“A Fleur d’iris” ?

text & photos : Norma A. Hubbard  April 2023

As the warmer weather begins to give us the promise of spring, the gardener in me is anxious to start digging in the dirt. While it will be a while yet before I can, I know that soon after the crocuses fade another member of the Iridaceae family will appear, the harlequin blue flag (Iris versicolor). Growing up there were few cultivated flowers around our yard, nonetheless there were irises which my mom always called flags.

Flags are the most common name for any type of iris. Iris versicolor has several other names including harlequin blue flag, larger blue flag, northern blue flag, or simply, blue flag. Although it might surprise some to know, this is a wild flower in our area. Also, it is our official floral emblem, however it took a few years for this native blue flower to become ‘officially’ our wild flower.

According to the Montreal Botanical Garden page, for many years due to a mix-up of flowers, our official floral emblem was the Madonna lily (which is native to the Mediterranean, not here). While we’ve had a stylized version of an iris on our Quebec flag for many years, it was most likely based on the yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus L.) which grows along the banks of the Lys river in Belgium; and as the Botanical Gardens suggests, “perhaps the symbol on our flag should be described as a fleur d’iris instead of a fleur de lis!” It was only in 1999 that the Quebec government adopted a bill making the blue flag (iris) our official floral emblem. We were the last province to have an official flower.

Blue flags produce a smaller flower than some cultivated varieties; regardless of size its colours are lovely, especially once there is an established clump of plants. Though red is considered the best colour to attract hummingbirds, blue flags attract its fair share of pollinators such as bees, moths, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Plants will flower in early June and to late July with blooms lasting 2-3 days. Blue flags grow about 30-80 cm (11-31 in) with more than one flower per stem.

The colours of the blue flag is what inspired early botanist to name it Iris after the Greek goddess. ‘Iris’ is the Greek word meaning ‘the rainbow’. If you look closely, there is more than blue on these flowers. Iris was the daughter of Thaumus (a sea god) and Elektra (a cloud nymph). In mythology, rainbows are thought to join the clouds with the sea. Iris was the goddess who traveled on rainbows to earth to deliver messages from the Gods, usually Hera and Zeus. She is often depicted in art as a beautiful young woman with golden wings. Iris flowers are associated with heroic deeds and valor, as well as a symbol of faith, hope, and wisdom.

Blue flags are very easy to grow, and if you have a wet area in your yard, all the better. They are naturally found around ponds and swampy areas though they will grow just about anywhere. They tolerate both shade and sun and don’t mind the rocks, which is ideal for our area. Irises produce seeds that can be propagated. Please note for conservation reasons, we should not dig up plants in the wild, instead we should harvest seeds so as not to disturb plants in their natural habitat.

On the other hand, in our gardens, it is easier and healthier for the plants to divide them, just be sure to keep the rhizomes intact with some roots. Its rhizomes are poisonous, so handle with care. Also do not plant too deep as the rhizomes need the sun to produce better flowers. The best time to divide irises – as with most plants – is late summer, after the plant has finished flowering. This gives the plant time to establish roots. Although I would not recommend it, I have been in my garden in late October planting iris, and they survived. They are tough little plants, so maybe they deserve their reputation as ‘heroic’.

Sources: Harlequin blue flag (Iris versicolor), our floral emblem, Montreal Botanial Gardens,
Espace pour la Vie Montreal [online];
Revealed! The Hidden Meaning of Iris Flowers, Gardenerdy [online]