![Dutch Irises instead of Tulips](https://txmg.org/hendersonmg/files/2024/04/2024-03-25-Dutch-Iris.jpeg)
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by Lydia Holley March 25, 2024
Holland is best known for tulips, but these beautiful flowers do not reliably return in East Texas. Grow Dutch irises (Iris x hollandica) instead. Even though you may think of the Netherlands with both of these plants, actually, neither tulips nor Dutch irises are native to Holland. Tulips are native to central Asia and were not grown in Holland until the late 1500s. Likewise, Dutch irises are from a Spanish iris which the Dutch hybridized.
Fortunately for us, all we need to know is how to grow Dutch irises, not how they came to be. A bulb, Dutch irises are drought resistant and will grow even in clay soils as long as the soil does not retain water. They will multiply and can be grown in containers or used as a cut flower. Dutch irises take full sun, though they also appreciates afternoon shade.
Growing two feet tall, Dutch irises come in a rainbow of colors, purple and yellow being the most common. Plant them in fall for a beautiful show in spring. Be generous. They look best planted in masses. If you like, plant Dutch irises with creeping phlox for a lovely display. To make certain your Dutch irises will return, be certain to leave the foliage until after it yellows.
Although the Dutch have become famous for their non-native plants, their native plants include the yellow-blooming greater celandine (Chelidonium majus), pink-flowering bog pimpernel (Anagallis tenella), and lavender heather (Andromeda polifolia), which has nodding pink blooms, among others. One of their most famous botanical parks in Amstelveen, Dr. Jack P Thijssepark, is dedicated to plants native to the Netherlands. If you plan a trip to see the tulips, be certain to take a few hours to see Holland’s native plants, too. In the meantime, enjoy Dutch irises right here in East Texas.
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected].
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