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About

Iris 'Muriel Neville' is a named garden iris in the family Iridaceae, notable for flowering from May to July. It bears the typical iris-shaped blooms during that period and grows from a perennial rhizome. Plants sit within the genus Iris and are used primarily for seasonal summer display. Flowers are produced on upright stems that rise above the foliage.

About the genus

Iris takes its name from the Greek goddess of the rainbow, and for once the naming feels entirely earned. I can't think of another genus that covers so much ground — inky purples, burnt apricots, clean whites, blues that seem lit from inside — or so many situations. There are bearded irises that want their rhizomes baked in full sun, Siberian types happy in ordinary border soil, and species that will sit contentedly at the edge of a pond. What they share is the flower: three petals standing up, three falling away, built with a kind of architectural confidence most plants never attempt. Even out of bloom the foliage earns its place — those upright fans of blue-green leaves hold a border together for months. I grow them for the fortnight in May and June when nothing else in the garden can compete, and I've made my peace with that. Some plants are for the long haul. An iris is an event.

Written by Henry

In the garden

Iris 'Muriel Neville' belongs to the genus Iris within the Iridaceae and is grown as a perennial for its late spring to early summer flowering, which runs from May to July. As a cultivar, it is selected and named for garden use and is best treated like other clump-forming iris cultivars: flower stems emerge above a fan of strap-shaped leaves and the plant returns each year from the perennial rhizome. Choose a sunny, well-drained spot for planting; free-draining soil helps prevent rot around the rhizome. Plant at a level where the top of the rhizome sits just at or slightly below the soil surface so the crown remains exposed to air. Water in well at planting and during prolonged dry spells, but avoid waterlogging. Use Iris 'Muriel Neville' in middle or front borders where the flowering period can be appreciated, or as part of a seasonal mixed border with later- and earlier-flowering perennials. After flowering, allow the foliage to ripen before cutting back, and every few years lift and divide congested clumps; replant offsets with the rhizome oriented horizontally and the growing point close to the soil surface to encourage reliable bloom the following season.

More in the Iris genus

Browse all Iris →
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