Alida Reticulate Iris Bulbs

Dwarf Alida Iris

Vibrant colour and sweet scent are rare gifts in winter, so when Iris Alida emerges with her sky-blue flowers and delicate fragrance, it's an extra special treat. Her large mid-blue flowers are speckled with butter-yellow splashes on the 'falls' with softer blue upper 'standard' petals. Dwarf Iris Alida is a fairly new introduction and a superb addition to our rockery bulbs.

Garden Design Ideas

Thrives in a sunny spot in neutral to alkaline soil with sharp drainage mimicking conditions high in the mountains of Turkey, Russia and the Middle East. A versatile plant, she is equally at home at the front of border or in an alpine bed or rockery.

Pots and containers in a sunny spot are also ideal, especially if you can raise them a little or group them near a door so that the radiant flowers and sweet fragrance can be appreciated more easily. Alida combines well with other early bulbs such as snowdrops or alongside compact ornamental grasses like Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' whose glaucous foliage picks out the soft blues of the iris flowers.

Features

• Height: 15cm
• Spread: 10m
• Colour: Mid-blue flowers with splashes of yellow
• Scent: Delicate sweet fragrance
• Flowering: January-March
• Planting Depth: 2 to 3 times as deep as the bulb is tall
• Planting Months: late September - early November

History & Trivia

Alida was bred from Harmony in the 90's.
The name is presumably the short version of Adelaide, but some sources say it's from the Latin for little-wing, alita.

Reticulated irises originate in the mountains of Western Asia at heights of 600-2700m, where they're regularly subject to winter temperatures as low as -25°F. Alternative names include the small bulbous iris or netted iris for their miniature stature and the bulb coating, which is made up of fibres resembling a fishnet.