Iris 'Black Gamecock'

Stunning color and unprecedented vigor make this Louisiana iris the best. Iris 'Black Gamecock' flourishes in early summer year after year in wet soils with giant, near-black blooms. The most vigorous Louisiana iris ever grown is a flower fully a half foot wide and so velvety that gardeners can't resist touching the deep purple petals. The golden throats highlight the ebony hues of the blooms. Splendid in any setting, Iris 'Black Gamecock' is especially effective in waterside plantings or in meadows and woodlands.

This plant reaches three feet high and wide, and in rich, moist soil is virtually maintenance-free. This native strain thrives from Texas to South Carolina and mostly in Louisiana. Formerly available only as a mix of colors, the iris family stepped upward with the stately Iris 'Black Gamecock'.

Iris 'Black Gamecock' spreads by rhizomes, so the grouping planted this year will be bigger and better after a season or two. As tolerant of unseasonable cold as of heat and humidity, this hardy, pest-free native forms large, thriving clumps of smoky color wherever the soil stays moist and reasonably fertile. Space Iris 'Black Gamecock' about two feet apart in Zones 4 to 9.

Choose locations in full sun or light shade. The soil should be moderately damp with organic matter added. Cover the rhizomes with two to three inches of acidic soil of pH <6.5. Water plants well during droughts. Semi-annual applications of a balanced fertilizer as new growth begins and then two months before blooming are advisable as is a year-round mulch in the cold climates.