Iris ensata 'Caprician Butterfly'

• common names: Japanese iris
• flowering season: early summer
• height: 30 to 36 inches
• Light requirements: full sun; afternoon shade in very warm climates
• Soil requirements: rich
• Water requirments: moister than average; will grow happily in shallow water such as at the edge of a pond
• Growth habit: grows into an ever widening clump
• How to propagate: dividing in early summer
• Leaf type: long upright sword-like leaves
• Ways to use it: will grow side by side with plants that need less water as long as this is watered regularly through the dry months of summer
• Special characteristics: the flowers can grow quite large when the plant is well fed and watered
• Other points of interests, such as historically: Japanese irises have been hybridized and grown for centuries in Japan

Although they are often treated like Siberian irises, to grow best and be long-lived Japanese irises require more frequent replanting than Siberian irises require. This is because a Japanese iris wants to grow too close to the soil surface, rather than wanting to grow deeper. So every two or three years it is best to reset it deeper in the ground, covered by a couple of inches of soil. Question -- instead of replanting it would giving it a fresh covering of mulch every year be equally good ? As a temporary measure, the answer is "yes." But in the long run, replanting it deeper and feeding it with humus and organic fertilizer would be better. The roots do not want to dry out too much, and being deeper, they are less likely to dry out. Its wanting to grow too close to the surface is an adaptation of it growing in overly wet ground in the wild. In a garden it grows equally well in well drained ground as long as water is offered regularly. Because it needs an acidic soil, be sure never to add lime to its soil.