Japanese iris 'Variegata' purple

This Japanese iris (Iris laevigata) 'Snowdrift' is a fast-growing aquatic plant that is best grown in a pond basket.

Line the basket with sacking and use special pond potting compost. Plant Iris in the basket, fill with the soil and add a pond fertiliser ball. Cover everything with the remaining sacking and a layer of gravel. Place the basket just below the surface or up to a max. 30 cm deep in the pond.

If your pond is too deep, stand a basket on a pile of bricks. This plant can also grow in a large tub filled with water too - full sun is best.

In the border
The iris is a plant suitable for many situations whether in the pond or in humus rich soil that remains marshy most of the year - it can even go in your border. They do not like to dry out at any time of the year. Japanese Iris 'Snowdrift' is excellent combined with other plants For a natural looking effect, the Japanese Iris (Iris laevigata) 'Snowdrift' can be easily combined with Lesser Bulrush (Typha Angustifolia) and flowering rush (Butomus Umbellatus), which are both endemic to our climes. You could also place the iris in a large, watertight container with swampy soil.

The Japanese Iris 'Snowdrift) is a very strong aquatic plant that requires minimal maintenance. Cut off dead leaves in autumn and remove it from the pond. Annually in the spring you can add pond fertiliser to the pond basket. You should remove the iris from the pond by May if the clump is too large. Divide the clump into smaller pieces and replant only a small piece back into the pond. Iris is not frost resistant This iris will not tolerate frost so do protect its root ball from severe frost by placing the basket deeper into the pond during the winter (so, under any ice). You could also keep it in its basket (in a tub of water) in a frost-free area.

Iris are prone to freeze when in pots too so it would be best to bring indoors to a frost-free area.

The iris has its own family - the Iridaceae.