark purple flowers, and to Iris forrestii, which is also yellow. The three replace one another across the mountains of western China, and hybrids between them occur where the ranges overlap.
Wilson’s iris was introduced to Britain by Wilson in 1908, and it has remained uncommon in gardens because it is exacting about moisture and because its flowers are small by the standards of the Siberian and Japanese irises. The yellow colour is produced by carotenoids rather than by the anthocyanins that give most irises their blue, and the purple veining on the falls is a separate pigment layer laid over the yellow ground.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden Wilson’s iris is planted at the edge of a stream or a pond, in a bog garden or in a damp meadow, where its pale yellow flowers and grey leaves fit a naturalistic planting. It is a plant for collectors and for the knowledgeable gardener rather than for mass planting, and it is best shown close to a path where the veining on the falls can be seen.
It has no medicinal or culinary use of note. In China it grows in mountain pasture that is grazed in autumn, and its survival depends on the meadows not being drained or ploughed; several of the Chinese irises are now uncommon in the wild for that reason. It is hardy in Britain and in much of northern Europe, though it dislikes winter wet combined with frost.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed in autumn, in a mix of loam, leafmould and grit, and leave the pan outside through winter. The seed needs cold and moisture, and it should not be dried out. Germination is often slow and can take two springs.
Prick the seedlings out into deep pots and grow them on in a cool, shaded frame, keeping the compost moist at all times. Plant out in spring or early autumn, with the rhizome just below the surface, in soil that holds moisture but drains in winter. Mulch with leafmould and water in dry spells. Divide the clumps every four or five years, after flowering, and replant the outer pieces. The species is best grown in a raised bed if the soil is heavy, so that winter water drains away from the rhizome.
Our Take
A collector’s iris from the wet meadows of China, with clear yellow flowers finely veined in purple. It needs moisture without stagnation.
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