I have my new 18' x 72' area tilled and getting ready for my new iris garden. I will be planting some companion plants along with about 130 irises. I'm interesting in finding out what perennials others like to use and why? Photos are always welcome

Unfortunately all my companion plants look very much like weeds......

Lupine looks great with iris. And there are many on this forum who are great at companion plants so you came to the right place.

Lestv said:Unfortunately all my companion plants look very much like weeds......

Have you tried verbena bonariensis? Around here we call it verbena on a stick. It makes a very small ground plant and then tall stalks with little or no leaves grow 4 - 6 foot with tufts of purple flowers on the ends. It is airy and does not block the sun from irises and it self seeds. It is easy to pull up and not invasive. This is not a very good photo but it shows you its height a bit. The other companion plants I purposefully grow are alliums.

I have a small garden so I put my irises all along the back of the bed. Other plants fill in front of them blooming throughout the spring and summer. These range from daffodils and lilies to echinacea and rudbeckia. I always try to have something blooming.





The mulch does not extend as far back as the irises.

Alliums (they have very little foliage), Pincushion Flower (small, well-behaved mounts, will self seed), ornamental grasses (small cultivars), Columbines (because they self seed whether I like them to or not ), roses (behind the irises, unless they are small cultivars), Sibs, Daylilies, Moss Phlox, creeping Sedums, Hens and Chickens, creeping Thyme, Dianthus (creeping and others), poppies (not orientals, they grow too big here) and more.

All good choices Lilli. I love the creeping phlox although it only blooms in the spring. It does not grow fast and overtake the irises and gives a waterfall of color on slopes and terraced iris beds.

Delphiniums look good with iris.

Lilli, I agree with you about columbines. I planted a few, they self-seeded, and then I had a hard time getting rid of them. They have a long tap root. They are pretty with iris though.

Schreiner's plants meadow rue (thalictrum) in their display gardens. Things that are light and feathery contrast nicely with the spiky iris foliage.

How do you not overwater your iris while still getting enough water to the other plants? Even though they are close, I had a box with daylily and iris together, and if the daylily got enough, the iris got too much.

I like to use kangaroo paw in my iris beds because I like the look of them together and I also have a few succulents to provide winter interest. The smaller kangaroo paws flower almost year round and also provide winter interest. There is one negative to having kangaroo paw and irises close together because the kangaroo paw attracts birds which climb the stems to feed on the flowers which causes them to flop over. Sometimes the birds push the iris stems over too.

This photo shows what the large kangaroo paws look like in the landscape. I have planted irises in all of the gaps.

A more recent photo with some small kangaroo paws too (on the left "Hint of Danger")

I never see Kangaroo Paw for sale around here except as cut flowers. It is really pretty with your iris.

Daylilies, penstemon and agastache go well with mine. A couple of shorter ornamental grasses, too. Geraniums, sedums, wine cups(the plant)...

Thanks Leslie. It's a shame you can't buy it for your garden. I get excited when I see a new variety of kangaroo paw just like I do with new irises

I recently discovered a couple of purple ones
(this website is a bit broken, but you can still the images)
http://www.gardeningwithangus....
http://www.gardeningwithangus....

djinnevada said:How do you not overwater your iris while still getting enough water to the other plants? Even though they are close, I had a box with daylily and iris together, and if the daylily got enough, the iris got too much.

I plant plants such as roses, which have very different water and fertiliser needs from irises, in large pockets of moisture retaining soil and try to make sure they are planted lower than the irises, so water (and fertiliser) will run from the irises to the roses and not the other way around. I have clay-based soil, so my irises are planted on small mounts with grit mixed in.

[quote="Lestv"]Unfortunately all my companion plants look very much like weeds......

I am a bit surprised that can't definitively tell they are weeds; just that they, "......look very much like weeds.......:lol:...."

Seems like that "royal dark blue" is rubbing off on you. Too bad.

Everyone...

Just so you know; the previous message is COMPLETELY in jest. Just have fun at LESTV expense.

Maybe they just 'look like weeds' because they are veeeeery prolific?

IrisLilli said:

Maybe they just 'look like weeds' because they are veeeeery prolific?

That would be my Quaker Lady!!

No, sadly they are just plain weeds, though my weeds may be some exotic species to someone else. Who knows!

I really need to find some Kangaroo Paws. The link said they could grow in my conditions.

I get volunteer yellow corydalis among my iris, which I think looks nice together.

Me too Leslie on Kangaroo Paws. Wonder why they don't sell it here?