Northwest Blooms · Irises
Iris 'Blueberry Shortcake'
Blueberry Shortcake Iris
- Height
- 39 inches
- Width
- 1 to 1 1/2 feet
- Flower color
- Deep blue-violet with powder-blue beards
- Foliage color
- Medium green, upright, sword-shaped foliage
- Bloom time
- Early midseason
- Light
- Full sun
- Water
- Moderate, drought tolerant once established
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 4 to 8
About this plant
Iris 'Blueberry Shortcake' is a tall bearded iris with richly colored, ruffled flowers that bloom in early midseason. The standards and falls are a deep blue-violet, creating a nearly uniform wash of saturated color across the flower. Powder-blue beards provide a cool, contrasting accent against the darker petals. The flowers have a slight sweet fragrance, while sturdy stems and well-branched flower stalks hold the blooms above upright, sword-shaped green foliage.
Registered in 2023 by hybridizer Brad Collins, 'Blueberry Shortcake' was introduced through Schreiner's Gardens in 2024. Developed as part of Collins' work with blue irises, it combines strong garden form with unusually deep blue-violet coloring. Its cool palette makes it particularly useful alongside silver foliage, pale flowers, and warmer yellow or apricot tones in sunny borders and iris plantings.
Works well in
Borders · Cut Flower Gardens · Formal Gardens · Foundation Plantings · Waterwise Gardens
Companion plants
Dwarf spirea · Shrub cinquefoil · Yellow columbine · Coreopsis · White yarrow · Silver lamb's ear · Creeping thyme
Design tip
Give 'Blueberry Shortcake' a light backdrop or neighboring plants with silvery foliage to keep its dark flowers clearly defined. A few nearby touches of yellow or cream create contrast, while repeating blue-violet elsewhere helps carry its color through the planting.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at Schreiner's Iris Gardens.
