Northwest Blooms · Irises
Iris 'Musical Chairs'
Musical Chairs Iris
- Height
- 3 feet
- Width
- 1 1/2 to 2 feet
- Flower color
- Soft peach and lavender with cream-edged falls
- Foliage color
- Medium green, upright, sword-shaped foliage
- Bloom time
- Early to late season
- Light
- Full sun
- Water
- Moderate; drought tolerant once established
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 4 to 8
About this plant
Iris 'Musical Chairs' is a tall bearded iris with softly blended flowers and an exceptionally long bloom period, flowering from early through late iris season. Peachy standards become paler toward their edges, while the falls shift into muted lavender with narrow creamy margins and warm buff coloring near the shoulders. Orange beards transition to lavender-blue at their tips, tying the warm and cool colors together. Upright, sword-shaped green foliage forms tidy fans below the flowering stems.
Introduced in 2019 by Keith Keppel, 'Musical Chairs' received an American Iris Society Honorable Mention in 2022. Its combination of peach, lavender, cream, and orange gives it a gentle multicolored appearance that blends easily into cottage gardens, perennial borders, and dedicated iris beds.
Works well in
Cottage Gardens · Borders · Cut Flower Gardens · Walkways · Waterwise Gardens
Companion plants
Abelia · Shrub rose · Delphinium · Gaura · Hardy geranium · Silver artemisia · Creeping thyme
Design tip
Use 'Musical Chairs' to soften a sunny planting filled with stronger colors. Its pastel palette works especially well as a transition between pink, purple, and warm-toned sections of a border, helping neighboring colors flow together while maintaining a relaxed, cohesive appearance.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at Schreiner's Iris Gardens.
