I'm really skeptical that it would be a Japanese iris. I don't think that they sell them in the nurseries hereabouts; this is CA after all, where it is more dry than not, and don't Japanese iris want a lot of water? Also, don't the Japanese irises have larger and more lush flowers?
I thought maybe it was a Siberian iris.... but I thought those had larger flowers too, and what about the Spuria irises? How would you tell the difference between a Siberian iris and a Spuria iris?
If it helps any, the foliage seems to die back and go dormant during the winter... or at least it has, ever since I started paying attention to it a few years ago.
This is all so confusing...
