California Gardening: Fall/Winter Bulbs in California, 1 by chrisw99

chrisw99 wrote:
Iris unguicularis aka Iris stylosa, Algerian Iris or Winter Iris

Not really a bulb, probably a rhizome, still I decided that it belongs here since it is such a lovely thing that blooms all winter--starts in early Nov and blooms continuously into March for me. Native to Greece and Northern Africa. Nice to have some blue among all the white and yellow bulbs. It grows big clumps--mine are 3 ft wide with the flowers down low between the narrow leaves. These are reportedly fragrant, but the fragrance is slight to my nose--maybe there are cultivars that are selected for fragrance.

They need dry summers with some heat. Many of the leaves dry and go brown, and can be trimmed, but a few stay green all summer. It's a great choice for water wise gardening in Mediterranean climates.

Chris