Northwest Blooms · Irises
Iris 'Wintry Sky'
Wintry Sky Iris
- Height
- 3 feet
- Width
- 1 to 1 1/2 feet
- Flower color
- Violet-blue standards with icy blue-white falls
- 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 'Wintry Sky' is a tall bearded iris with large, heavily ruffled flowers that bloom in early midseason. The upright standards are a clear violet-blue, softening slightly toward their rippled edges, while the broad falls are an icy blue-white with subtle violet-blue shading near the throat. Creamy white beards have blue at their bases with a touch of yellow tucked deeper inside the flower. Upright, sword-shaped green foliage forms tidy fans beneath the flowering stems.
Hybridized by Keith Keppel and introduced in 2002, 'Wintry Sky' received an American Iris Society Honorable Mention in 2004, Award of Merit in 2006, and Wister Medal in 2010. Its crisp combination of violet-blue and cool white gives the flowers a luminous quality, making it especially useful for brightening perennial borders and creating transitions among blue, lavender, white, and silver-toned plantings.
Works well in
Formal Gardens · Borders · Cut Flower Gardens · Foundation Plantings · Cottage Gardens
Companion plants
Dwarf ninebark · White rockrose · Pink evening primrose · Purple prairie clover · Sea lavender · Blue grama grass · Candytuft
Design tip
Use 'Wintry Sky' to soften the transition between darker purple flowers and whites or silvers. Its pale falls create breathing room without leaving a visual gap, while the violet-blue standards carry enough color to connect neighboring blue and lavender plantings.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at Schreiner's Iris Gardens.
